Medicinal Benefits of Cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Benefits

Cassava is known for its amazing benefits. Let’s go through a few of them!

Skin Benefits Of Cassava

1. Smoothens And Brightens Your Complexion

The peel of cassava plants can be used as a skin exfoliator. You can split the peels, make a fresh paste out of it and use it as a scrub. Brush the face well for a few minutes and wash it off with cold water. Do this thrice a week to get good results.

2. Great Face Mask

Cassava plants also act as great face masks. Before you prepare your face mask, make sure you have washed your face with warm water. This will help in opening up the pores. The cassava mask will easily get absorbed and improve the texture and condition of your skin. Once you have washed your face, wait for it to dry completely. You may now rinse with cold water so that the pores close. Use your fingers to dry them. Doing this thrice a week will prevent and eliminate scars and impart a healthy glow in return.

3. Hydrates The Skin

Cassava can also hydrate your skin tone and make it smooth and soft. You will have to prepare a mask for this one at home. Take cassava plant roots with some honey or olive oil. You can combine it with a fruit too. A few drops of lemon will also do.

4. Removes Scars And Spots

Cassava starch water can help in healing wounds and scars if you apply gently all over the affected area around twice a day.

Hair Benefits Of Cassava

It is not only your health and skin that will be on the receiving end of benefits when it comes to cassava! Using cassava roots and leaves will also help you see changes in the quality of your hair.

5. Helps Your Hair Grow Faster

If you are tired with the condition of your hair, especially because of its slow growth, I would definitely recommend Cassava. Its roots and leaves can be used to make a fresh paste that can be applied on oiled hair an hour before you rinse it. Doing this twice a week will help you see changes.

6. Controls Hair Fall

Women have often complained about hair fall. They are tired of talking about it, and we are tired of hearing about it! A simple, quick and effective solution to this problem is cassava. This will nourish your hair from the roots to the tips, hydrate it and control hair fall.

7. Provides Nourishment

Cassava plants are a powerhouse of nourishment.if you have hair that is dry or damaged, consider this plant and let it help repair all the damage.

Health Benefits Of Cassava

The tubes and roots of the cassava plant contain calories, proteins, fat, carbohydrates, iron, Vitamin B and C and also starch. The leaves contain calcium, iron, fats and protein too. No wonder they have been proved to be beneficial for your health, body and mind. With that said, let’s go through some of the major cassava health benefits.

8. Helps You Lose Weight

Cassava is very important for all those who are trying to shed those excess pounds that have accumulated over the years. It is found in rice and bread and is low in calories too. The high fiber content in cassava helps you stay full for a longer period and prevents binge eating.

9. Good For Your Digestive System

Cassava contains fibers, which are not soluble in water. It helps in the absorption of toxins that enter your intestines. In that way, it improves your digestive health and keeps it chugging along nicely.

10. Helps In Overcoming Headaches

Most of us suffer from headaches, and for some, it can become unbearable. But you can treat it with the help of cassava! All you have to do for this is take 60 grams of cassava roots or leaves and soak it in water for a couple of hours. Make fresh juice using a blender and then drink it down twice a day. And banish those killer headaches!

11. Prevents Cancer

Here comes an amazing benefit of Cassava. Cassava helps in preventing life threating cancer. The B17 content in these leaves helps in stimulating the content of red blood cells, the loss of which often leads to cancer.

12. Treats Diarrhea

Cassava addresses conditions such as diarrhea too. You may take several pieces of cassava and boil it in water. Wait for it to come to room temperature. Drink this liquid twice a day to feel the difference.

13. Good For The Eyes

Cassava is rich in vitamin C and compounds such as bakarotennya that improve the health of your eyes and in the future prevents blindness or poor eyesight.

14. Cure Fever

Cassava leaves are also effective in treating fever. To get the best results, use the stem as well as the leaves of cassava to make a decoction. In order to make this, you have to boil the root and the leaves instead of steeping them in warm water. Simply take 400 grams of cassava leaves and 80 grams of the stem and boil them uncovered in a liter of water. When the volume of water is reduced by half, take it off the heat and cool.

15. Help Treat Rheumatic Diseases

Rheumatic diseases refer to diseases pertaining to the muscles and joints. Osteoporosis, arthritis, spondylitis and lupus are some examples. Cassava leaves are rich in magnesium. In fact, a diet high in magnesium leads to lowered blood pressure levels that reduces the chances of rheumatic diseases throughout life.
Cassava supplies more than a third of your daily magnesium requirement per serving. To make an all natural rheumatic medication, take 150 grams of cassava leaves, some lemongrass and salt along with 15 grams of ginger root. Boil these ingredients in a liter of water until the volume has reduced to about 400ccs. Drink this potion every morning to keep rheumatic diseases at bay.

