Living a healthy lifestyle should be a way of your life. There are many ways to lead a healthy lifestyle and one of it is to eat healthy. Physical activity and mental health are no doubt important, but a healthy diet should include fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and ingredients that bless us with good health always. Fenugreek is that magic ingredient to living the healthy life. The fenugreek seed forms the important spice of Indian cooking. The fresh and dried leaves, sprouts and other parts of the plant are used too frequently in cooking and as a medicinal herb able to cure many lifestyle-related ailments like diabetes, cholesterol and heart diseases.
Fenugreek seeds are bitter to taste. But it is highly medicinal. It is used for cooking purposes and also as medicine. The seeds as well as the leaves are used for cooking purpose. Healing inflammation is possible with the fenugreek paste. The extract of fenugreek is added to many cosmetics and even in soaps as it is good for the skin.
What health benefit does fenugreek posses?
- Boon for diabetes: Fenugreek slows down the carbohydrate absorption thereby reducing the production of glucose in the blood. Thus, it keeps the sugar level under control.
- Improves insulin tolerance: It improves the insulin tolerance in people who are affected by diabetes type 2. This diabetes is caused by the inability of the body to respond to insulin. Fenugreek optimizes the response to the production of insulin.
- Lowers LDL: Cholesterol could be one of the reasons for diabetes. Fenugreek lowers LDL or the bad cholesterol and reduces the risk of diabetes.
- Rich in Antioxidants: The way to a healthy lifestyle is having food rich in antioxidants. Fenugreek is rich in antioxidants that lower the risk of bad cholesterol and in turn reducing the likelihood of other ailments like heart diseases, diabetes and hypertension.
- Fiber-rich: Fenugreek contains the roughage called mucilaginous which lowers the blood sugar. Using fenugreek seeds as a part of your daily diet offers immense health care benefits and you lead a healthy life.
- Appetite control: The people suffering from diabetes have increased appetite. Fenugreek helps to curb appetite since it makes you feel full faster, thus helping you to reduce your food intake.
- Slows down Digestion: For people with diabetes, slow digestion means slower glucose production. Fenugreek is proven to slow down the digestion process, thus aiding people affected by diabetes to lead a healthy lifestyle.
- It improves digestion and regulates cholesterol level: Fenugreek is good for curing a lot of digestive problems. These include constipation, stomach upset and also inflammation of the stomach. We find water soluble fiber in fenugreek that helps to get relief from constipation. It is also good for people with heart diseases. It is also good for people with diabetes.
- Beneficial for diet: Fenugreek helps to control the appetite, increase the insulin production and remove the excess glucose from the body thus helping you to have a healthy life.
- Sugar absorption is optimized: Sugar is a good source of energy. But it is a fact that every sugar that we consume is not turned into energy. This actually results in an increase in the blood sugar level. Such a stage can cause diabetes in a normal person. Consuming fenugreek regularly will help in optimizing the sugar absorption in a proper way. Thus, it will help in preventing diabetes in normal healthy person and control diabetes in th
ose who are affected by it.
Fenugreek side-effects:
Fenugreek in small amounts daily has no side-effects. But anyone taking high dosages of fenugreek supplement has to take extra caution.
Bloating and Gas:
An extra dose of fenugreek bloats the stomach, causing discomfort and nausea.
Low Sugar:
Persons with low blood sugar have to be extra cautious with fenugreek consumption on a regular basis as it could further lower their sugar level.
Early delivery:
Fenugreek reduces gestational diabetes, but could also induce early labor.
Do consult your physician before you start on your fenugreek consumption.
Fenugreek, when taken in the right proportion, is a wonder drug for starting a healthy lifestyle. Your health improvement tips should definitely have fenugreek included in it!