The Indian gooseberry also known as Amla, has been used since ancient times for all its nutritional benefits. Amla juice is also a kind of magic potion of sorts which keeps you healthy and fit. It not only does wonders for your health but is also the perfect solution for all your skin and hair troubles!
Let us have a quick look below at all the benefits of amla. We are gonna start you off with the benefits of amla for the skin first.
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1. Prevents skin aging
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Growing old? But still want to have that youthful skin? Well, here’s something you should know; the extract of amla is rich in Vitamin A. This vitamin is essential in collagen production, a compound that keeps the skin looking young and elastic. Amla, when consumed on an empty stomach, has properties that slow down the degradation of collagen and helps the body produce more. Yay! So make it your daily routine to have amla juice every morning.
2. Lightens complexion
Let’s face it, we all like to look fair and have glowing skin, don’t we? Since amla juice has high amounts of antioxidants and vitamin C, it serves as a great beverage for naturally glowing skin. Since amla is tangy to taste, adding some honey to freshly squeezed amla juice does the trick. Or, you could even apply it all over your face to make your complexion lighter and brighter. It will make your skin blemish-free too.
3. Helps treat pigmentation
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Skin pigmentation is an unavoidable problem that haunts us all but drinking amla juice gives you pigment-free glowing skin. You can also apply amla juice on your face with a cotton ball, rinsing it off after a few minutes to lighten the marks and pigments. Also, remember to close your eyes while doing so.
4. Tightens pores
Saggy skin is a big no no, right? But sadly, when your skin loses collagen, its tissues lose their firmness and softness. This results in saggy skin owing to your skin losing its elasticity. Vitamin C found in amla juice is an excellent nutrient that boosts the production of collagen cells and hence making your skin soft, supple, and toned.
5. For exfoliating and cleansing
Whether you apply topically or consume it, having amla juice for skin is beneficial since it acts as an excellent cleanser. Being a mild exfoliate, it helps in removing the dead cells on your skin too. If your skin is sensitive, you can dilute it with some water before applying.
6. Rids you of acne and its scars
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Ah, these nasty little buggers always make your skin look so bad! But never fear because it’s easy to get rid of those acne and pimple marks by applying a paste made from amla all over your face and neck and letting it dry for 10 to 15 minutes. This natural and homemade face pack will not only heal acne spots, it decreases the breakouts as well. Drinking amla juice on a daily basis will also help in keeping your skin free of infections as well as acne and pimples.
7. Repairs tissues
Those skin tissues which have been damaged can be cured by amla. Amla is known for its great healing powers, owing to the presence of vitamin C and other antioxidants, which help the skin by speeding up the damaged tissue repair process and combating problems of dry and scaly skin. Regular application of amla juice on your skin guarantees that you will have healthy and clear skin.
8. Makes your skin glow
You know all those creams you use to get glowing skin, here’s a piece of advice: throw them away! Because here again, because of the vitamin C present in it, amla brightens the skin and gives it a very natural and healthy glow.
9. Gets rid of dull looking skin
All the stress and tiredness of our days’ work shows on our face, not to mention the added issues of pollution and dust which settles on our skin, making it look even more dull and tired. Amla juice gets rid of that too and gives your skin a fresh look and feel to it.
10. Summer skin savior
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Amla is a summer coolant and great refresher. During summer season, Amla juice keeps your skin cool by releasing heat from the body and thus, preventing heat boils, rashes, and acne. It also provides the body with iron, vitamin C, potassium, and fibre.
Now let’s move on to the benefits of Amla for hair.
1. Nourishes from root to tip
Best known for its high vitamin C levels, amla, is great for hair, adding lustre and softness, and also doing away with dryness of the scalp. It is also a rich source of essential fatty acids that serve to keep the hair follicles strong and nourish the hair from the roots.
2. Reduces hairfall
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Never worry about hair thinning when you have amla around as this natural ingredient reduces hairfall. You can eat it or apply it on your scalp. The fruit yields oil that has been used for ages for treating hair and scalp. It is said to penetrate the scalp and strengthen roots.
