Bitter gourd is one of the vegetables that are used for achieving a lot of health goals for the body. A lot of people include bitter gourd also known as Karela in their daily diet to ensure proper control over the blood glucose levels and treatment of diabetes. There are a lot more benefits attached to bitter gourd. However, there is a dark side to this vegetable as well. Apart from giving the body various vitamins and minerals, the excessive consumption of this vegetable can lead to a lot of side effects for the body that you wouldn’t want.
To know more about what side effects it can have, check this guide below. It will surely help you out with the ideal information that you should know about:
1. Stimulates Miscarriage:
One of the major side effects of bitter gourd is that it leads to miscarriage and therefore not at all suggested for pregnant ladies. The emmenagogue and abortifacient properties of bitter gourd make it quite an inefficient vegetable for expecting mothers. Usually, it leads to unexplained miscarriages in women if they take it regularly. This has been proved by professionals.
2. Premature Menstruation:
Another side effect associated with regular consumption of bitter gourd is that it brings the periods in women much earlier than their regular date and hampers the 28-day cycle. This makes it important for nursing females to avoid this vegetable as well. Make sure you refrain from this if you do not want premature periods.
3. Lowers Fertility Levels:
This is one vegetable that might hamper your pregnancy results if you are planning a baby. It is known to have negative effects on the fertility levels of men as well as women. It creates enzymes that have toxic effects on the body and can play around with fertility. This is one side effect you wouldn’t want if you were in the stage of family planning.
4. Liver and Kidney Issues:
In simple terms, professionals recommend that people who have liver issues as well as kidney problems should completely avoid bitter gourd. It is a vegetable that cannot be digested easily and therefore not a suitable vegetable for these patients.
5. Leads to Excessive Low Sugar Levels:
Regular intake of bitter gourd might reduce the sugar levels to an excessive level and one that imbalances the glucose in the blood. People who take medications as well as bitter gourd for diabetes might experience this problem. Excess low levels of sugar have their own set of complications that you might have to deal with.
6. Causes Hemolytic Anaemia:
Excessive consumption of bitter gourd can easily make you prone to hemolytic anaemia that has signs like coma, fever, abdominal pain and headaches. This makes it important for every person to have bitter gourd in a well-balanced and appropriate manner.
7. Diarrhea:
It is one of the mild side effects of bitter gourd but one that can occur easily with over consumption of this vegetable. Diarrhea is a side effect to look for. It is one of the common side effects to be mentioned here.
8. Stomach Ulcers:
A side effect of bitter gourd consumption occurs as one of the health ailments called stomach ulcers. This is again something that you need to have in mind before you start consuming this vegetable.
See More: Eating Garlic Side Effects
9. Causes Toxicity in Children:
Bitter gourd creates toxic substances in children and is therefore not at all recommended for them. This is one side effect that is worthy of mention here. Vomiting, diarrhea and something as extreme as death can be caused in children with bitter gourd.