Sweet Potato (Shakarkandi): Health Benefits And Nutrition Facts

Sweet Potatoes, also known as yams, are tuberous crops with the scientific name Ipomoea batatas. The plant is a creeper with heart-shaped or lobed leaves. The red variety has drier and harder flesh while the white and yellow types have juicier flesh. The red variety has a characteristic aroma which becomes more prominent on boiling. The more reddish or orange the color of the flesh of the sweet potatoes, the stronger the aroma will be. Perhaps, this is due to the presence of beta-carotene, the concentration of which also increases with the color. The color of the tuber varies from purple or red to pale yellow or white, depending upon the variety, soil type, climate, and available minerals. They have a thin, brown skin on the outside with coloured flesh inside – most commonly orange in colour, but other varieties are white, purple or yellow. You can eat sweet potatoes whole or peeled, and the leaves of the plant are edible too.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Stabilizes Blood Sugar: Sweet potatoes are an excellent dietary addition for those with diabetes as they have been shown to help reduce and regulate blood sugar levels.

Good for Weight Loss: Sweet potatoes are a good source of dietary fiber, which slows down digestion so you eat less. This also helps with regular bowel movements.

Eye health: In addition to boosting immunity, vitamin A is also integral to maintaining healthy vision. A deficiency of vitamin A can result in symptoms like dry eyes, night blindness, a buildup of keratin on the conjunctiva and even total vision loss in severe cases.

Relieve Asthma: Sweet potatoes are effective in curing congestion of the nose, bronchi, and lungs; thereby, giving relief from asthma.

Digestion and regularity: Because of its high fiber content, sweet potatoes help to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract.

Stomach ulcers: Sweet potatoes contain B-complex vitamins, Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and beta-carotene which help to effectively treat stomach ulcers.

Immune System: Sweet potatoes are excellent immune system boosters that defend your body from a wide variety of conditions. They are very rich in beta-carotene, which is a major antioxidant, along with vitamin C and B complex vitamins, iron, and phosphorus.

Vitamin A is also a critical vitamin for pregnancy. It is essential for the healthy development and maturation of lungs in particular.

Good source of energy: Sweet potatoes are known to contain important minerals like iron and magnesium that can increase our energy to perform our daily activities.

Reduce Arthritis Pain: Beta-carotene, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B complex make sweet potatoes a highly important food source for managing arthritis. The water in which sweet potatoes are boiled can also be applied externally on joints to ease the associated pain of arthritis.

Amazing Health Benefits of Potatoes

Surprising Health Benefits Of Tamarind (Imli)

Tamarind is an amazing fruit with a sweet and tangy taste and is commonly called Imli in India. It has been used by several ancient civilizations and is a favourite fruit of many. It is used for culinary purposes and is used almost all over the world. It is a member of the Fabaceae family and its scientific name is Tamarindus indica. It grows on trees in pods and dries down from a green fruit. It is often considered a legume due to its pod-like growth. The tartness of this fruit is extremely delicious and its pulp can be eaten on its own with some added sugar and salt. Due to their sweet, robust flavor, tamarinds are common in candies, chutneys, jams, desserts, steak sauces and Worcestershire sauce. In addition to its high energy and fiber content, the tamarind is a great source of B-vitamins and a number of minerals. The tamarind is the fruit of a tall tree that grows in Asia and North Africa. Its pods are about five inches long and contain seeds and a pulp that become extremely sour when dried. It is native to tropical Africa and Southern Asia, but has been cultivated in India for so long that it is often assumed that it was native to the subcontinent.

Health Benefits of Tamarind:-

The pulp, leaves and flowers, in various combinations, are applied on painful and swollen joints.

Diabetes: Although there is limited research concerning the health benefits of tamarind for diabetes, tamarind has long been used as a natural and traditional medicine to treat diabetics..

Improves Nerve Function: One of the most significant vitamins in tamarind is the B complex. Thiamine, an important part of the vitamin B family, is found in high quantities within tamarind. Thiamine is responsible for improving nerve function, as well as muscle development, which can help you remain active, maintain your reflexes, and stay strong.

Nutrition Content: This food is an excellent source of vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, iron, thiamine, phosphorus, riboflavin, and fiber.

Improved Eye Health: As an A vitamin, the supply of beta-carotene in tamarind helps ensure eye health and normal vision.

The red outer covering of the seed is an effective remedy against diarrhea and dysentery.

Heart health: Tamarind is great for your heart because it lowers blood cholesterol and blood pressure.

Tamarind fruit contains certain health benefiting essential volatile chemical compounds, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber.

Tamarind is a house of antioxidants, vitamin C and A which help fight against the free radicals.

