Tamarind is a plant with a pod-like fruit that is originated from Africa and has many uses in the modern-day world. The wood is used for woodworking, and the seeds can be extracted for its oil. The pulp from the fruit is used by many countries for culinary and medicinal purposes, and some even used it as a metal polish.
Due to the plenty health benefits of Tamarind fruit, it was cultivated and planted in almost every sub-tropical and tropical zones around the world. As of today, the largest producer of Tamarind is India, where it was exported to the surrounding areas such as Southeast Asian countries and even as far as Mexico.
Its name was derived from the Arabic languange tamar hindi, which translates literally to Indian Date. True to its name, the fleshy pulp of the fruit do resembles a date fruit a lot as they both have a reddish brown to brown color. The Tamarind fruit as a whole bears a striking resemblance to pod beans, but with a brown skin. It tastes kind of sweet and sour, and contains a high amount of Vitamin B, tartaric acid, and sugar. It also contains an unusually high amount of calcium for a fruit.
Nutritional Value Of Tamarind
Due to its nutrional values and health benefits, Tamarind has been known as a very valuable commodity in the world. The most well-known nutrition contained within it are;
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin B
- Calcium
- Iron
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Manganese
- Dietary Fibers
In Southeast Asia, people have been using it as a poultice to reduce the effects of a fever. Due to its high contents of acid, people also have been using it as a constipation reliever since the old times. But that is not all of the remarkable benefits of Tamarind fruit. In this list, we have compiled the very best known uses for Tamarind from all over the world. Thus, here are the health benefits of tamarind fruit:
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1. Anti-Inflammatory Ability
As a herbal remedy, the Tamarind fruit has been used by humankind for such a long age. It is known to ease the joint pain caused by inflammation, rheumatic, arthritis, and gout. Research has found out that it was able to reduce those pain due to the anti-inflammatory agents contained within it. The anti-inflammatory properties of the fruit is allegedly produced by the essential oils of the fruit, according to some research. Some research also found that it could also help in reducing the eye irritation such as conjunctivitis, among the others.
2. Provides Relief for People with Diabetes
An extract of Tamarind fruit is able to stabilize the blood sugar levels in your body, as well as repairing the damage to the pancreatic tissue that was commonly found in people with diabetes. As we all know, carbohydrate is the main source of glucose that is usually converted and stored by your body into fat and sugar.
The alpha-amylase contained within Tamarind stops your body in absorbing carbohydrates, thus reducing the amount of stored sugar and fat within your body and keeping them in check.
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3. Improve Digestive Systems
Tamarind has been used as a traditional laxative since ancient times due to its high amount of tartaric acid and dietary fiber content. Whether you consume it as a whole fruit or used as a spice for your cuisine, it will certainly boosts your digestive systems and remove all abdominal issues.
As Tamarind also stimulates the bile activity inside your body, it will help your body in dissolving and digesting all of your consumed foods faster than normal. That is why most people with severe constipation have been using it as a natural remedy to ease their suffering. The fruit is also contains an abundance of tannins, mucilage, and pectin, which are dietary fibers thats is known to prevent constipation.
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4. Promotes Weight Loss
What’s health benefits of tamarind fruit? Tamarind contains several substances that provides excellent benefits when used as a cooking ingredient or spice. Among them was the hydroxycitric acid or HCA, which was known to have some connection to weight loss due to its ability to stimulate amylase, an enzyme in our body that is responsible in turning carbohydrate into fat and storing it.
Other than that, Tamarind fruit is also rich in fiber and other essential vitamins but contains no fat at all, making it one of the best diet for those who want to shed some weight. Furthermore, Tamarind can also be used as an appetite suppressant because it increase the serotonin amount in our body. All of these benefits surely show some promise for Tamarind to become one of the best fruit to reduce your weight.
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5. Good in Circulating Blood
Since the Tamarind fruit contains a hefty amount of iron, about 10% of your daily needs in only one serving, consuming it daily could guarantee the appropriate blood circulation. This, in turn, leads to properly functioning muscles and other organs due to the oxygenation carried by the red blood cells flow properly within your body. As your body could get anemia as a result from lack of iron, a healthy dosage of iron daily could prevent it from happening, saving you from symptoms of anemia such as fatigue, headaches, stomach issues, and weakness.
6. Strengthen Your Nerve
Another important element that contained in a Tamarind fruit is the Vitamin B Complex. One of the most important part of the B complex vitamins is Thiamine, which can be found abundantly in the fruit. Thiamine is essential in improving your muscle and nerve functions, which in turn would increase your reflexes and keeps your body strong and healthy.
7. Prevent Ulcers
Thanks to the polyphenolic compounds contained within the Tamarind fruit, it could be used as an excellent protection for ulcers. Ulcers itself are painful sores that happened inside of your stomach and digestive system. Chewing on a Tamarind pulp mixed with some herbal plants such as mint could prove as an amazing remedy to cool down the sores from ulcers.
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8. Improve Immune System
Another great use of Tamarind is to improve and boost your immune capabilities. Due to the high amount of vitamin C and other antioxidants, consuming Tamarind could keep microbial and fungal infections from harming your body, ensuring your bodily health.
Some study also reveals that Tamarind contains some antiseptic and antimicrobial effects that could help prevent parasites and other harmful organism from seeping and breed through your body. Other sources stated that it was able to reduce the number of children infected with stomach worms in tropical areas where it was cultivated, hinting there is probably a link between consuming it and the declining infection.
9. Fights Cancer
As stated before, Tamarind contains a supple amount of antioxidants, and antioxidants had proven themselves from time to time as one of the major elements in fighting and reducing the effects of cancer. In one study, Tamarind extract was known to successfully relieve the severe effect of a kidney cancer due to its antioxidants.
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10. Heals Wounds
The health benefits of Tamarind fruit does not only comes from the fruit, but also the leaves and barks of the plant. For quite a long time, they were used by several countries all over the world to heal open wounds and injuries. By turning the bark into a powder and apply it into the wounded area, a wound could completely healed in just a relatively short time of 10 days.
Scientists have claimed that this is due to the fact that the bark and leaf contained an antiseptic and antibacterial properties, which certainly very helpful in closing a wound and speeding up the regeneration process of your body.
11. Strengthens The Heart
There are several interesting facts about Tamarind that proves its status as a fruit that is beneficial to your heart. It was known to have successfully reduce the bad cholesterol – LDL in your body while at the same time increase the good ones – HDL, thanks to the presence of flavonoids, phenols, and also other antioxidants contained in the fruit.
The high potassium found in Tamarind also prevents the cumulative buildup of tryglicerides and help reduce the blood pressure, effectively lessening the burden on the cardiovascular system. Overall, consuming it daily could help your heart become stronger and healthier.
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