Plant atlas Short
Indian Gooseberry (Amla) Was Linked to Lower LDL
Indian Gooseberry / Amla · มะขามป้อม · Phyllanthus emblica
Indian Gooseberry / Amla — มะขามป้อม (ma-kham-pom) — Phyllanthus emblica.
It's so tart. Water can taste sweet right after. In a 98-person double-blind trial, amla extract lowered LDL, total cholesterol, and triglycerides in people with high cholesterol. The berry is the edible part.
It's a source of vitamin C and fiber. Vitamin C helps your body build collagen for skin, supports normal immune function, and works as an antioxidant inside your cells. Fiber keeps digestion regular and helps you feel full, and it slows sugar absorption, softening the blood-sugar rise after a meal.
Nam Phrik Ma Kham Pom pounds the gooseberries with garlic, chilies, shrimp paste, and dried fish into a thick chili paste, eaten with hard-boiled eggs and raw vegetables. Ma Kham Pom Chae Im blanches the berries, brines them to pull out bitterness, and steeps them in sugar syrup for a cold, sweet-tart snack.
Beyond the two amla recipes above, Thais also take the berries fresh, dried, pickled, or brined. Pair them with plant-based iron foods, since their vitamin C can improve iron absorption in that meal. If you take blood thinners, check with your doctor first, since amla may slow clotting. The tree shrugs off drought and heat once established.
Nam Phrik Ma-kham-pom — น้ำพริกมะขามป้อม (nam-phrik-ma-kham-pom)
Ma-kham-pom Chae-im — มะขามป้อมแช่อิ่ม (ma-kham-pom-chae-im)
Food and nutrients
Rich in: vitamin C, fiber
Research context
Amla extract lowered LDL, total cholesterol, and triglyceride markers in a trial — BMC Complement Altern Med, 2019
Sources
Source: Upadya H et al. (2019). Emblica officinalis extract in dyslipidemia: multicenter double-blind RCT (n=98). BMC Complement Altern Med 19:27. DOI:10.1186/s12906-019-2430-y (PMID 30670010)
Narration transcript
Opening
Bite this little green berry and it is so mouth-scouring sour that a sip of plain water right after tastes strangely sweet, because it briefly numbs your sweet buds before they rebound. Indian gooseberry — มะขามป้อม, ma-kam-pom. You eat the tart berry fresh, dried, pickled, or brined.
Nam Phrik Ma-kham-pom (Indian Gooseberry Chili Paste) (น้ำพริกมะขามป้อม)
Nam phrik makham pom is a tart-berry chili paste that pounds the gooseberries with garlic, chilies, shrimp paste, and dried fish. Thais eat it with jasmine rice, hard-boiled eggs, and raw vegetables.
Ma-kham-pom Chae-im (Candied Indian Gooseberry) (มะขามป้อมแช่อิ่ม)
In makham pom chae im, the candied version, the berries are blanched, brined to pull out bitterness, then steeped in sugar syrup. It's eaten cold as a sweet-tart snack.
Nutrition summary
The tart amla berry is one of the richest fruit sources of vitamin C there is, with a bit of fiber alongside.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is used to build collagen and helps protect cells from oxidative stress.
Fiber
Fiber adds bulk to meals and can help with fullness.
Closing
The amla tree shrugs off drought and heat once it is established. Eaten alongside beans or greens, its heavy vitamin C load helps your body pull iron from that same meal. If you are on blood thinners, check with your doctor, since amla may slow clotting. Follow Longevity Biome, and LIKE this video for regular updates.
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