Nutritional Facts Of Kulthi Or Horse Gram & Its 19 Amazing Health Benefits

Kulthi or horse gram is termed scientifically as Macrotyloma uniflorum and it is a super pulse with amazing health benefits. As per the USDA, this is a dark brown lentil that is round and flat in shape and has got numerous therapeutic properties for humankind. Read on to remain well informed about kulthi or horse gram: the super pulse with amazing health benefits.

Kulthi or horse gram is a super pulse crop that is cultivated and consumed widely in India and is native to the South-east Asian subcontinent as well as tropical Africa.

The United States National Academy Of Sciences has recognized horse gram as a potential food source for the future, and thanks to the incredible nutritional profile of this legume, and its general hardiness.⁽¹⁾ Moreover, Kulthi or horse gram is rich in calcium, iron, and protein.⁽²⁾ It must also be mentioned that it has the highest content of calcium among all pulses and it is, in fact, one of the richest protein sources for vegetarians.

It is also exciting to know that kulthi or horse gram is low in fat and is high in the content of carbohydrate. It is also low in sodium and lipid content. Moreover, its slow digestible starch makes it an ideal food source for patients suffering from diabetes and obesity.

100 grams of Kulthi or horse gram offers 22 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of mineral, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 287 mg of calcium, 311 mg of phosphorus, and 7 mg of iron.

This super pulse, Kulthi or horse gram, is known for its wonderful benefits in treating common cold and fever. Cold and fever occur when our body’s immune system gets attacked and when the cold viruses home themselves in the body.

Ancient scholars in Ayurveda have highly recommended that consuming kulthi or horse gram during cough, cold, fever, and even during asthma could give you some fair relief.

You can take horse gram or kulthi as soups and it would help you in relieving congestion and also helps you breathe normally.

Kulthi or horse gram is effective enough in treating conditions like asthma and bronchitis. As per the researchers from NCBI, it is explained that after assessing the nutritional and therapeutic aspect of the super pulse horse gram, it can be concluded that Kulthi or horse gram is packed with rich nutrient content and the nutritional value of the pulse is quite comparable with other pulse crops. Kulthi or horse gram has got rich levels of antioxidants and also radical scavenging activities and they also provide proteins and carbohydrates. Moreover, horse gram is even a great source of several natural bioactive substances like phenolic acid and phytic acid. These substances have great potential for treating several diseases like throat infection, common cold, urinary stones, fever, bronchitis, and asthma.

It has also been found that unprocessed raw horse gram or kulthi seeds not only possess anti-hyperglycemic properties, but they even have qualities of reducing insulin resistance. So, it is beneficial in bringing down the insulin resistance in our body. Blood glucose levels are controlled and horse grams can also help in reducing the rate of carbohydrate digestion as well, and thus getting down the levels of blood glucose in the body. It is thus, beneficial in treating most cases of type 2 diabetes.

Kulthi or horse gram is also believed to be of benefit in improving digestion. After a heavy meal, one generally feels quite acidic or feels pretty uneasy on the stomach. It could be due to indigestion. This can result in problems like GERD or acid reflux and it makes you feel more uncomfortable. Kulthi or horse gram is recommended to be taken on an empty stomach to treat such conditions. It helps in stimulating your digestive tract and thus makes it easier for better digestion.

Consuming kulthi or horse gram can help you in managing obesity. This is actually because it can attack the fatty tissues and phenol content present in it.⁽³⁾

It is said in Ayurveda if someone eats Kulthi or horse gram every day, it will benefit from losing weight. This happens when you eat it in its powdered form and you need to add some cumin seeds to it. When cumin seeds and horse grams are mixed in one glass of water and taken twice in a day on empty stomach, you can get the best benefits in your weight loss mission. You can also soak horse grams or can mix with Bengal gram and pepper to form a crunchy kind of salad.

Women who are suffering from leucorrhea have really tough times at managing their sanitation needs. It is a condition known to be quite common and there occurs a normal discharge from the vagina. The condition can cause severe pain, inflammation, and infection around the vagina and cervix too. This happens when there occurs an irritation to the membrane lining, and the vaginal discharge can be thick and foul-smelling and the quantity increases during puberty or when there is a peak in sexual arousal.

