Urad Dal - Health Benefits

Urad Dal - Health Benefits

There are many types of dals that are available in the market. As dals have to be prepared on a daily basis, we need to have a lot of dals on board to maintain the variety. However, you need to focus only on healthy pulses so as to maintain your health and prevent problems.

For example, masoor dal raises your uric acid levels so you must limit its consumption.

Some types of dals are healthier when compared to other dals. For example, the black gram dal and moong dal are considered healthy as well as nutritious for their amazing properties.

We will discuss about the health benefits of urad dal further in this article. Urad dal, also known as white lentil or black lentil is a kind of bean that is grown in the southern parts of Asia. Also known as black dal, urad dal is used as a major ingredient in Indian cuisine for preparing a healthy diet. Both black and yellow urad dal are used for preparing a variety of dals with different flavours. It is highly valued due to its numerous health benefits.

For example, Urad dal has protein, fat, and carbohydrates which is required by the body. If you are looking for a protein-friendly diet, then opt for urad dal. This dal is one of the richest sources of proteins and Vitamin B.

Urad dal is also good for women as it has iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium which makes it a healthy pulse. Urad dal is also rich in fibre which makes it easy to digest.

Some types of dals are good for the heart as well. For example, urad dal benefits the health as it is good for the heart. Consuming urad dal helps to reduce cholesterol and improves cardiovascular health.

Moreover, if you are feeling lethargic and lack energy, then have black gram. It is one of the healthy pulses for vegetarians as it boosts energy in the body and has rich iron content which fights several health issues. Here are some of the amazing health benefits of including urad dal (black gram) in your diet. Health Benefits Of Urad Dal:

It is a protein - rich dal for vegetarians. For those who do not eat meat or fish, have black gram as it is rich in protein which is much required by the body. For strong bones and a healthy body, have urad dal.

Eases Digestion - Urad dal benefits the health as it has both soluble and insoluble fibre which is good for digestion and also prevents constipation.

Natural Aphrodisiac - Urad dal is considered as a natural aphrodisiac as it treats sexual dysfunction. Soak urad dal in water for 5-6 hours and then fry it in ghee. Have this pulse to have a healthy sex life.

Anti - Ageing Urad dal also has various beauty benefits. Applying urad dal face packs is good for the skin as it prevents the formation of fine lines. Moreover, black gram also helps get a fair and flawless skin.

Hair Growth Having urad dal helps increase hair growth as well. You can either have it in your diet or apply a hair mask made with urad dal.

Ayurveda Medicinal properties of Black gram - Vigna mungo-urad dal

Black gram or black lentil is known as urad dal in Hindi. In texts of ayurveda this bean is known as “MASHA”. Black gram is a bean grown mainly in south Asia. The plant of this bean is erect and hairy. It is an annual herb. It has a tap root which branches to form branched roots. The cylindrical pod of this plant contains seeds. The pods are usually six cm long.

Nutritional facts: Black gram is rich in vitamins, minerals and devoid of cholesterol. It is store house of calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, copper, manganese etc. Urad dal contains vitamins and dietary fibers. Due to high potassium content urad dal acts as an aphrodisiac. 

High blood pressure occurs due to high sodium level and low potassium level. Black gram contains plenty of potassium. This helps to balance sodium potassium level and reduce hypertension or high blood pressure. There is a strong link between hypertension or high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction. As potassium helps to reduce high blood pressure, it also helps in erectile dysfunction.

Ayurveda Medicinal properties of Black gram or urad dal:

According to texts of ayurveda this bean is heavy to digest and increases the moistness of body tissues. It is sweet to taste and hot in potency. All these properties help to normalize or calm vitiated vata. Consumption of this bean increases kapha and pitta.

Imbalanced vata dosha causes many diseases and also leads to men health problems like erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, low sperm count and motility etc. Hence Ayurveda acharyas recommend use of “masha” in many health conditions.

