All parts of the Bael, especially the fruit and the leaves, have immense healing properties.

16 Reasons to Include Bael in Your Diet

1. Diarrhea and dysentery: Dried fruit pulp and its powder are, generally, used for treating diarrhea.
2. Diabetes: Leaf extract of the plant is known for its anti-diabetic activity. It has been found that Bael extract could significantly reduce blood urea and cholesterol level in diabetics. Leaf juice is directly employed in the Unani system of medicine for antidiabetic activity. It has been researched that approximately 5g of leaf decoction administered orally once daily has potential antidiabetic effects. The methanolic leaf extract of Aegle marmelos has hypoglycemic and antioxidant properties.
3. Heart health: Bael leaf extract has proven cardioprotective benefits.
4. Cancer: Studies have shown the fruit extract to possess antiproliferative activity. The mechanism being inhibition of the proliferation of human tumor cell lines. The aqueous extract of the fruit is a good source of water-soluble antioxidants, phenolic compounds, and antimutagens.
5. Leucoderma: The Psoralen present in the pulp of bael fruit increases tolerance of sunlight which aids in the maintenance of normal skin color. Therefore it is used in the treatment of leucoderma.
6. Asthma: The leaf decoction is said to reduce phlegm in cold and alleviate asthma.
7. Eye infection: The leaves are an effective treatment for various eye inflammations such as conjunctivitis.
8. Fever: The roots and the bark of the tree are used as a decoction to treat various forms of fevers. The roots are used in Ayurveda to cure fevers caused by the disorders of Vata, Kapha, and Pitta.
9. Constipation: The ripened fruit acts as a laxative. It promotes peristaltic movements and helps relieve constipation.
10. Peptic ulcer: Bael fruit and leaf extract have been used for the treatment of peptic ulcer. The pulp forms a mucilaginous layer on the gastric mucosa and thus prevents interaction of acid with the mucosal layer.
11. Antioxidant: Bael has a very high phenolic (flavonoid) content which is responsible for the radical scavenging activity in the plant. The free radicals cause oxidative stress that in turn cause disorders ranging from Alzheimer’s to COPD to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Leaf extract has better antioxidant activity than stem bark and root extract.
12. Anti-inflammatory: A study results showed that the leaf extract of the plant had sufficient anti-inflammatory activity.
13. Hepatoprotective: A study results showed that the leaves of Bael have an excellent liver-protective effect.
14. Ear Problems: The root has astringent activity and is used as a home remedy for curing ear problems. The astringent extract of the roots of Aegle marmelos combined with the antiseptic properties of neem helps in getting rid of ear infection, chronic inflammation and pus discharge. The juice of leaves processed in oil is also used as ear drops to treat the ear infection.
15. Epilepsy: The leaves of Aegle marmelos have an impact in treating epilepsy.
16. Antibacterial and Antifungal: The oil extracts from the seeds of bael fruit possess antibacterial and antifungal properties.
17. Kidney problems: The ground leaves of bael can be used to reduce kidney problems.
18. Arthritis and Gout: Raw bael fruit is helpful in the treatment of arthritis and gout. Its pulp mixed with hot mustard oil when applied on swollen joints render relief from pain.
19. Coolant and Relaxant: The ripe fruit keeps the body and minds cool.
    The most popular way of consuming bael is in the form of a homemade drink using the pulp. The extracted pulp is churned with water and made into a fresh soothing beverage. Bael is an alkaline food and thereby helps to clear the digestive tract, detoxify the body and alleviate acidity. Sugar, lime and rock salt could be added from top to enhance taste. Due to the multiple medicinal benefits that this fruit offers a marketed formulation of Aegle marmelos produced by different ayurvedic/herbal product manufacturing companies are available in the form of tablets, capsules, syrups, Chawanprash and the like.