Tamarind is a delicious sweet-sour fruit that has been used for years to add a tangy taste to food. Tamarind is grown extensively in tropical countries. The fruit is eaten as is or pounded and used as a condiment in cooking. The pulp extracted from the tamarind fruit is added to many curries and accompaniments, lending them a distinct taste and color. It is even added to desserts to give the dish a kick of taste. Not just as a taste enhancer, tamarind is also known for its health benefits. Let us take a look at what the health benefits of tamarind are.
Nutrients in tamarind
Tamarind is rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B complex, minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and manganese. It is rich in dietary fiber. Due to its constituents, tamarind has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. All the health benefits of tamarind are derived from these nutrients and they help the body remain healthy and fit.
Health Benefits of Tamarind
1. Digestion
The presence of the dietary fibers in tamarind make the fruit a digestive agent. Adding tamarind to your diet will help you have smooth bowel movements. Tamarind helps in increasing the production of bile in the body, thereby leading to better digestion. All this makes tamarind an excellent laxative. Add some tamarind extract to your food or chew on some tamarind candy if you are suffering from indigestion. Make an infusion with a teaspoon of tamarind pulp with a liter of water, boil, strain and sip through the day for digestive relief.
Also Read – Best Home Remedies for Indigestion Here
2. Circulation
Tamarind is a rich source of iron. Adding tamarind to your daily food helps you get 10% of your daily iron requirement. This means an increased RBC count in the body leading to the body receiving the optimum amount of oxygen it needs. Once the body receives all of its oxygen, all its functions will be in top-notch condition.
3. Heart
Tamarind helps in lowering blood pressure due to the potassium present in it. The fiber in the tamarind also helps reducing the cholesterol in the body. The anti-oxidants in tamarind help in keeping the free radicals under check. Put together, they mean a healthy heart.
4. Weight loss
When you consume tamarind regularly in the diet, it releases into the body hydroxycitric acid or HCA which helps in preventing an enzyme in the body that causes fat storage. Tamarind also helps in suppressing hunger pangs. So take your dose of tamarind today to keep your weight under check.
Also Read – Foods that Cut Fat from Your Body Here
5. Nerve Health
Tamarind is rich in Thiamine, which is a part of Vitamin B complex. Thiamine helps in strengthening the nervous system and promoting muscle development. Consuming thiamine helps you keep your nerve reflexes at its best.
6. Rheumatism
The anti-inflammatory property of tamarind comes into picture while treating rheumatism. Mix together two tsp of tamarind pulp with a tsp of salt and apply on the affected area for quick relief.
7. Controls Diabetes
Tamarind is an alpha-amylase inhibitor – it helps in preventing carbohydrates from being absorbed and converted into sugars that can spike up the blood sugar levels. Consuming half a teaspoon of tamarind pulp everyday will not just keep your weight but also your diabetes in check.
8. Strengthens the immune system
The anti-oxidant properties of tamarind, coupled with its anti-microbial effects make it a wonderful substitute to build up the immune system. A serving of tamarind everyday will keep all kinds of microbial infections away and give you more strength to fight other infections.
9. Relieves pink-eye
Tamarind’s anti-inflammatory effect comes handy to treat conjunctivitis or pink eye. Tamarind eye drops have for long been used to treat pink eye.
10. For great skin
Its anti-inflammatory nature makes tamarind an excellent choice to treat skin rashes and sun burns. Apply some chilled tamarind pulp on inflamed skin for instant relief.
You can consume tamarind in the form of its pulp that’s added while cooking, or add it to a juice or a health drink, make small marble sized balls of pounded tamarind with some jaggery, black salt and cumin and eat one everyday for great health.
