Table of contents:
- Benefits of tamarind for health
- 1. Streamlining the digestive system
- 2. Maintain heart health
- 3. Manage diabetes
- 4. Helps lose weight
- 5. Helps protect the liver
As one of the selected spices often used in cooking spices, tamarind actually offers a myriad of benefits for your health. This fruit is mostly processed in the form of herbs and candy.
Are you curious about the features of tamarind? Check out the reviews below.
Benefits of tamarind for health
This fruit that has a combination of sour and sweet flavors is often used as an alternative medicine in various parts of the world.
The polyphenol content in tamarind has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can help overcome certain diseases, what are they?
1. Streamlining the digestive system
Tamarind, also known as tamarin, is believed to be a natural laxative because of the fiber content in it.
Tamarind contains 6 grams of insoluble fiber, making it easier for your stool to pass through the intestines.
According to a 2011 study on the benefits of tamarind for human health, showed the presence of potassium acid in this fruit. This makes it an effective laxative.
In addition, it was also found that children in Africa use tamarind as part of their breakfast to treat constipation. Usually, they mix the unripe tart fruit with lime juice or honey.
Therefore, drinking beverages containing tamarind is believed to help overcome digestive disorders, such as diarrhea and constipation.
2. Maintain heart health
As mentioned earlier, tamarind contains polyphenols such as flavonoids which are antioxidants for the body. This is proven through a study involving experimental animals to see the effect of tamarin extract on animals that have high cholesterol.
These trials showed a decrease in levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), total cholesterol, and triglycerides. The tamarind extract given to these animals absorbs and helps clear LDL from nerve tissue.
Therefore, the antioxidants present in this fruit are considered to help reduce the oxidative hazard of bad cholesterol which can increase the risk of heart disease.
3. Manage diabetes
For people with diabetes, they may be familiar with the benefits of tamarind for controlling diabetes.
In animal trials, tamarind extract that has been thawed can act as a fairly strong antidiabetic.
Still from the same study, giving tamarind extract can reduce the risk of hyperglycemia because of the relatively high magnesium content, which is 28 grams.
Although the sugar content is quite high, the magnesium contained in it has an important role in 600 organ functions in the human body, including as an antidiabetic.
4. Helps lose weight
Besides being able to reduce the risk of diabetes, it turns out that consuming tamarind can also lose weight.
As reported in a journal about the effects of Asian plants on human health, tamarind is included in the category of fruit that can reduce the risk of obesity.
Obesity is a condition when a person's body fat levels increase excessively, especially in adipose tissue (fat).
Tests conducted on obese mice showed that tamarind extract was proven to reduce body weight.
This happens because the substance hydroxylite acid or HCA helps inhibit fat storage in the body. Although the impact may not be that big, tamarind can also suppress your appetite because there is an increase in serotonin levels.
However, research is still needed that really supports the benefits of tamarind on human health as a natural weight loss remedy.
5. Helps protect the liver
In Bangladesh, tamarind is eaten in fruit form for the health benefits it brings. This drug is known to protect their liver.
In an experimental study on hamsters, it was shown that the hydroalcoholic extract of tamarind helps boost the anti-inflammatory system for the liver.
Alcohol and other substances that destroy liver organs can increase the risk of liver disease and cause apoptosis (the process of dying cells that the body does not need).
In animals with acute alcoholism it has been shown that tamarind has an anti-apoptotic effect that helps protect the liver.
Therefore, tamarind is believed by most people to help reduce liver damage. However, there are no studies that prove the effects of tamarind on the human liver.
The health benefits of tamarind or tamarin are actually often used by Indonesians. They believe that drinking herbs or eating foods containing tamarind can improve their health.
However, keep in mind that further research is still needed to confirm this truth. If you are in doubt, try to consult your doctor first before consuming it.
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