16. Heal Wounds

Cassava leaves are great for healing injuries and wounds. It has plenty of nutrients that can help in quickly healing such injuries. Crush cassava leaves in a little amount of Aloe Vera gel and make a smooth paste. Smear this paste on the wound. You can also use the stem of cassava in healing wounds. From the smooth paste made from the leaves and the gel, grate some of the cassava root. If the wound is from a burn, squeeze the pulp out of cassava rhizomes and apply it daily to the wound.

17. Clear Up Worms

This benefit of cassava leaves is sourced from some solid research. It has been found that cassava leaves reduce nematode infection in the GI tract. An experiment was done on young goats that were fed a steady diet of fermentative additives of rice and cassava leaves. It was found that the supplementation drastically reduced the symptoms of nematodic infestation.
To take cassava to eliminate worms, you can buy cassava supplements found in pharmacies. You can also make a paste of cassava leaves and eat that as a whole.

18. Develops Appetite

Cassava is full of benefits, among which appetite restoration is one. If you are feeling averse towards food, cassava leaves will restore your appetite. To do this, make a concoction of cassava leaves with ginger and drink it every morning right after waking up.

19. Beneficial For Pregnant Women

Pregnant women need lots of vitamin C and folate. In fact, these two supplements are prescribed right from the beginning of the gestation period. Now, these two are also found aplenty in cassava leaves. A cup of cassava contains 15 percent of your daily folate requirement and 47 percent of the daily calcium requirement. Cassava leaves have a bland taste, so chop the leaves and cook them with meat and vegetables in a stew. This way, you will make a great meal out of the healthy leaf.

20. Help Fight Kwashiorkor

Cassava leaves are full of lysine protein. This makes the leaves perfect for fighting against protein deficiency conditions like Kwashiorkor. However, depending on cassava as the sole source of protein can be harmful if the leaves are not cooked properly. There is evidence suggesting cassava containing cyanogenic glucosides. This can lead to loss of eyesight and cyanide poisoning. So the tuber and leaves must be washed properly, and cooked well before eating.

21. Strengthens Immunity

Folate and vitamin C, both found in plenty in cassava leaves, are very good for the body’s immune system. Vitamin C helps the immune system by attacking the nucleus of virus and bacteria, rendering them dead. It also maintains bone health. It is also a good antioxidant that eliminates free radicals in the body. Free radicals are known to have links with cancer. Folate helps in the production of cells in our body, thereby helping in making the genetic material for life and preventing DNA mutations.

22. Boosts Energy And Improves Brain Function

Since cassava flour is high in carbohydrates, it helps in boosting energy. Not only that, your brain will begin to work more efficiently when you add cassava flour to your meals. Every serving contains 80% of carbohydrates, which is more than enough for your daily consumption.

23. Beneficial For Nerve Health

Some experts believe that cassava flour is essential for a balanced nervous system. Not only does it fight stress and anxiety, but also provides support to your overall health.

24. Maintains Healthy Muscles

If you are health conscious, cassava flour will definitely help you build strong and lean muscles. It contains protein that maintains your muscle health and nourishes the tissues. One serving contains 2 grams of protein, which is enough to meet your daily requirements.

25. Lowers Blood Pressure

Another amazing benefit of cassava flour is that it significantly lowers blood pressure. This is again because it is high in dietary fiber. Every cup of cassava flour increases your fiber intake by 4 grams. This significantly contributes towards the ideal fiber intake recommended for women on a regular basis.

26. Makes You Less Prone To Diseases

With cassava flour, you can lowers the chances of diseases such as osteoporosis (a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium of vitamin D).
This is because it contains essential minerals such as copper and magnesium that promote a healthy lifestyle. One cup of cassava contains only 206 grams of copper, which covers around 24% of your daily requirement.

Nutritional Value Of Cassava

The table below will give you a clear idea on the nutritional value of cassava.
One cup of raw cassava contains:

• Calories: 330
• Total fat: One gram
• Cholesterol: Zero percent
• Sodium: 29 grams
• Carbohydrates: 78 grams
• Dietary fiber: 4 grams
• Sugars: 4 grams
• Protein: 3 grams

Uses Of Cassava

Cassava plants can also be put to several uses. You can prepare soups and stews by using this as the core ingredient. This will fill up your stomach and help you stay full for a longer period. Since it is a starchy vegetable, it contains an element of thickness that stimulates the appetite and also lasts for a long time. However, be careful while you are using this plant. Excessive consumption brings you one step closer to nutritional deficiencies and diseases.

Word Of Caution

This popular tuber also has some side effects that you should be aware of. Here are a few of them:

1. Cassava contains a toxin called linamarin. When eaten raw, the human digestive system converts this toxin into cyanide, which can prove to be fatal.

2. The cassava root rots quickly, which leads to depletion in its nutritional value. It can also cause fungal and bacterial infections.

