Miraculous Moringa: Living Pharmacy
by David K. Sargert
A few years ago, while doing some research for our new medicinal /
healing garden, my wife shared an article with me on the Moringa
tree, and the more I read, the more fascinated I became.
First of all, the Moringa, also known as the 'Drumstick Tree,' is
nearly entirely edible. It can grow with little water, has multiple
times the amount of nutrients as oranges, carrots and milk, and
grows very well in regions of malnutrition. Could this impressive
tree, Moringa oleifra, solve the world's food crisis? Many are con-
vinced it will.
The Moringa is a distant relative of cabbage and papaya. Its roots
taste so much like its cousin horseradish, that sometimes people
called it the horseradish tree.
The fruit, a popular Indian vegetable, looks like a cross between an
okra and a pole bean, and has the flavor of asparagus. The tree's
cooked flowers mimic mushrooms in taste, while the leaves hint at
spinach and lettuce. Its immature seeds are used like peas, and if you
fry them when mature, they resemble peanuts.
In fact, it’s hard to find a part of the Moringa tree that isn’t edible.
Even the bark is sometimes taken internally for diarrhea. Locals
consider it a living pharmacy.
The Moringa has proven to be a multi-purpose arsenal that dispenses
some of the best secrets nature has to offer. For centuries it has been
used in ancient Indian 'Ayurvedic' herbalism to treat a host of ail-
ments such as anemia, bronchitis, tumors, scurvy, and skin infections.
Drought hardy and disease resistant, the Moringa Tree is a godsend
during the dry season, when little food is available. The leaves offer
a spectrum of nutrition, rich in vitamins A, B, and C, as well as pro-
tein, calcium, and iron.
They are so nutritious, in fact, that they contain more vitamin A than
carrots, more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more
iron than spinach, more potassium than bananas, and more protein
than either milk or eggs! A traditional item in pickles and curries,
the raw leaves are also perfect for salads.
Like the leaves, the flowers too are edible when cooked, packed
with calcium and potassium. As a bonus, they are incredibly frag-
rant, and help support native bee populations.
The 'drumsticks' contain the nine essential amino acids that humans
must obtain exclusively from their diet. Hidden within the drumsticks
are even more remarkable seeds. Loaded with protein, they also con-
tain special non-toxic polypeptides that act as natural Brita filters.
When ground into powder and mixed with water, they cause sedi-
ments to clump together and settle out. When strained through a
cloth, they provide cheap access to clean water. Amazingly, just
two seeds are enough to purify a liter of dirty water.
In turn, the seeds themselves yield valuable yellow oil called ben
oil. Sweet, clear, and odorless, it doesn’t spoil easily - perfect for
perfumes, cosmetics, and lubrication. It's also used for cooking due
to its high levels of healthy unsaturated fats.
In one serving of Moringa leaves, you can find: 22% daily value of
vitamin C, 41% daily value of potassium, 61% daily value of mag-
nesium, 71% daily value of iron, 125% daily value of calcium, 272%
daily value of vitamin A, 92 nutrients, 46 antioxidants, 36 anti-inflam-
matories,18 amino acids, and 9 essential amino acids.
For such a versatile tree, it’s almost hard to believe that the Moringa
can be grown easily via seeds or cuttings all around the world, inclu-
ding here in Travis county..Happy gardening everyone! ❦