Carissa (Natal Plum)Nutrition and Health Benefits

What are the benefits of eating Green Peas?

Green Peas are the tiny spherical seeds that rest inside the green seed-pod. It is widely cultivated in semi-tropical regions around the world. Peas or green peas, scientifically called as Pisum sativum. Green peas are seeds that come from a legume plant, but they are most often consumed as a starchy vegetable. Green peas are also known as ‘Matar’ in Hindi, ‘Batani’ in Telugu, ‘Pattani’ in Tamil, ‘Pacha Pattani’ in Malayalam, ‘Vatana’ in Gujarati, ‘Moator’ in Bengali, and ‘Mattar’ in Marathi.

They are not just tasty but also possess many nutrients that make them a compulsory ingredient in your vegetable diet. People often assume them as an inexpensive green vegetable growing on the peas plant, is an ingredient that is served or used for garnishing in cheap restaurants. 

Health Benefits Of Green Peas:

Weight Loss: Peas are a low fat and a low calorie food type. Hence, they are mostly included in vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian diets, due to the ease in managing the body weight.

Diabetes: Green peas have a few characteristics that are known to aid blood sugar control, which is an important factor in preventing and controlling diabetes.

Healthy bones: Just one cup of peas contain 44% of your Vitamin K which helps to anchor calcium inside the bones. It’s B vitamins also help to prevent osteoporosis.

Good for Eye health: Peas can also do wonders to your eyes. Peas are packed with carotenoid pigment lutein. Lutein is known to reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration or loss of vision in old age. Peas can also boost eyesight. 

Good Source of Iron: Peas are a good source of iron. Iron deficiency is the leading cause of anaemia. If you don't have enough iron, your body can't make enough healthy oxygen-carrying red blood cells thereby causing haemoglobin deficiency.

Stomach Cancer: These tiny ingredients in your plate have the capacity to prevent dreadful diseases like stomach cancer.

Green peas are one of the most nutritious leguminous vegetables rich in health promoting phytonutrients, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.

Vitamin Content: Peas benefit your immune system with antioxidant vitamins, especially if you eat them raw. A cup of raw peas has 58 milligrams of vitamin C, providing 65 percent of the daily requirement for men and 77 percent for women.

Boosts your Energy: Eating peas will increase your energy levels because of its richness in Iron. A cup of pea provides 3 milligram of Iron that works positively in transporting oxygen to the entirety of the body.

What are green beans good for health?

11 Impressive Health Benefits of Raisins

Raisins (Kishmish) belongs to the family of dry fruit. When grapes are dehydrated to produce raisins, the nutrients become more concentrated, making a handful of raisins a snack rich in B vitamins, iron and potassium. Besides nutrients, raisins are also a good source of carbohydrates for energy. They are small sized dry fruits that contain an abundance of nutrients. The color of the raisins depends upon the grapes used (green, black, purple, brown). They are sweet in taste and are used in many dishes.

Fresh grapes that are seeded or unseeded are dried in the natural sunlight, and the moisture content is kept at 16% of the content to make raisin. Raisins are found beneficial than candies and surely benefit For health. 

Raisins are good for health.

Antioxidants: Raisins constitute a natural source of polyphenols and antioxidants, which have strong anti-inflammatory properties.

Energy Booster: Being loaded with carbs, particularly natural sugars like fructose and glucose, raisins are a good source of energy.

Prevent kidney stones: Raisins prevent the formation of kidney stones and when combined with physical exercise would ensure that weight is managed well.

Regulates Blood Pressure: Excess salt consumption is known to cause high blood pressure. However, the potassium in raisins helps to balance the salt content in our body and regulate blood pressure. 

Eye Health: They are also good sources of vitamin A and beta carotene to improve eyesight for maintaining good eye health.

Help Prevent Cancer: An antioxidant named cateching present in raisins helps in protecting the body against the free radical activity that can cause tumours and colon cancer

Reduces Arthritis Pain: Raisins contain polyphenols that offers strong anti-inflammatory properties. It helps relieve chronic pain in bones like arthritis. You can add 10-12 raisins in any sweet dish or have them in early in the morning to reduce pain in your bones.

Dental Health: Another great benefit of raisins is that it contains a phytochemical called oleanolic acid that offers incredible protection against all kinds of dental problems.

Heart Health: Regular consumption of raisins provides protection against heart disease.

Beautiful healthy hair: Raisins help in maintaining shiny hair, and regular intake would help in keeping hair healthy.

Prevents Bad Breath: The anti-bacterial properties of raisins help in maintaining oral hygiene of the mouth and get rid of breath.

What are the amazing benefits of grapes for health?