3. Dandruff fix
Amla has anti-dandruff properties. You can simply mix a little amla powder with water and apply this to the scalp. Leave it on for about half an hour and wash it off with lukewarm water and watch the dandruff disappear.
4. Promotes hair growth
For all those looking to have thick, long hair, look no further as the vitamins present in amla help strengthen hair follicles, increase scalp circulation, and stimulate healthy new growth.
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5. Reduces greying of hair
Premature greying usually occurs due to excess pitta in the body. Amla, a natural coolant, is an excellent remedy to pacify pitta conditions, and thereby reduce greying.
6. Conditions hair
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Amla is one of the world’s oldest hair conditioners. When used as a hair rinse, it nourishes, conditions, and adds amazing shine and lustre to your hair. In addition, due to chelating action of amla, this rinse works very well in hard water and helps remove calcium deposits or product build-up, leaving your hair incredibly clean and healthy looking.
7. Prevents split ends
Those dreaded split ends can now be cured by amla as this wonder berry works very well on split ends and helps get rid of them! Hurray!
8. Makes hair strong and shining
If you apply a paste made with lemon juice and amla powder and leave it for 10-15 minutes and wash down your hair with water, it will keep your hair strong and shining.
9. Keeps scalp healthy
It rids the scalp of various infections. When necessary, mix some dried and ground amla with a little water, adding 2 teaspoons of lime juice to it, and then applying this paste to the scalp. After a few minutes, wash it off either with shikakai water or just plain water, to have a healthy scalp.
10. Enhances volume
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Amla acts as a voulmizer for your hair. So if your hair just falls flat and lacks volume, you can use amla to give it the volume you have always desired. Here’s what you do: mix one packet of amla powder with filtered water to create a lotion consistency. Apply it to your entire head, starting at the roots and working it down through the hair. Let it sit for 30 minutes before thoroughly rinsing it, after which you leave it to air dry.
Let us now look at amla’s health benefits.
1. Good for the eyes
Drinking Gooseberry juice with honey is good for improving eyesight, and studies have shown that it to improves near sightedness and cataracts, while reducing intra-ocular tension. This is mainly due to its impressive content of carotene, which has long been known for its powerful effect on vision-related conditions.
2. Eases the pain of menstural cramps
Well, here is some awesome news for all the ladies out there! Some of the minerals and vitamins in amla combine to make it very useful in the treatment of menstrual cramps. Since it takes a while for the necessary elements to accrue in the body, it is better to consume amla on a regular basis, so it is always in the system and menstrual cramps can be prevented every month.
3. Helps digestion
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Amla is very high in fibre, like most fruits. Fibre adds bulk to the stool and helps food move through the bowels and keeps your bowel movements regular. This reduces the chances of constipation, and fibre can also bulk up loose stools and reduce diarrhea.
4. Good for the heart
Amla strengthens the heart muscles, so the heart pumps blood smoothly throughout the body. By reducing excess cholesterol build-up, the chromium in amla can reduce the chances of atherosclerosis or plaque build-up in the vessels and arteries. This can reduce the chances of strokes and heart attacks.
5. Strengthens bones
For those suffering from fragile bones can use amla to strengthen them. Amla is excellent for strengthening bones, not just because of its high calcium content, but also for the fact that it lowers osteoclasts. These are the cells responsible for breaking up bones. Thus, regularly consuming Amla will result in stronger bones.
6. Protects liver
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We all love to party and relax at times, and what better way to party than to have loads of alcohol? But consuming a lot of alcohol can damage our livers! But that will not be the case if we consume amla on a regular basis, as it can ward off the ill effects that alcohol has on your liver.
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7. It boosts immunity
What we all need is a good immune system to protect us from infections and keep us fit. Amla is a rich source of antioxidants and vitamins, and contains tannins too. Tannins, when combined with polyphenols, make the fruit a free radical scavenger. What this means is, it reduces the damage free radicals cause to the cells and thus improves your body’s disease-fighting ability.
So now that you know the skin, hair, and health benefits of amla, go out there get yourselves some of this wonder berry, and stay beautiful and healthy!
Featured image source: Pixabay, under Creative Commons License
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