The Merits of the Moringa Oleifera Plant

"He who has health has hope;
and he who has hope has everything."    
- Arabian Proverb

THE MANY FACES OF MORINGA

Moringa’s historical uses date back thousands of years, but it’s still used today in many cultures, in several different forms. The benefit of using the different parts of Moringa is that each part offers its own collection of nutrients.

Leaves are used in salads and soups.
Seeds can be used to purify drinking water.
Seed oil is used for cooking and in cosmetics and perfumes.
The fruit is sautéed and served as a vegetable or in a curry.
Leaf powder is sprinkled onto food as a condiment.

If you think a simple answer to complex health problems can’t possibly be found in one source, much less a natural source, think again. Moringa oleifera, a.k.a. the “Miracle Tree,” could be just what the doctor ordered.

More energy. Less cholesterol. Normal blood sugar. Firm skin. Smooth joints. Even claims like increased breast milk supply and wart-free skin are among the praises sung by Moringa oleifera users. This nutrient-rich, less-obscure-by-the-minute tree is making its way into the homes of an increasing number of Americans every day. Why? Sheer nutritional value. They just can’t deny that they feel better when they use it. And side effects? This is a plant, not a drug.

Moringa’s Origins

A fast-growing tree, Moringa can reach nine feet, just 10 months after the seed is planted. It tops out at about 36 feet. Deep roots allow Moringa to thrive in its native, drought-stricken African and Indian regions.

Moringa’s traditional lore, taken largely from India’s Ayurvedic medical texts, tells of treatments for more than 300 conditions, from fevers to anxiety to diarrhea. Records of its use date as far back as 150 B.C.; it’s known in 82 countries by 210 different names. Prevalent among these names is the “Miracle Tree.”

Its folkloric appeal has made Moringa the center of scientific studies, and findings from said studies have made it the star performer in dozens of relief organizations’ efforts against malnutrition.

Big Strides in Health

Lowell Fuglie, West Africa director of Church World Service (a relief ministry that partners with indigenous organizations in more than 80 countries), asserts that Moringa is yielding four times more benefit to undernourished people than other dietary aids. The people in West Africa aren’t just ingesting Moringa leaves they’re also using Moringa seeds as an effective yet inexpensive, chemical-free way to purify their drinking water. Church World Service is just one among many relief organizations that promotes the use of Moringa in impoverished areas. Trees for Life, an organization based in Kansas, is another, sponsoring cultivation programs in India intent on incorporating Moringa into the local diet. In addition, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the National Science Foundation and others have contributed funding to track down and collect all 13 Moringa species.

These organizations have done their homework: they’ve seen the scientific studies, and they’re seeing firsthand the difference Moringa can make in the health of individuals all over the world. It’s making great strides against hunger and malnutrition-related childhood blindness, as well as infant mortality in underdeveloped nations. Moringa is even being used to nourish AIDS patients as they wait for a cure.

Plants: Nature’s Best Medicine

Moringa sits at the center of the Eastern health philosophy of prevention through nutrition. The value of the holistic approach to curing and preventing health problems and disease is twofold: it is less expensive than pharmaceuticals, and side effects are almost nonexistent. The World Health Organization estimates that 80 percent of the world’s population relies on natural medicine for their primary healthcare. Plants are readily available, affordable and trusted.

Skeptical?  Consider this: most drugs prescribed today are modeled after or from plants. In fact, science has always taken from Mother Nature’s wisdom. Aspirin, for instance, is made from the bark of the willow tree. Since 1981, over 70 percent of anticancer and antibacterial drugs have been synthesized and patented based on research of naturally occurring plants.

The West is beginning to meet the East. An increasing segment of the United States‚ population is looking to the natural world and trying to manage their health through diet. Now, this isn’t to say that modern medicine and scientific advances in the field of health are wrong or unnecessary, just that there is a trend towards integrating natural, preventative measures with scientific research and treatments.  The Centers for Disease Control reports that five out of every 10 deaths are due to poor diet, and that 35 percent of cancer deaths result from dietary risk factors. In addition the typical synthetic multivitamin tablet is only about 10 percent absorbable by the body, while nutrients derived purely from plants (phytonutrients) are close to 100 percent absorbable. Hence, nature and plants like Moringa loaded with phytonutrients are making a comeback.

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