6 Amazing Health Benefits of Eating Water Chestnuts (Singada)

Water chestnut (Singada) is an aquatic tuber vegetable that grows in parts of Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific islands. They are used in Indian, Chinese and European cuisines.

Water chestnut are an excellent source of antioxidants that help the body’s immune system fight free radicals that are harmful to the body.

Free radicals accumulation leads to oxidative stress that impacts the body’s natural defences. Oxidative stress is linked to an increase in the risk of developing chronic illnesses.

Water chestnuts (Singada) have several health benefits, which makes them good food to be consumed by everyone.

Water chestnuts (Singada) are loaded with nutrients. A 3.5 ounce of water chestnut provides 97 calories, 0.1 grams fat, 23.9 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 2 grams protein, 17% of RDI potassium, 17% of RDI manganese, 16% of RDI copper, 16% of RDI vitamin B6, and 12% of RDI riboflavin.⁽¹⁾

Water chestnuts are an excellent source of fiber, which helps in promoting bowel movements, reducing cholesterol levels, regulating blood sugar levels and keeping the gut healthy.⁽²⁾

They are low in calories as 74% of water chestnuts are water.

Water chestnuts (Singada) are rich in antioxidants like ferulic acid, epicatechin gallate, catechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate that help neutralize free radicals that are involved in chronic disease progression.^(3,4)

Ferulic acid present in the water chestnut helps the flesh stay crispy and crunchy even after cooking.⁽⁵⁾

Heart diseases are the major cause of death all around the globe.

High blood pressure, high triglyceride levels and high blood cholesterol levels increase the risk of heart diseases.⁽⁶⁾

High potassium intake reduces blood pressure and the risk of stroke. An analysis of 33 studies found that a high potassium diet in people with high blood pressure reduced the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.⁽⁷⁾

Also, potassium reduces the risk of stroke by 21% and also the risk of heart disease.⁽⁸⁾

Water chestnuts are rich potassium sources and are therefore good for a healthy heart.

Water chestnuts (Singada) are high –volume foods. It has low calories but has the ability to curb hunger.^(9,10)

Hunger affects diet and makes you binge on more food. Eating more filling foods with similar calories as compared with the less filling food is an effective strategy for losing weight.

Water chestnuts are 74 percent water and can be added into the meals of those dieting to lose weight.

Being a rich source of antioxidants water chestnuts, it is known to lower the risk of various cancers.

The ferulic acid present in the water chestnut help suppress growth and promote the death of breast cancer cells.⁽¹¹⁾

A study also found ferulic acid effective in suppressing the growth of skin, thyroid, lung, and bone cancer cells.^(12,13,14)

Cancer cells use free radicals to multiply. The antioxidants neutralize free radicals that compromise cancer cell growth.⁽¹⁵⁾

The antimicrobial activity of water chestnuts helps in the elimination of E.coli, staphylococcus aureus, and listeria monocytogenes.

They also inhibit the growth of helminths (worms and insects).^(16,17)

The antimicrobial activity is comparable to that of standard antibiotics and adding them in the diet may increase their shelf life.⁽¹⁸⁾

Fresh water chestnut (Singada) can be peeled and eaten directly after washing them thoroughly.

They can also be boiled, fried, grilled and pickled to eat.

You can also add water chestnuts to soups, ramen, stew, and any broth-like preparation. It gives a fresh crunchy twist to the food it’s added to.

Groundwater chestnuts are dried and used as a flour alternative. Being high in starch they are a great thickener.

Water chestnuts (Singada) are highly nutritious and delicious aquatic vegetables. It is a highly versatile food and can be added to variety of dishes.