One can soak a handful of horse gram in a bowl of water overnight, and then boil it the next morning and consume this water thrice a day for treating symptoms of leucorrhea.

Menstrual problems in women can be painful and energy-draining at times. You can either have the kulthi or horse gram soup for having relief or can have salads which would help in bringing down the irritation levels that are associated with menstrual disturbances.

Apart from this, when you have irregular menstrual cycles or excessive bleeding, the high content of iron present in kulthi or horse gram helps in maintaining the hemoglobin levels in the body. This is the reason why experts recommend horse gram or kulthi to women who have got menstrual problems.

Kulthi or horse gram can be quite beneficial in treating several forms of ulcers (except gastric ulcers). The pulse contains lipids that are beneficial for people suffering from mouth or peptic ulcers. In Ayurveda, it is shown that mashed kulthi or horse gram, when consumed twice in a day, releases lipids that are most required for the body for healing itself from the ulcers.

Kulthi or horse gram is known to be a super pulse with amazing health benefits because of one more reason. It is beneficial in treating kidney stones. Consuming this pulse regularly not only brings down the chances of the occurrence of kidney stones but also helps remove the stones from the body. This is because kulthi or horse gram is packed with iron content and is also rich in polyphenols.

You simply need to soak one cup of the pulse in one bowl of water overnight and consume it in the next morning. You can notice results by doing this for a week.

Horse gram contains a lot of fiber in it and aids digestion. It also soaks up the excess fluids from your intestine and your stomach. This, in turn, reduces the chances of diarrhea or loose motion and helps you with normal bowel movements.

You need to consume a handful of pre-soaked kulthi or horse grams each morning and this would stimulate the digestive system to work in a better way.

Kulthi or horse gram is also beneficial in treating Constipation. Constipation can occur due to a lack of fiber in your diet or lack of water intake and also because of lack of minerals and because of stress, unhealthy lifestyle and several other reasons. Constipation happens when your intestines and stomach lining present just above your duodenum are not in a position to normally expand and contract for the waste material to get released. As kulthi is rich in many powerful nutrients and has got a lot of fiber too, it helps fight constipation.

Piles is one more condition that can be treated by consuming kulthi or horse gram. This condition happens when the veins in the rectum swell and get inflamed and painful. Soak one cup of kulthi overnight and consume it the next morning.

The post-pregnancy period could be really painful, especially the menstrual cycle. Kulthi or horse grams, because of their astringent property, helps to tighten the tissues and also helps with your cycle.

Kulthi or horse grams can bring down the LDL levels in your bloodstream. This is because of the lipid levels that do the magic. You need to consume a handful of pre-soaked kulthi seeds twice a day on an empty stomach so that the lipid levels work and cleanse the veins of the LDL or the bad cholesterol in the blood.

You can use kulthi or horse gram to clear off conjunctivitis. All you need to do is soak a handful of the pulse overnight and the next morning, strain the seeds and make use of the water to properly wash your eyes. This water contains high levels of antioxidant and that would help you in getting rid of conjunctivitis infections and keep your eyes calm and soother. You need to wash your eyes with this water thrice a day to get rid of the condition.

Vitamin B complex helps in sharpening the memory. Horse gram is rich in this vitamin which helps in sharpening the senses and improving our thinking process. They can also be beneficial in treating migraines.

Kulthi or horse gram is also known to have incredible skin health benefits. They can be used as topical face packs for treating skin conditions like skin rashes, skin disorders, and boils. This is possible because of its antibacterial and antimicrobial property and also because of the presence of antioxidants in it along with numerous minerals to nourish the healthy lipid layers of the skin and more.

You need to crush a handful of soaked seeds and apply it as a face pack the next morning and wait for half an hour before washing your face gently with cold water. This helps in exfoliating the grime, dirt, dead skin cells, and even provides a booster dose of collagen to the skin and also protects your skin from any further harm or attacks of free radicals.

So, from all the above description it is very much clear that kulthi or horse gram is a super pulse with amazing health benefits. You can try using this for getting the best of its benefits. However, do keep a strict note that legumes can be heat-producing for your body and thus you need to have cumin seeds or buttermilk while consuming kulthi or horse grams, so that there will be a balance in the heat of your body.

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