Top 5 health benefits of Indian food that you should know

We Indians love to eat! And each state has its own signature dishes.

India is famous for its cuisine and cultural diversity. India was and is still crowned with the title of ‘world’s largest producer, consumer, and exporter of spices'. The backward sweep of our Indian subcontinent history shows that the British and Portuguese trades added an influence to the already diverse Indian cuisine. Indian foods are known to contain lots of spices, herbs, legumes, grains, oils, seasonal fruits and vegetables, as each state has its own culture. Every culture gives a twist to its own food and which has its own added benefits.

Some of the staple Indian foods comprise rice, tortillas (roti), lentils (dal), legumes (beans and peas), dairy items (paneer, cottage cheese, and yogurt), seasonal fruits and vegetables, and fish and meat.

Indians have the most delicious cultural dishes and recipes that embrace the ethnic authenticity enjoyed by millions worldwide. However, you might wonder, with all the hot, spicy, greasy, and heavy servings does it even has any health benefits to offer? Is Indian food unhealthy?

Well, traditional Indian foods are power packed with healthy ingredients and have a lot of health benefits to offer. Eating Indian meals promotes immunity, reduces inflammation, enhances brain functioning, and helps with several other functions in the human body.

Here we have prepared a list of the top 5 health benefits of Indian food that you should know about –

Help reduce Inflammation –

The magic of Indian curry is familiar to all. Indian curry when cooked with the right ingredients, spices, and proper amounts of oil, is good for immunity. It is quite helpful in reducing inflammation. Inflammation is considered the root cause of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Indian curry recipes usually include pulses, vegetables, curry leaves, tomato, onion, black pepper, garlic, turmeric, and various other spices and herbs, and have many health benefits.

Promotes Immunity –

Studies have evidently proven that Indian spices have time and again timeless health benefits. Indian spices such as black pepper, cardamom, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, and others add a strong and wholesome flavour to dishes. These spices improve overall health and have several properties to prevent several diseases by fighting free radicals

Prevents Cancer and Controls Blood Sugar –

The Indian diet is also helpful in controlling and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Studies conducted have also shown that Indian foods can also help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, and cancer, and affect tumour behaviour.

Regularly eating a well-balanced Indian meal is suitable for people who already have diabetes. Also, including brown rice, high-fiber vegetables, pulses, legumes, whole grains, etc in diet are beneficial to control diabetes.

Good for Bone Health –

Indian foods are good for bone health. Many Indian dishes use milk and dairy products like curd, ghee, buttermilk, cheese, etc which is a good source of calcium. Consuming these foods is a good source to add calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins, potassium, protein, and vitamin D to your body. Hence, adding such foods to your diet will promote your bone health, prevent the risk of osteoporosis and other bone diseases, lower the risk of bone fractures and even help you maintain a healthy weight.

Helpful for brain health –

Indian food is enriched with herbs and spices. Consumption of these spices and herbs on a regular basis can help preserve memory. It significantly also prevents cognitive decline and reduces the chances of dementia.

Let’s explore briefly why Indian food is healthy –

Indian dishes use all kinds of fresh and seasonal vegetables –

Indians love vegetables and have varieties for everything. There are several ways to prepare a single vegetable and most of the Indian cooking process ensures that the vegetables used do not lose their health benefits.

Fresh and healthy ingredients from scratch –

Indian cuisines tend to have an organic approach while preparing traditional Indian foods. Cooking with fresh and healthy ingredients ensures that cooking involves negligible use of preservatives or frozen items. This results in healthier and more delicious food containing all the important nutrients.

Medicinal properties of Indian Spices and Oils–

Studies have shown that various spices and oils used in Indian delicacies have multiple health benefits. Spices like turmeric, ginger, garlic, black pepper, fennel, fenugreek, and others are known and used for ages for their medicinal properties. Also, the oils used for cooking like coconut oil, rice bran oil, mustard oil, and sesame oils also have health-promoting properties in them.

A storehouse of essential nutrients –

Indian vegetables are a storehouse of all essential vitamins, fiber, and nutrients. These vegetables when consumed raw, boiled, or cooked contribute to improving vision and lowering cholesterol. It further fuels the body to produce energy and stay healthy.

Rice and wheat flour fulfill the required carbohydrate, protein, and fiber consumption of the body. Moreover, pulses contain a good proportion of minerals like potassium, iron, and zinc and are a good source of vitamins A, B, C, and E.

Indian food adds dairy products –

Milk and its by-products are known for their calcium, protein, zinc, and probiotic content. Curds or yoghurts are a very essential part of several Indian cuisines and these preparations help to aid a healthy body weight. Milk fat is often considered good fat and consuming such food aids in the retention of healthy fat in the body and promotes good gut health.

Back to you –

Did you find it interesting what you just read? Let us know in the comments down below which is your favourite Indian food. Also, if you are craving some Indian delicacies, visit Preet Ki Rasoi to check out our wide range of Indian meals and order them online! We will get the food to your place in no time