Have you heard about singhara atta paratha, singhara barfi and even seen boiled singharas being sold on roads during winter evenings?
Well, you might have tried these foods or at least heard about them.
Table of Contents
What is Singhara?
Singahra aka water chestnut or water caltrop is a common fruit (yes, it’s not a nut despite being called the nut) that is grown underwater.
Due to this reason, this is even known as paniphal. This fruit has a strange appearance enclosing a large seed that is edible. For thousands of years, this has been cultivated across the Indian region.
There are many potential singhara benefits that will make it difficult to push it aside. Before we talk about what makes singhara a good addition to your diet, let’s explore some facts about singhara nutrition.
Singhara Nutrition per 100 grams
- Calories: 97
- Carbohydrates: 24 grams
- Protein: 3 grams
- Fiber: 4 grams
- Total Fat: 0.1gram
Other than this, it contains good amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Let’s talk about some potential water chestnut benefits.
Water Chestnut Benefits
Are you looking for reasons to add this amazing fruit to your salads, make chutneys or prepare parathas and puris?
1- Boost your Energy Level
Do you feel exhausted throughout the day or wake up tired?
These may be the signs of low energy levels. No worries, because singhara use daily can give a boost to your energy levels. Singhara contains a good amount of carbohydrates that are essentially required to make you feel energetic.
Other than this, it contains many healthy nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus that can make you feel energetic and can help with low energy levels.
2- Good for Weight Loss
What’s the trickiest part of one’s weight loss journey?
To come up with food choices that can aid your weight loss, I suppose. No wonder, you can add singhara to your list. The reason is pretty clear.
This is a high volume food that contains a good amount of fiber in it. Not only does it keep you full for a longer time but reduces your calories consumption throughout the day. Further, water chestnut is low in calories and with zero calories coming from fats.
However, be mindful that the key to losing weight is to keep your body in a calorie deficit and ensure proper physical activity.
Read more about the best weight loss diet plans.
3- A Healthy Pregnancy Diet
Should I eat singhara during pregnancy?
The answer is yes. Water chestnut is one of the best pregnancy food choices. This is good for both you and your baby… Let me explain why!
It contains some of the healthiest nutrients that are good for your baby’s development. The Vitamin C content of singhara makes your immune system stronger. Singahra also helps your body to retain more water thus providing a solution to pregnancy hypertension.
4- Good for Diabetes Management
Can I eat this or that? We often see diabetics struggling with food choices.
Well, singhara can be a good answer for you.
Despite being rich in carbohydrates, the glycemic index of singhara is quite low, which means you are not going to experience an abrupt increase in your blood sugar level. Further, this high fiber food also prevents the increase in blood sugar as your body can’t digest other starches well.
5- Heart-Healthy
What could be a perfect heart-healthy food? It’s singhara or water chestnut.
Water chestnuts are beneficial for your heart due to many reasons. Here is all you need to know about why it is good for your heart health.
- It helps to retain water in the body that is eventually good to keep your blood pressure in a normal range.
- With singhara use, you don’t need to worry about the oxidative stress that is an ultimate risk factor for heart diseases such as heart attack.
- Due to being rich in fiber, it keeps cholesterol levels in check, giving you another reason to add this to your heart-healthy diet.
6- Boosts Skin Health
Are you suffering from eczema or any other skin condition?
Well, singhara can solve many of your skin health problems. The secret behind singhara benefits for skin lies in its great nutritional profile.
Singhara contains antioxidants that are ultimately good for your skin health. This water fruit also helps with the blood purification and removal of toxins from the blood that increases your chances of having healthy and glowing skin. This also keeps your skin hydrated.
7- Improves Sleep Quality
Are you tired of spending those sleepless nights?
Sleep troubles can be definitely concerning. But do you know eating the right foods during the day can help you with the problem? This is next on the list of singhara benefits.
This nut fruit contains a good amount of vitamin B6 that makes you feel better. According to much scientific research, vitamin B6 can help to fight stress and mood swings that are required for a good night’s sleep. So, with singhara consumption, you don’t have to worry about sleep problems anymore.
8- Thick Luscious Hair Strands
Thick luscious hair strands… Something most of us dream of!
From trying methi dana benefits to hair oils, we rely upon many hair growth remedies. However, singhara can also be one hair-healthy food choice to make.
Singhara benefits for hair health comes from it’s stronger nutritional profile. It contains healthy nutrients that promote hair growth. Further, it locks the moisture in your hair making it good for your hair health.
9- Singhara Fights Oxidative Stress
Risk of cancer, cardiac health problems or inflammatory conditions… We can blame oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress can be damaging to our cells that can result in the onset of many health problems, even cancers. However, you can fight this oxidative stress in many ways and choose the right foods. Singhara is one such food.
This is next in the list of singhara benefits. Water chestnut is beneficial for us because it can reduce oxidative stress thus keeping many health problems at bay.
10- Good for Digestive Health
No matter if you only suffer from bloating or indigestion, you know you are troubling this is!
The reason is that your digestive health is crucial for your overall health. From using fennel seeds to herbal teas for better digestive health, the use of singhara is surely an important remedy. This water fruit boosts your digestive health due to being rich in fiber. Fiber helps to improve digestion as well as can ease your bowel movements.
Read more about other fennel seeds benefits.
11- Other Singhara Benefits
There are many other proposed singhara benefits though we still require more research in this regard. Some of these include:
- Consuming singhara can help to relieve body pains.
- It is good for your eyesight.
- Water chestnut is also considered good for men’s sexual health.
Ready to Get Your Hands On Singhara Benefits?
From your heart health to your digestive health, I hope all these singhara benefits were convincing enough.
I am sure you have added water chestnut to your next grocery list now. If not then it’s your high time now to give your health a boost. However, while consuming it, make sure you do it in moderation to prevent any side effects.
You can also consult a physician if you are adding it to your diet recently, especially while being pregnant or breastfeeding your child.You can now book an appointment with the best certified general physicians via Healthwire.pk to make informed decisions regarding your health.
