Ganesh Chaturthi 2019: Here's Why You Must Eat Modak

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival celebrated with full enthusiasm in the southern part of India. Ganesh Chaturthi is around the corner. The elephant God has arrived and has brought tons and tons of Modak with him, his favourite. This festival is all about the sweetness of Modak. Modak is an exotic sweet, a piece of art and not everyone can mould it well. Modak's dating back to the Mahabharata has a lot of relevance. When coconut, jaggery, rice flour, lots of desi ghee and of course, work from a firm trained hand are put together, you get this delicacy. All these ingredients make Modak low on the glycemic index and rich in nutrients for this great festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ganesh Chaturthi is the liveliest festival of Maharashtra and people celebrate this joy with Modak . But ever wondered why you should eat Modak ? It's of course auspicious but besides that there are many health benefits that it can provide. Here's our take on the benefits of Modak accompanied with Rujuta Diwekar's (celebrity nutritionist) take on the same. Rujuta encourages the intake of local and seasonal food and how it can benefit us immensely.

1. Constipation

Jaggery and ghee in the Modak can help relieve you from constipation. It also helps in stimulating bowel movement. Here's expert Rujuta Diwekar take on the benefits of ghee in modak:

"Because the ghee rebuilds the intestinal mucus lining and allows for smooth elimination of toxins."

 

Jaggery in modak helps in relieving constipation
Photo Credit: iStock

2. Blood pressure

the coconut in Modak is known to improve digestion, skin health, tooth decay and stabilize your blood pressure. It is known as the 'Shree-phal' or the God's fruit and breaking it symbolizes breaking ego. For this, Rujuta Diwekar says "Medium chain tri-glycerides in the coconut have a heart protecting and BP reducing effect."

Also read: Ganesh Chaturthi: Healthy Ways Of Preparing Lord Ganesha's Favourite Food Modak

3. Cholesterol

Why you should eat modak? Modaks have high ghee content which provides the body with essential fats and help to mobilize these fats, increase metabolism and reduce cholesterol in turn. "The plant sterols found in coconut and the dry fruit stuffing helps reduce the LDL and improves HDL levels", says Rujuta on her FB post

4. The diabetic lot

There are no limitations as such for diabetic people. In its visible forms, sugar can be taken, like in tea, coffee and home-made sweets but not in invisible forms, like biscuits and cakes. Meals on festivals should be made wholesome. So is the case with Modaks. Even if you are diabetic, you can have Modakt. "The rice, coconut, jaggery steamed cooked and eaten with ghee is medium to low on glycemic index and completely safe, actually beneficial, for a steady blood sugar response."

Also read: Stick To A Healthy Diet This Ganesh Chaturthi

5. Arthritis

Calm your arthritis problems with modaks. Rujuta Diwekar says, "The butyric acid found in ghee is a traditional therapy for reducing inflammation in every tissue of the body, more specifically in the joints."

6. PCOD

Ladies pay attention! Eat as many modaks as you want without worrying about putting on weight. Instead, it will help you when during PMS. Ghee and coconut will help you get a better skin and rice flour will help prevent excessive craving for food. Ghee is also a good source to prevent aging. "The rice flour helps in stabilizing blood sugars and the Vit B1 found in rice helps reduce PMS and sugar craving."

7. Thyroid

Mixture of all these ingredients is much needed by the thyroid glands. It is also great for anti-ageing. Rujuta Diwekar gives her take on this and says "medium to low on glycemic index, full of good fat, nutritionally there is just no reason for you to avoid it. In scriptures celebrated as a food for virya - means both vigor in the body and stability in the mind."

Modaks are not just a delicacy but a small part of bliss and known as a circle of goodness. Celebrate this Ganesh Chaturthi with the joy, love and lots of modaks.

Ganapati Bappa Moraya!

With inputs from Rujuta Diwekar's social media post