it is known to be very beneficial for human health, as much as it is useful for animal health too.
In this article, you will learn the nutritional facts and health benefits this bean.
Nutritional Value of Horse Gram
Here is the nutritional fact for 100 gm of this legume:
Nutrients | Amounts |
---|---|
Energy | 321聽 Ecals |
Moisture | 12 gm |
Protein | 22 gm |
Fat | 0 gm |
Mineral | 3 gm |
Fiber | 5 gm |
Carbohydrates | 57 gm |
Calcium | 287 mg |
Phosphorous | 311 mg |
Iron | 7 mg |
Here is what the esteemed NCBI research organization has to say about horse gram nutrition benefits:
Now let us take a very good look and learn more about the benefits of horse gram for our overall health!
Horse Gram Benefits:
1. Common Cold and fever
Common cold and fevers happen to us when the body’s immunity system is attacked and when the viruses house themselves in our bodies.
For this, the ancient scholars of Ayurveda have recommended the consumption of horse gram when you have a fever, coughs and colds, bronchial problems and asthma too.
Horse gram should be consumed as soups, which helps relieve the congestion and makes the nasal tracts open up by allowing the mucus membranes to soften up and melt. This helps with easy breathing since the required nutrients are boosting the metabolism of the body and the immunity too.
2. Digestion
After a hearty meal, should you feel acidic or don’t feel easy on the stomach within minutes to an hour or more; chances are you are suffering from indigestion pangs.
This can lead to issues such as GERD and acid reflux, and this is what can make you feel uncomfortable too. This is why horse gram is recommended to be had the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This helps stimulate the digestive tract and makes digestion an easy affair.
3. Weight Loss
In Ayurveda it is said, if one consumes horse gram every day, weight loss happens for sure. This is only when you consume horse gram in powder form, and to this shall be added a dash of cumin seeds. The two should be mixed in a glass of water and drunk twice a day on an empty stomach at your own ease.
Some prefer not to have horse gram for weight loss in this form, which is fine. In such cases, the legume can be had soaked and raw, or mixed with pepper and Bengal gram to form a crunchy salad and eaten.
4. Diabetes
According to sources from THE HINDU, a leading national daily, “Scientists from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology have found that unprocessed raw horse gram seeds not only possess anti-hyperglycemic properties but also have qualities which reduce insulin resistance.”.
This is possible since horse gram has the power to exhibit ways to combat the formation of hyperglycemic properties in the body. In turn, horse gram helps bring down insulin resistance in the body too.
Blood glucose levels are brought down and controlled, and it can help reduce the carb digestion rates as well, in turn bringing down the levels of blood glucose too. This is why it is used as a superfood to treat type 2 diabetes in most cases.
5. Asthma and Bronchitis
The esteemed researchers at NCBI say “After critical assessment of nutritional and therapeutic aspect of horse gram, it can now be concluded that-it is a rich source of nutrient and antinutrient content.
The nutritional value of horse gram is comparable with other pulse crop. Horse gram has high levels of antioxidant and radical scavenging activities in addition to their traditional role of providing proteins and carbohydrates. It has rich source of various natural bioactive substances such as phytic acid, fiber, phenolic acid etc.
These bioactive substances have immense potential for curing varieties of diseases such as common cold, throat infection, fever, urinary stones, asthma, bronchitis, leucoderma, etc. BBIs, the proteinase inhibitors have been identified to treat anti-inflammatory, obesity and several degenerative and autoimmune diseases.
However, there is a dearth of information on the specific health beneficial components in this lesser known legume. Thus, considering its immense potential as health benefit it needs to exploit as a source of nutraceutical and food industries.”
6. Menstrual Disturbances
Menses problems are very harrowing, and unless one has them, one would not know how painful and energy-draining it can be.
Once again, you can either have the soup of horse gram for relief or have salads which would have horse gram in them, which helps bring down the levels of irritation associated with menstrual disturbances.
When you have irregular menstrual cycles or excessive bleeding, it is the high iron content in horse gram which will help maintain the levels of haemoglobin in the body. This is why holistic experts recommend horse gram to women with menses issues.
7. Leucorrhea
Women suffering from Leucorrhea have a tough time managing their sanitation needs. Leucorrhea is known to be a common and a normal discharge from the vagina.
It can have a change in its consistency or color, and often is associated with pains, infection and inflammation around the cervix and the vagina too.
This happens when there is an irritation to the lining of the membrane, and the discharge can be foul-smelling or thick, with a quantity increase when puberty hits or when sexual arousal is at its peak.
