Ayurveda, Nutrition

Can Horse Gram Help With Weight Loss?

May 7, 2020
horse gram health benefits

In your reading of Ayurvedic superfoods, you may have come across the mythical horse gram. Touted by doctors and nutritionists as an excellent weight loss food, it’s a raw legume that’s rich in flavonoids, proteins and polyphenols. Working to keep the body vibrant, full and young, it’s no surprise that Ayurvedic practitioners have long favoured horse gram for its healing properties.

As horse gram is naturally low in sodium and high in iron, calcium and protein, it’s the perfect superfood that offers all the nutrients that the body requires. Here’s how horse gram can help you with weight loss…

HOW CAN HORSE GRAM HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS?

So, what are the properties of horse gram and why do they help with weight loss?

Horse gram is packed with dietary fibre

Fibre is important for weight loss and general health and soluble and insoluble fibres are crucial for several reasons. As soluble fibres mix with water from the food we eat and form a gel in the stomach, this reduces the production of cholesterol in the body. Insoluble fibres on the other hand help to make stool bulky and keep things moving. As fibre is incredibly important for the diet and insoluble fibre is particularly recommended for those trying to lose weight, horse gram is an excellent weight loss food.

Horse gram is low in calories

As many of you may know, a lot of weight loss is centred around the Calories In Calories Out philosophy. If we eat less and move more, in time we will lose weight. As horse gram is very low in calories and is actually categorised as a negative calorie food (meaning that eating and digesting the food takes up more calories than the food itself), you can actually have as much horse gram as you want!

As volume eating is sometimes preferred for those on weight loss programmes, horse gram can be a great solution. As horse gram is also high in protein and fibre, it’ll keep you fuller for longer!

Horse gram is easy to cook with

Horse gram helps with weight loss, because it’s easy to cook with – which encourages you to cook more of it! And the fact is, the more healthy food you cook and eat, the easier you’ll find it to loose weight. Simple, easy to cook ingredients that are tasty and nutritious are a must-have in ayurvedic diet, and horse gram is the ultimate example of that. Cook it up into a stew, a curry – whatever, it tastes great whilst also being good for you.

horse gram for weight loss

Horse gram is high in protein

Protein is crucial not only for maintaining and building muscle but keeping us satiated for longer. Therefore, it’s a good thing that horse gram contains plenty of it! Rich in plant-based protein, it increases the levels of appetite-reducing hormones like GLP-1, PYY and CCK whilst reducing levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. As the reduction of ghrelin can make us want to eat less, it aids weight loss significantly. As proteins are tougher to digest than carbohydrates, they increase our satiety levels and help to boost metabolism too!

Horse gram keeps energy levels high

As weight loss can often lead to feeling sluggish and weaker than usual, consuming horse gram can help to keep your energy levels high. As previously mentioned, horse gram is packed with protein and dietary fibre which prevents you from feeling hungry all the time.

With this satisfaction comes a greater deal of energy and the ability to stay more active. As exercising and burning calories contributes to weight loss, horse gram’s energy-giving ingredients certainly aid weight loss in this respect as it will be able to keep you chugging along all day. 

It can help to prevent fat absorption and breakdown fatty tissue

Another benefit to horse gram’s high fibre content is that it aids weight loss by enclosing the fat molecules and stopping the absorption of fat. That’s a plus if we’ve ever heard of one! In addition to this, studies have shown that horse gram seeds can directly attack fatty tissues stored in the body.

As it compels the body to consume saturated fats for energy, the process is beneficial in melting body fat and helping to tone and shape the body. As horse gram creates heat when digested, it can help to burn more fat without any adverse effects.

I hope this list about how horse gram can help with weight loss has been helpful!

If you’d like to lose weight the Ayurvedic way, horse gram is an excellent food to incorporate into your diet. Keeping you fuller for longer whilst giving you a boatload of great nutritional benefits, it’s the perfect Ayurvedic superfood!

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