Dear Readers, Tamarind is indeed synonymous with flavoring vegetables such as vegetable tamarind, salad, sauce, and so on. Tamarind is also used for traditional herbal medicine mixtures sold by itinerant herbalists, tamarind benefits are commonly used as an ingredient in syrups, jams, and confectionery.
The resulting sour taste is very distinctive and it may be difficult to find a substitute. Tamarind is a type of tropical fruit that comes from the tamarind tree which is originally from Africa but also grows in other tropical areas.
The tamarind tree produces pea-like pods that contain seeds and fibrous flesh. This fruit is produced by a tree with the scientific name Tamarindus indica, including the Fabaceae tribe.
The tamarind tree is large, evergreen, up to 30 m tall, and trunk diameter of up to 2 meters at the base. Bark grayish brown, rough and split, vertical grooves.
You need to know, tamarind is not only a cooking spice, tamarind turns out to offer a lot of benefits and nutritional content for our health. This fruit which has a combination of sour and sweet tastes is often also useful as alternative medicine in various parts of the world.
What are the benefits and content of tamarind?
The nutritional content of tamarind, according to the Food Nutrient Composition Data.
100 grams of tamarind there are substances such as
31.4 kg of water, 267 cal of energy, 2.8 g of protein, 0.6 g of fat, 62.5 g of carbohydrates, and 1.2 g of dietary fiber. Calcium 74 mg, phosphorus 113 mg, iron 0.6 mg, sodium 9 mg, potassium 139.5 mg, copper 0.09 mg, zinc 0.1 mg, beta-carotene 9 mcg, total carotene 30 mcg, thiamin (vitamin B1) 0.34 mg, riboflavin (vitamin B2) 0.04 mg, and vitamin C 2 mg.
In addition to cooking ingredients, here are 8 benefits of tamarind for health:
Helps maintain a healthy digestive system
Tamarind which is also known as tamarin believes to be a natural laxative because of the fiber content in it. Tamarind contains 6 grams of insoluble fiber, which makes it easier for your stool to pass through the intestines.
In addition, it was also found that children in Africa use tamarind as part of their breakfast to treat constipation. Usually, they mix unripe sour fruit with lime juice or honey.
Therefore, drinks containing tamarind help to overcome digestive disorders, such as diarrhea and constipation.
Maintain heart health
The next benefit of tamarind is to helps lower cholesterol so that heart health can be maintained. This is because in tamarind there are flavonoids.
The effectiveness of tamarind in lowering cholesterol is proven through a study conducted at the University of Malaya involving experimental animals.
The trial showed a decrease in levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), total cholesterol, and triglycerides. Tamarind extract given to these animals absorbs and helps clear LDL from nervous tissue.
Based on this study, it was concluded that the antioxidants present in this fruit consider helping reduce the oxidative danger of bad cholesterol which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Help lose weight
Besides being able to reduce the risk of diabetes, it turns out that consuming tamarind can also help you lose weight.
Reporting to the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, tamarind includes in the category of tropical fruits that can reduce the risk of obesity.
Obesity is a condition when a person’s body fat levels increase excessively, especially in fat tissue.
Experiments conducted on obese rats show that the administration of tamarind extract was proven to reduce body weight. This happens because the hydroxy acid substance or HCA helps inhibit fat storage in the body. However, further research still needs on this matter.
Helps control blood sugar
The next benefit of tamarind is to control blood sugar levels for diabetics.
In experiments conducted on animals, thawed tamarind extract can act as a fairly strong antidiabetic.
Still from the same study, giving tamarind extract was able to reduce the risk of hyperglycemia due to its relatively high magnesium content. The magnesium contains in tamarind has an important role in 600 functions of the human body, including as an antidiabetic.
Maintain dental health
The next benefit of tamarind for the body is as an effective antibacterial for maintaining dental hygiene.
A study was conducted by chemists from the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Jember. The aim was to test the antibacterial effect of water soaked in tamarind leaves.
From this study, it was concluded that gargling using water was effective in preventing cavities and overcoming plaque on the teeth.
This is because tamarind leaves contain ethanol and chlorine. These two substances can kill various types of bacteria, including Streptococcus and Lactobacillus which can cause cavities in teeth.
Helps protect the liver
In Bangladesh, tamarind is eaten in the form of fruit to get health benefits in it. This is known to protect their liver.
In an experimental study on hamsters, it was seen that the hydroalcoholic extract of tamarind acid helps improve the anti-inflammatory system of the liver.
Alcohol and other substances that damage liver organs can increase the risk of liver disease and become one of the causes of apoptosis, which is the process of death of cells that are not necessary by the body.
Therefore, tamarind believes by most people to help reduce liver damage. However, there are no studies that prove these effects on the human liver.
The benefits of tamarind for health have actually used by the people of Indonesia. They believe that drinking herbal medicine or eating foods containing tamarind can improve their health.
However, keep in mind that further research needs to confirm this truth. If in doubt, try to consult with your doctor first before consuming it.
Prevents fungal infections
Tamarind often processes into herbal medicine. For generations, tamarind is believes to have properties to maintain the health of the female area.
It turns out that this benefit obtains because of the antifungal content found in these plants, namely ethanol, and chlorine. In addition to killing bacteria, these two substances can also be useful to treat fungal infections.
For this reason, women are recommended to regularly drink tamarind herbal medicine to prevent fungal infections in the female area. Fungal infections can cause vaginal discharge and bad body odor.
Relieves nausea
The next benefit of tamarind is to relieve nausea. Nausea usually experiences by someone when experiencing motion sickness or while pregnant.
Taking tamarind believes to be able to relieve nausea. It turns out that the anti-nausea effect obtains from the high potassium content in this one plant.
Based on a number of studies, potassium can help relieve nausea and vomiting. However, if your stomach is sensitive to acid, you should not consume tamarind because it will make your stomach feel sore.
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