• Shelf Life: 12 Months
• 1 Box Contains 10 x 10g Sachets. Total 100g
• Ingredient Type: Vegetarian, Ash Gourd, Minerals
• Storage instructions: Store in a cool dry place
• Taste Naturally Sweet

Ash Gourd Story

incorporating ash gourd or winter melon, into your diet is a simple way to beat the heat, enjoy a powerful energy boost and add tasty variety to salads, juices, snacks and even sweets. This incredibly versatile vegetable boasts a laundry list of benefits for health and wellbeing. Learn more about these benefits and enjoy a wide selection of delectable ash gourd recipes below.

Ash gourd’s ancient roots make it difficult to trace a precise origin, though botanists speculate that the gourd likely originated in Japan, Indonesia, China, or Indo-Malaysia. In all of these regions, ash gourd has been in use for thousands of years. Descriptions of the gourd’s medicinal value can be found in Chinese texts from the 5th-6th century AD[1].

Sadhguru describes some of the lore surrounding ash gourd’s qualities and uses in Indian tradition

Sadhguru: They have told you this is a very auspicious vegetable. If you build a new house, you hang it in front of your house. If you want to do any ceremony, it comes into your house. Traditionally it was fixed up like this, that even if you happen to grow an ash gourd in own house, you should not eat it. You must give it away as a dana to a Brahmin. If you give it away to a Brahmin, you will get punya somewhere, but he will get good food right here.

A shudra was not supposed to eat ash gourd. If a shudra was found to eating an ash gourd, he would be killed, because they said if a person eats ash gourd, he will become articulate and sharp in his head. So a shudra should not be allowed to eat ash gourd. Today you have no such problems. Everyone can choose and eat what they want.

Traditionally, this vegetable has been put to use in so many ways. One reason why it is hung in front of new homes is, when you enter a newly built building, sometimes certain negative energies get trapped. So they advised people to hang an ash gourd because it creates so much positive vibration that it clears the negativity. I think it is better to put it into your body. Now instead of putting it in front of your house, if you put it into your stomach, you will become a source of good vibrations. Wherever you go, everything is fine with you.

4 Ash Gourd Benefits

• Sharpness of Mind

Sadhguru: Just drink one glass of ash gourd juice in the morning and you will see tremendous amount of coolness in the body, while at the same time it brings alertness into you. Daily consumption of ash gourd greatly enhances your intellectual capabilities. Especially children must drink ash gourd juice. If you drink it for one week, you will notice a distinct change in the sharpness of your mind. This is very highly pranic. Every day, if you drink a glass of ash gourd juice in the morning, you will see it will do wonders for your intellect. Your intellect will be very sharp and it brings energy without agitation in the system. Daily consumption of ash gourd will do miracles to you.

• Increased Energy

Sadhguru: Consumption of ash gourd brings an enormous amount of energy, at the same time it keeps your nerves very calm. If you drink coffee, it gives you energy with agitation. If you drink a glass of ash gourd, it gives you enormous amount of energy, and still keeps you calm.

• Constipation, Piles, Boils

Sadhguru: If you consume a little bit of ash gourd juice, it cools down the system. This is beneficial for people who excess heat in the body, which can produce problems like boils, piles (hemorrhoids) and constipation problems.

• Cooling Caution

Sadhguru: People who are susceptible to problems such as colds, asthma, and sinusitis should be a little careful with ash gourd because it creates too much sheeta, or coolness, in the system. Such people should always mix it with honey or pepper and drink it, so that the cooling effect is neutralized to some extent.

Nutrition of Ash Gourd

While ash gourd is composed primarily of water (about 96%), it also boasts a variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C and B-complex vitamins such as niacin, thiamine and riboflavin. Ash gourd is also a valuable source of minerals like iron, potassium, zinc, calcium and magnesium.  The gourd also provides a good amount of protein, carbohydrates and dietary fiber.

Taste and Use

The taste of ash gourd is very mild, like a cucumber. It has virtually no taste of its own, so it is easy to incorporate into all kinds of salads, smoothies, and juices on hot days. On colder days, you can add either honey or black pepper to the melon to reduce the natural cooling qualities in the fruit while retaining its raw energy boost. To retain maximum vital energy, ash gourd should be eaten raw.