6 Possible Health Benefits of Okra Water - GoodRx (2024)

If you use social media, you may have seen influencers talking about okra water. Content creators claim okra water offers many health benefits. They report it improves everything from blood sugar and digestion to sexual function.

There’s even a recommendation for pregnant people to drink okra water — not to induce labor, but to make vagin*l delivery easier.

Okra on its own does offer some health benefits. But, at this point, there isn’t research proving that okra water can do any of the things mentioned above. Let’s take a look at some of the health claims being made about okra water and its potential for helping certain health conditions.

What is okra water?

Okra water is made by slicing pods of fresh or frozen okra, submerging them in water, and letting them steep in the fridge for several hours. The liquid that gets strained out is okra water. But it won’t have the same texture as plain water. In fact, it can even be a little gross.

“Because of the fiber and nutrients from the okra, the water has a thicker, even slimy texture,” said Kaytee Hadley, a gut health dietitian and founder of Holistic Health and Wellness in Richmond, Virginia.

This texture is from okra’s mucilage, a gooey liquid found in okra’s green seeds. Mucilage is made of polysaccharides (a type of carbohydrate), as well as proteins and minerals. When sliced okra pods are soaked in water, they release this mucilage, which is what you’re drinking in okra water.

Is okra water good for you?

Here are some of the more popular claims about the health benefits of okra water — and what science has to say about each one.

1. Improves digestive health

Okra contains both insoluble and soluble fiber. Fiber helps digestive health in many ways, including:

• Helping support a healthy gut microbiome

• Moving stool through your intestines to keep bowel movements regular

• Bulking up your stool, making it easier to pass

• Making stools softer, which also decreases the likelihood of developing hemorrhoids

• Reducing the risk of diverticulosis, or small pouches that develop in your colon and can become inflamed

But, Hadley adds, we don’t know whether okra water has the same benefits as eating the vegetable itself.

2. Promotes heart health

The soluble fiber in okra can improve cholesterol levels. Fiber binds to cholesterol and carries it out of the body through your stool. And lower cholesterol levels can help prevent plaque buildup in your blood vessels, which leads to heart attacks and stroke. But it’s unclear how much fiber from okra makes its way into okra water.

3. Detoxes the body

Okra water does have two things going for it, says Hadley: It contains both water and fiber.

Both water and fiber are involved in the body’s detox processes:

• Drinking water helps the body get rid of waste and toxins through the kidneys, sweating, and the lymphatic system.

• Fiber also carries toxins away, into your stool.

But, Hadley says, you don’t need to drink okra water to get water and fiber. “Okra isn’t some kind of miracle detox food,” she said.

For instance, you can drink plain water and eat a variety of fiber-rich foods. High-fiber foods include things like:

• Fruits

• Veggies

• Whole grains

• Legumes (beans)

• Nuts

• Seeds

4. Supports weight goals

There are a couple ways okra water may play a role in weight management. First, okra contains fiber, which helps you feel full after meals. Second, drinking water may help with weight loss, especially if you’re ditching sugary beverages for water.

But no available studies have looked at okra water and weight loss, so the benefits are theoretical for now.

“I wouldn’t recommend that anyone expect to lose weight by simply adding okra water to their diet,” said Hadley.

5. Regulates blood sugar

Experts know that fiber helps to manage blood sugar. But some initial research suggests that polysaccharides and antioxidants in okra’s mucilage may help with blood sugar too. Since this research has been done on animals and in test tubes, we don’t know what effect — if any — it has on humans.

6. Supports sexual health

One of the claims on social media is that okra water can increase vagin*l lubrication. People say that okra water’s mucus-like texture helps produce more vagin*l moisture. But there’s currently no proof of this.

Ultimately, says Hadley, the claims on social media about okra water are overstated. More research on its potential health benefits are needed.

Okra nutrition facts

The nutrition of okra water isn’t known. This is a drink that involves steeping okra in water. So, it’s unclear if the nutrients in okra make their way into okra water. That said, the table below shows the nutrient value per cup of raw okra.

* The Daily Value (DV) tells you how much of a nutrient is found in a single serving of a food item, based on dietary guidelines for the amount you should consume per day.

In addition to being an excellent source of fiber, manganese, and vitamins C and K, okra contains more protein than many other vegetables.

Who should not drink okra water?

Generally, okra water is safe. However, if you drink a lot of it, the fiber in the drink can cause symptoms like bloating or stomach upset, Hadley says. This may be especially true if you aren’t used to consuming much fiber in your diet. If you don’t feel well after drinking okra water, you should avoid it, or decrease the amount you drink.

Okra isn’t listed as one of the major food allergens in the U.S. But any type of food can cause an allergy. If you’re allergic to okra, you should also avoid drinking okra water.

Okra water in pregnancy

There are many videos on social media of pregnant people drinking okra water. The claim is that it can help with vagin*l delivery. Anecdotally, okra water is said to help create a “more slippery” environment to help the baby come out.

Unfortunately, there’s no research that okra water has any impact on childbirth. But okra itself is full of fiber and folate, Hadley notes. This makes it an excellent vegetable to eat during pregnancy, for both you and your baby.

How to drink okra water

You may not mind the taste and texture of okra water, especially if you’ve been eating okra as a regular part of your diet. However, some people struggle to get past the taste and texture, calling it slimy and unpleasant.

If you don’t like it, you can dress it up in a variety of ways:

• Use coconut water in place of regular water.

• Add chopped or sliced fruit to steep with the okra — or to your glass when you pour the okra water.

• Mix in fruit juice — particularly pineapple juice — with the okra water.

• Add spices, like cinnamon or cayenne pepper.

• Blend or use a frother to mix the okra water to smooth out the texture.

There’s no particular “dose” to drink, but around 8 oz per day is common.

You can sip okra water at any time of day, says Hadley. “If you do drink okra water, remember to enjoy it as part of a balanced diet,” she said.