Benefits of ‘upo’

BOTTLE GOURD is locally known as upo. It’s a cheap but greatly underappreciated vegetable. Some of its amazing benefits:

Improves digestion and prevents constipation

Acts as a diuretic

Has a cooling effect

Reduces risk of urinary infection and high blood pressure

Reduces blood sugar levels

Reduces liver inflammation

Contains vitamins and minerals that combat cancer

Aids in weight loss because it has a low calorie count

Its young leaves have more vitamins and minerals than the fruit.

Other uses

Other ways to use the bottle gourd:

Add a pinch of salt  to upo juice to help get rid of diarrhea. If you take it with lime or calamansi, it combats urinary infection.  (Note:  Do not take the juice if it has a bitter taste.)

Mix the juice with other fruits like watermelon or jicama to produce a hydrating drink.

The bottle gourd can be eaten fresh.  It can be grated and mixed with salad dressing or yoghurt to add nourishment to salads or sandwiches.  It may also be pickled.

Some cooking options with upo:

Upo sautéed with tomatoes and mashed tofu

Upo patties (squeeze out the juice from grated upo and mix with flour, salt and spices before frying)

Upo with coconut milk and green leaves (like sayote, camote tops or malunggay)

Vegetable curry with upo, squash and potatoes

Upo tempura (dip round slices of upo in tempura batter before frying)

Upo adobo or paksiw

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