Maruti Makhana

Extracts from different parts of this water plant including its leaves, stems, roots and seeds have been reported to show several benefits, such as antioxidant, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities. Makhanas have also been used in religious rituals in India.

Interestingly, the lotus seeds are also called fox nut or gorgon nut. However, being low in fat and high in carbohydrates, these are nutritionally distinct from nuts and seeds. Lotus seeds are a good source of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and zinc. Lotus seeds are also low in sodium.

Their low sodium and high magnesium content makes them useful for those suffering from heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. These seeds have been used extensively in traditional Oriental and Chinese medicine for their health benefits and are valued for their nutritional and healing properties.

These seeds contain an anti-aging enzyme, which is believed to help repair damaged proteins.

Lotus seeds are also known to contain kaempferol, a natural flavonoid also found in coffee which prevents inflammation and aging.

It is believed that roasted lotus seeds make a coffee substitute. In addition, lotus seeds are high on phyto-nutrients (disease fighting nutrients) including alkaloids, gallic acid, saponins.

Most significantly, the glycemic index of lotus seed is significantly lower than most high carbohydrate foods like rice, bread and others. It appears that lotus seeds may have a beneficial effect on diabetic individuals, and may be one of the more appropriate foods for them.

According to Ayurveda, lotus seeds have astringent properties that have specific benefits to the kidneys, helping to restore vital energy within the body.

The seeds can be eaten raw, roasted, or ground and boiled into a syrup or paste. The most common use of the seed is in the form of lotus seed paste, which is used extensively in Chinese pastries as well as in Japanese desserts. Dried lotus seeds may be soaked in water overnight prior to use. They can then be added directly to soups, salads or used in other dishes. Puffed seeds are used in curries, kheer, puddings and dry roasted snacks.

So far, as there are no detailed reports on the toxic effects of long-term consumption of lotus seeds and their products, further experiments are warranted. Although nutraceutical value of lotus seeds is established, further precise exploration of value-added compounds might be beneficial in health promotion.

Lotus seeds hold a promising future as an alternate gluten-free protein supplement and potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical source. Blending its flour with other nutritionally rich legumes like daals and soybean or millets like bajra and jowar will be of immense value to develop low-cost, gluten-free, protein-rich food supplements to combat malnutrition, particularly relevant to India.

Hence, introduce the ‘makhana’ snack food in your regular diet for that healthy edge.

Highlights:

• Makhanas are also called fox nuts or lotus seeds
• These come from a plant called Euryale Fox which grows in stagnant water
• Makhanas also find significance in religious ceremonies in India

I recently travelled to Khajuraho and was hosted by a local family there. The trip was incredible in many ways, a peek into the beauty and cultural depth of our heritage. But for my 5 year old daughter, the highlight of the trip was when our hosts packed a large bag of roasted makhanas for her to munch along when we went for the safari in Panna National Park. She loved the crunchy and salty treat and was ecstatic that I (who keeps her miles away from junk food and processed treats) allowed her to indulge. That, in essence, is the beauty of makhanas - The fact that they are delicious, economical, easy to prepare and yet wholesome and healthy.

In our enthusiasm to follow the Western world and find joy in walking down supermarket aisles, we somewhere forgot about the harmful effects of processed food. Yet, all we had to do, was peek into our grandmother's pantry and we would find a treasure-trove, long forgotten. Thankfully, with people becoming more health conscious and aware of what is good for them, a movement (so as to speak) has started that can be best termed as 'Back to Your Roots'. The easiest way to describe this movement is that when you shop for your kitchen, avoid picking up things that your grandmother wouldn't recognise. Simple.

(Shop for low-calorie snacks for guilt free munching)

Insomnia Remedy

• phool makhana is a good snack for those who have sleeping disorder. Instead of taking sleeping pills, snaking phool makhana is a much healthier solution to deal with insomnia.

Rich of Calcium

• Making sure that your body has enough calcium to support your daily activity is a must. There are a lot of calcium supplements products could be found in the market today. However, do you know a healthier way to get calcium for your body? Phool Makhana is a good snack as well as a good source for calcium.

Good for Blood Pressure

• The high potassium and lower sodium contained in phool makhana is good for a person with hypertension. It means, consuming phool makhana could help in regulating the blood pressure, the lower sodium would not affect the blood pressure while potassium will help in decreasing it.

Enhance Performance

• In men, consuming phool makhana is able to enhance their sexlife due to the increasing of spermquantity while in women consuming phool makhana could help them increasing their fertility too.

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Arthritis Solution

• For those who have problem with arthritis, phool makhana which is so rich of calcium is highly recommended snack.

Helping Dealing with Digestion

• Phool Makhana is not only healthy to be consumed daily but also recommended for those who have digestion problem because phool makhana is very high in fiber which is proven to be good for body metabolism.

Coffee Substitute

• The roasted phool makhana could become the coffee substitute. For those who are craving with coffee but too much coffee could be bad for their health, substituting coffee with phool makhana is the healthier solution for delicious drink in the morning.

Beneficial for Diabetic Patient

• Phool makhana is well known as very high in fiber but the content of fat is relatively low, it is good for diabetic patient with digestive problem while the low fat means lower sugar released.

Good for Kidney

• Reducing the risk of kidney problem is the other health benefits of phool makhana. Logically, if the blood regulation is flowing properly, it will ease the function of kidney and make it works a little easier.

Contained Special Enzyme to Fight Aging

• Phool makhana has been proven to have rich medical properties but also rich of kaempferol which is a well known anti-aging property.

Useful for Heart Disease

• Hearth disease is a serious health problem however the number of people suffering it now is progressively increasing. Phool makhana contained medical properties which are believed to be good to strengthen the heart and the better function of cardiovascular.

Weight Loss Solution

• High in fiber and low in fats are two benefits of phool makhana. Fiber could help in metabolism system and make your stomach feel full while low fat is a quality of snack everybody will look for during weight loss diet program.

Good for Pregnant Women

• Same with health benefits of walnut during pregnancy, fox nut also very important to pregnant woman. The high nutrients contained in phool makhana are good for pregnant woman who is facing high risk of gestational diabetes, hypertension and the high calcium contained in phool makhana is very good for the fetal development.

High Protein

• Protein contained in phool makhana is not only high but also gluten-free. It means, phool makhana is highly recommended for those who are allergic to gluten but need healthy snack to