Smart and resourceful moms and lolas can stretch a meal budget by getting a bundle of Malunggay leaves from the local wet market for just P5-a-bundle and make an incredibly delicious meal with the addition of just a few more ingredients: Baked pan-de-sal bread. Tinola chicken soup. Chopsuey vegetables. Or Pancit Canton. Anything with lots of malunggay extra. Malunggay or Moringa keeps you healthy too. Parts of the Malunggay tree can also be used as herbal cures and remedies for plenty of ailments.
The Moringa or Malunggay tree, is known as the miracle tree, not only for being a real 'medicine cabinet' and the most nutritious food available, containing about 90 essential nutrients, 46 antioxidants and 8 amino acids, for its lowly seeming clusters and clusters of leaves.
From the roots, trunk, and branches to the leaves, flowers, and seeds, Malunggay leaves are popular as a flavorful vegetable ingredient in most Asian soup, fish and chicken dishes. You can even eat the leaves raw after washing off the dust or dirt with water and some rock salt. The root can be used to make a healing tea, while the trunk, after it's scraped and squeezed for its juice is used to clean wounds.
Malunggay trees are very hardy and are commonly found in the backyards in countries of Southeast Asia, Central and South America and Africa. Except for ample water, these Miracle trees can be left alone to thrive on their own.
Low-Cost Solution for Malnutrition
The rich essential nutrients of Malunggay leaves are what make it the best, cost effective solutions and remedies for the prevention of malnutrition. The leaves can be pulped for making a beverage or tea that is very rich in Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, calcium, iron and protein. Many third world use malunggay-infused food recipes like bread or soup for feeding and nutrition programs.
Effective Prevention of Bacteria and Fungi
Based on the research or study of Department of Biochemistry at Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, Malunggay contains a special phytochemical called pterygospermin. This compound acts as antibacterial and antifungal agents thus preventing the severity of bacteria and fungi related diseases. In India, traditional herbal treatments using moringa or maluggay can effeectively heal or remedy more than 300 diseases in humans.