Anti inflammatory properties: According to principles of ayurveda vitiation of vata causes inflammation of tissues and initiates the sensation of pain.“Masha” or urad dal normalizes vata and hence has anti inflammatory properties. Usually a hot poultice of black gram is used in inflammation of joints and muscle pain. Massaging with herbal oil processed with this wonderful herb helps to reduce pain and inflammation

Nervous system disorders: This herb strengthens nervous system. Ayurveda acharyas recommend preparations of this herb in nervous debility, partial paralysis, facial paralysis and other disorders which involve nervous system.

Disorders of digestive system: “Vigna Mungo” or masha helps to increase bulk of stools. The moistness increasing property coupled with bulk increasing quality helps in easy movement of bowel. Therefore usage of this bean is recommended in conditions like constipation, piles and colic. This herb is a very good liver stimulant.

Action on male reproductive system: Texts of ayurveda eulogize the aphrodisiac properties of black gram. It increases sperm count and sperm motility.(Increases quality and quantity of semen). It is very effective in erectile dysfunction (impotence) and premature ejaculation

Action on female reproductive system: This herb is effective in dysmenorrhea and primary amenorrhea .It increases milk secretion in lactating mothers.

Apart from above mentioned medicinal properties, black gram also helps in increasing body bulk and body energy level. It strengthens the body and increases lifespan.

Urad dal is unique in the plant kingdom, because it is only one of a handful of seeds to contain Essential Fatty Acids or EFA. Essential Fatty Acids are so called because our bodies cannot produce it even though it is an essential nutrient for the human body, especially for the human brain. Many of the memory enhancer tablets contains Essential Fatty Acids which is considered a brain food.

Have you ever wondered why Brahmins of India, who were pure vegetarians, got so brainy. They are considered a clever set of people. Even the British, while they ruled India, preferred to have Brahmins for all clerical and higher posts where they needed to use their brains. The secret of the Brahmins brains may be that they used to consume a lot of fermented urad dal food like idly, dosa, vada, etc. This is because not only urad dal has EFA (Essential Fatty Acids), but also while fermenting, the bacteria and yeast in the urad dal makes it even more nutritious and this has much beneficial effect for human beings. Scientists and doctors are just about discovering the benefits of good bacteria for human beings - 'Prebiotics' and 'Probiotics'. Probiotics is about the live good bacteria that we consume in food like yogurt.

Urad Dal prescribed in Ayurveda for pregnant women and for men's sexual health problems

Urad Dal is known as 'Masha' in ancient Ayurvedic texts. Ayurveda considers Urad dal safe during pregnancy and is recommended as food of choice for pregnant women. Urad dal is good for diabetes and is recommended by Ayurveda medical science. Ayurveda also says that Urad dal is good for men's sexual health problems like erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. Modern medical research confirms the relation between urad dal and testosterone, the male hormone and thus confirms the benefits of urad dal which has been known to Ayurveda for thousands of years.

Urad dal nutrition

Urad dal is a prebiotic food. Prebiotics is about food ingredients like complex starch and soluble fibre which cannot be digested with our normal digestive process, but require the help of stomach bacteria to digest it. This bacterial digestion in the lower part of our stomach is extremely good for our nutrition and at the same time stimulates the growth of bacteria in the digestive system. Urad dal has a high content of amylose starch which is a very good source of prebiotic food. Urad dal helps in the growth of intestinal bacteria like ‘Clostridia’ and ‘Bacteroides’, which produce Short Chain Fatty Acids -SCFA. SCFA have recently grabbed headlines in being very good for our health. Prebiotics helps to prevent some cancers, reduce cholesterol, helps in the absorption of calcium and other minerals.

