My Natural Remedy for Constipation And More.

Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) is one of the common shrubs you will find in many households here in Nigeria due to how effective and reliable it is when treating some illnesses and even diseases. Without digging into the origin of this shrub, I believe it got the name from the bitter taste of the leaves because no matter how much you wash it, there is always this tiny taste of bitterness left in it.

Back then, many women drained the juice of this leaf for their children to drink, and it was one of our worst nightmares. After eating sweet things for some time and developing a pile, we were forced to drink the juice, despite how bitter it is. I remembered secretly pouring sugar into the juice back then and still ended up squeezing my face after drinking.

Our mothers used it to treat skin infections for us then as well, and I believe that's still practiced today. The leaf juice is drained as usual and applied to the affected part of the body. I don't understand how it works, but bitter leaf does magic for me.

Despite my hate for bitter leaf as a kid, it became my go-to remedy for more than one illness when I became an adult.

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About a decade ago, I realized that some of my favorite foods, especially my best sources of protein, started causing me constipation, and it wasn't a good one. I always ended up with a bloated belly and it was really inconveniencing.

At first, I had to stay away from those foods, but I wasn't disciplined enough to completely look away. There are times when I crave those foods and would always go for them, even though it usually ends with regrets. I told my mom about it, and she told me to eat more bitter leaf; she even suggested that I add it to any meal.

Immediately she told me about it. I did my findings and discovered that there was more that this shrub could do for me. Without wasting time, I checked the environment where I lived to see where they had the shrub in excess, and from that moment on, it became part of my life.

Instead of drinking the juice, I always made soup with bitter leaves, and it's still very okay to me. Sometimes, I just add it to my stew, okro, and others, but my preferred way to eat it is just cooking the leaf with a few ingredients, and that's all.

Once I am feeling any inconvenience in my belly, then I make the soup immediately, but as the years passed, the soup became something I eat every week since it treats more than just constipation and bloating. It does help with detoxifying the entire body system, and you can tell from your waste after consuming the leaf.

I made a small amount of bitter leaf soup and decided to share the simple recipe with everyone; hopefully someone who needs it can try it out.

The ingredients used for the bitter leaf soup are:

Bitter leaf

Vegetable (I added some since I couldn't get enough bitter leaf)

Onions

Red pepper

Seasoning cubes & Salt.

Palm oil

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These are simple ingredients, so enjoying the benefits of bitter leaf doesn't require you spending that much money except you decide to add some other things for yourself.

I started by processing the ingredients...

I rinsed the bitter leaf and washed the leaves. I drained the juice and put the leaves aside (none of it is a waste).

A	B

C	D

I rinsed the other vegetable with warm water and salt because of chemicals.

I blended some pepper and onions, then sliced the rest.

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For the main preparation.

I heated the pot and added some palm oil. After the palmoil had heated for about a minute, I added some sliced onions.

1	2

The pepper came in after some seconds.

3	4

I added a seasoning cube and salt.

5	6

I allowed the pepper to fry properly for about three minutes.

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I added the bitter leaf and vegetable as well.

7	8

I added the remaining sliced onions and peppers as well before covering the pot. I allowed everything to cook for another two minutes on low heat.

10	11

And my bitter leaf soup is ready.

I prefer eating the soup on empty stomachs in the morning and drinking a lot of water after.

Bitter leaf has done quite a lot of wonders for me, and I believe it's doing the same for so many who have tried before. Feel free to check out the numerous illnesses that bitter leaf can treat; I am certain you won't regret it.