Ayurveda opines one should soak a handful of horse gram overnight in a bowl of water, and boil it the next day. This water should be consumed thrice a day to treat symptoms of leucorrhea.
8. Constipation
If you have been sitting on the pot for too long and have no luck in releasing the bowels each morning, you are then a victim of constipation.
Constipation can be caused because of a lack of fibre in the diet, lack of water intake, lack of minerals and also due to an unhealthy lifestyle, stress and many more reasons.
This happens when the intestines and the stomach lining just above the duodenum are not in a position to expand and contract normally for the waste matter to get released.
Since horse gram has powerful nutrients in it and also has plenty of fibre too, it can help combat the problems of constipation. Horse gram in such cases should be pre-soaked and eaten as a salad embellishment in raw form.
9. Kidney stones
Sources say the consumption of horse gram on a daily basis can actually help bring down the occurrence of kidney stones or remove the same from the body too. Kidney stones are basically a concoction of a compound known as calcium oxalate.
And horse gram can actually get kidney stones removed overnight. This is because horse gram is rich in iron and has a high content of polyphenols in it as well. In addition to that, the antioxidant levels are high in kidney stones too.
What one needs to do is to soak a cup of horse gram in a bowl of water and to consume it raw the next morning. Doing this for a week it seems shows good results.
10. Urinary Discharge
Women suffering from urinary discharge can suffer from embarrassment too. This is especially when urinary discharge is thick, inconsistent at times, foul-smelling and continuous in some cases.
There could be pains, infection and inflammation around the cervix and the vagina too. This happens when there is an irritation to the lining of the membrane, and the discharge can be foul-smelling or thick, with a quantity increase when puberty hits or when sexual arousal is at its peak.
Ayurveda opines one should soak a handful of horse gram overnight in a bowl of water, and boil it the next day. This water should be consumed thrice a day to treat symptoms of the same.
11. Ulcers
In Ayurveda, it is said horse gram can be very beneficial in treating various forms of ulcers, but NOT GASTRIC ULCERS. There are lipids in horse gram that come in very handy when the legume is consumed by those that suffer from peptic and mouth ulcers.
Research and studies on the same have been done on rats and the animals have healed, and the same have been done on humans too and the results were positive.
Even in Ayurveda, it is shown that mashed horse gram when consumed twice a day releases the lipids much needed for the body to heal itself from the ulcers.
12. Piles
Piles happen when the veins in the rectum swell up and turn inflamed or painful. Instead of rushing to the pharmacy for medication and treatment, holistic experts suggest the use of horse gram.
Soak a cup of horse gram overnight and consume the water the next day, and eat the horse gram raw as a salad embellishment too. The roughage in it along with the fibre helps treat piles.
13. Diarrhoea
Since horse gram has plenty of fibre in it, it helps with digestion and soaking up excess fluids from the intestine and the stomach.
This brings down the occurrence of diarrhoea and lose motion and allows normal bowel movements to happen. One should have a handful of pre-soaked horse gram legumes early each morning, which stimulates the digestive system to work better.
14. Skin Rashes and Boils
Horse gram can be used very well as a topical face pack to treat rashes, boils and disorders of the skin to some extent as well. This is because it is antimicrobial and antibacterial, and has plenty of antioxidants in it along with minerals to nourish, replicate the healthy lipid layers of the skin and more.
Crush a handful of pre-soaked seeds overnight, and apply it as a face pack the next day. Wait for half an hour and gently wash off with cold water.
This would help exfoliate the dirt, grime, dead skin cells and also provide collagen boost to the skin and protect the skin from further harm and free radical attacks.
15. Cholesterol
Horse gram helps bring down the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol in the bloodstream, says medical research studies. The bad cholesterol levels that have been stuck in the veins would be eliminated when horse gram is consumed, thanks to the levels of lipids in it that work its magic.
One should consume a handful of pre-soaked horse gram seeds twice a day on an empty stomach so that the lipid levels work at their best and cleanse the veins of the bad cholesterol levels or the LDL levels in the blood.
16. Conjunctivitis
You can use rose water to wash your eyes with when you suffer from conjunctivitis, or what you could do is to pre-soak a handful of horse gram seeds overnight. The next morning, strain the seeds and use the water to wash your eyes with it.
The antioxidant levels in the water would help combat the infection and keep the eyes soothed and calm, sans the irritation. Thrice a day the water should be used to wash the eyes with.
I hope this article was able to an insight into some of these queries; horse gram recipes, horse gram benefits, how to eat horse gram, horse gram hindi, horse gram for babies, horse gram side effects, horse gram nutrition, horse gram for thyroid.
If you still have question, comment below.
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