Gas problems with Urad Dal in idli Dosa

For people who have been accustomed for a long time on western diets, which has very little fibre in their food, may experience some gas problems initially on consuming urad dal prebiotic foods like idli and dosas. Idli and Dosa, being a fermented food, all sugars and simple starches or carbohydrates are converted by the fermentation process into more nutritious food. Prebiotic food like urad dal, which are complex starches are not changed by the fermentation process. It cannot be digested by our regular digestive process either, since it requires the good bacteria in our lower intestines to digest them.

People accustomed to western food all the time, have more of the sulphite reducing bacteria which produce Hydrogen Sulphide gas, in their stomach. Once they get used to the prebiotic foods like dosas which contain urad dal, the good bacteria in the lower intestines multiply and at the same time produce the very healthy Short Chain Fatty Acids - SCFA, which in turn creates a slightly acidic environment in which the Hydrogen Sulfide producing bacteria cannot live. So in the long term, eating Dosas actually gets rid of the smelly gas problems.

So eating Urad Dal through our daily idli and dosas, makes us much more healthier with the SCFA (Short Chain Fatty Acids) and much more brainier with the EFA (Essential Fatty Acids). There is even research evidence suggesting that diets containing high contents of Urad Dal prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia. So it is good for even the older generation.

Dosa is good for health

Dosa is one of the healthiest foods you can have. It contains Urad Dal which many studies have proven to be a unique food item. In addition you get all the fermented food benefits of health since dosa is a fermented food.

Fermentation is a process by which the good bacteria called Probiotic bacteria converts sugars and simple starches in the dosa batter to an acidic product. During this process, the probiotic bacteria produce Carbon dioxide gas which makes the dosa maavu dough or batter to rise and convert the sugars into proteins and vitamins. Thus the fermentation process of the dosa batter makes the dosa batter more nutritious. Since all the sugars and simple starches in the dosa batter is converted by fermentation to more nutritious proteins, it is a healthy food for us, especially for those who are diabetic. The glycaemic index which is a measure of how fast a food raises our blood sugar, is low in fermented foods.

Why Idli Dosa batter not fermenting

There may be two reasons for idli dosa batter not rising or fermenting. First is that the climate is too cold. The good bacteria in the dosa batter requires a temperature of about 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) or about the same as our normal body temperature, to ferment the idly dosa batter properly. There are various methods of keeping the batter at the right temperature, like keeping the idly dosa maavu or batter inside an oven that was pre-heated and then put off prior to placing the Dosa maavu or batter inside the oven and keeping the oven light on overnight so that the heat from the oven bulb keeps the dosa batter warm.

Secondly the urad dal used in the batter may have been irradiated with Gamma radiation by the customs authorities in advanced countries. The urad dal has to be imported by these countries, since they do not grow it locally, and they irradiate all imported pulses to prevent weevils and such insects from entering their countries and destroying their food products. When anything is irradiated, it kills everything including the native yeasts and live probiotics in urad dal. Irradiation also kills the Urad beans or any other beans and they will not germinate or grow into plants. When you use such urad dal in the idli dosa mix it does not ferment and rise.

Urad dal Vada

Indications

• s  Balances vata
• s  Increases kapha and pitta
• s  Invigorating and Nourishing
• s  Increases muscle matter
• s  Aphrodisiac
• s  Relieves constipation
• s  Satisfies excessive hunger
• s  Especially indicated in facial paralysis.

Preparation

Ingredients

Black gram (Urad Dal) - 1 Cup
Water - Sufficient Quantity
Pepper - 2 Spoons
Rock Salt - To taste
Coriander Leaves - A Handful
Curry Leaves - Few Leaves
Onions (Chopped) - 3 Spoons
Sesame Oil -100 ml

Method Soak urad dal for 30 minutes. Grind the dhal, along with coriander leaves, curry leaves and salt, into a thick paste. If required, use very little water. Add pepper and onions to the urad dal dough and mix well. Grease a portion of a plantain leaf with a little sesame oil. Take a ball of dough and flatten it on the plantain leaf, with a hole in the middle. Fry it in sesame oil, till golden brown. Serve it with chutney.