by Edna Soua
reprinted from naturalcures (the blog)
Indian women so often have such beautiful skin. Have you ever wondered why? Well, there are many secrets that come from India and the special fruit call Indian Gooseberry is one of them. Indian Gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica) is a a berry-like, greenish-grey bark and greenish-yellow flowers that grow in India, but different kinds of plants in the same family Euphorbiaceae are found in many subtropical and tropical countries, including China, Malay Peninsula and Indonesia. The fruits are green, tender, fleshy and have a very sour taste, making them inedible by themselves.

The Indian Gooseberry has anti-inflamatory, antimicrobial, and hepaprotective properties, plus it’s a diuretic, laxative, trichogeneous (hair treatment) and antpyretic.

In the Hindu culture, the Indian gooseberry is known as Amla, and is used for memory and as an immune system booster for people in general, but particularly for the elderly. In Sanskrit it’s called amalaki or dhartriphala, meaning the nectar fruit. It’s a key ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine and is used for preventing common colds, diabetes, heart diseases, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, scurvy, eye disorder and signs of aging.

The chemical compounds found in Indian Gooseberry are ascorbic acids, alkaloids, polyphenols such as tannins, amlaic acid, Kamphor, quercetin, rutine, B-Sitosterol, ellagic acid and gallic acid.

Indian Gooseberry is well known in India for being a great natural source of Vitamin C, which is responsible for the synthesis of collagen in the body and is a powerful antioxidant. Because of that, the cosmetic and beauty industries are adopting the Indian Gooseberry in their formulations, especially for anti-aging products. The Indian Gooseberry is available in powder or in juice in most Hindu markets. Now you know the secret.