3. The toxic substances in cassava are known to affect the pituitary gland and impact the functioning of liver and kidneys.

Now, don’t let these side effects scare you away! If you peel, clean, and cook cassava well, there is no reason why you cannot enjoy its goodness without worrying about toxins! Cleaning and cooking flush out all the toxins from cassava and makes it completely eatable.
Nature is miraculous, isn’t it? Something that is toxic can turn into a health boon! Amazing! Plants like cassava are often misunderstood. But with knowledge comes power. Now that you know about cassava benefits and how it can help you lead a healthier, more beautiful life, there is no reason to shy away from it. But like always, don’t forget to talk to a doctor and discuss cassava benefits and side effects to avoid complications!
Are you aware of any other benefits of eating cassava? Please share with us in the comment box given below. Your thoughts and opinions are always precious to us!

Introduction

What is Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, Ethnopharmacology and other Ethnos?

What is ethnobotany and why does it matter?
Ethno (as in ‘ethnic’) refers to people, culture, a culture’s collective body of beliefs, aesthetic, language, knowledge, and practice.

Botany is the study of plants—from the tiniest fern or blade of grass to the tallest or oldest tree. Botany includes all the wild plants and the domesticated species. Domesticates are species that we humans have selected over time from the wild plant species, then tamed and trained to optimally produce for us: food, fibers, medicine, materials, and more. The domesticated species are both the subject and object of agriculture. 

Ethnobotanical knowledge encompasses both wild and domesticated species, and is rooted in observation, relationship, needs, and traditional ways of knowing. Such knowledge evolves over time, and is therefore always changing and adding new discoveries, ingenuity and methods.

The impacts of modern human societies on traditional cultures and natural habitats have caused huge losses of individual species, and profoundly disrupted communities of species (plant, animal and fungal). Displaced or dispersed peoples—who may have passed along hundreds of generations of observations and customs via oral tradition—lose their languages, the names of things, and their place in the web of relationships. Sometimes new relationships develop as people migrate, and this generates new or modified ethnobotanical knowledge.
What is ethnobotanical lore?

At Botanical Dimensions, we particularly treasure those threads of the fabric of knowledge that carry an awareness of how humans are woven into nature. This knowledge is apparent in the worldview of a people, which arises as beliefs, stories, myths, instructions, songs, art forms, rituals, recipes, and practices. The lore has for millennia informed the young people of these cultures in how to be human in a natural world. Lore comes from the same root word as learn. It includes both knowledge and know-how, passed down from ancestors. Which tools do ethnobotanists use?
 
Ethnobotany is an integrative, multi-disciplinary field of learning. So the tools of ethnobotanical investigations are many: botany, mycology (the study of fungi), taxonomy (ways of categorizing), anthropology, ethnography, archaeology, comparative folklore, religious studies, medicine, chemistry, pharmacology (uses and effects of chemicals in plants), and more. Some of the psychoactive species and their lore carry us deep into realms of ritual, mythology and cosmology. Sometimes, in ethnobotanical inquiry, we call upon ancient history, or colonial socio-economic histories, or even examine the roots of our modern social movements.
Field ethnobotany is the observation of the human-plant relationship in places where it is visible and may be either experienced and/or documented, in stories and images.

These are a few of the many branches of investigation that draw on cultural knowledge, and that begin with the prefix ethno:
 
Ethnobiology is the study of the relationships between people, the lifeforms surrounding them, and the environment in which they live, in the past or present. Ethnobotany is included within the greater category of ethnobiology.

Ethnomycology is the study of folk knowledge of mushrooms and other fungi. Ethnomycology is often subsumed under ethnobotany, as mushrooms were long believed to be plants, which they are not.

Ethnoscience is the study of the various ways the world is perceived and categorized in different cultures. Ethnoscience regards the operational concepts in an indigenous knowledge system, and is sometimes called folk science. Folk classification and naming systems are also called folk taxonomy.

Ethnomedicine is the study of traditional medicines, whether written (as in Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine), or remembered and transmitted via oral tradition (such as in much Native American, Latin American or African folk medicine, or in Euro-American herbal medicine). Medical anthropology studies contemporary ethnomedicine, which includes concepts of what illness is and how healing occurs.

Ethnopharmacology is the study of the uses, effects and modes of actions of naturally-occurring drug compounds. This is a key field that often explains the effectiveness of herbal medicine, stimulants, analgesics, inebriants or psychoactive species. Both ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology overlap significantly with ethnobotany.

Ethnomusicology is the study of the music of different cultures, and musical instruments they make and use, which are often made of plant materials. Ethnomusicology may include the study of dance.

Ethnoecology refers to a paradigm that is gaining ground in the early 21^st century: Understanding and documenting how peoples perceive and manage the ecosystems they inhabit.