Monsoon Superfoods: Top Reasons To Include Protein-Rich Sattu In Your Diet

During monsoons, including some superfoods in your diet can be helpful in keeping your healthy and maintaining your immunity. One such monsoon superfood is sattu, which is prepared by dry roasting grains, grams, barley or Bengal gram in sand in an iron vessel. After roasting, the grains are sieved and ground into fine flour. From lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho to celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, all health experts advocate use of sattu for the numerous health benefits that it provides. According to Rujuta, sattu can rightly be called as the monsoon superfood for women. Made from Bengal gram, sattu is a protein rich flour can offer a variety of health benefits. 

Monsoon superfoods: why you must have sattu during the rainy season

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Sattu is a traditional flour made from roasted and ground legumes, most commonly from chana dal (split Bengal gram) or black gram. 

Rujuta begins her post by talking about the month of Shravan, and how it is the time when many communities in India avoid intake of leafy green veggies like spinach and non-vegetarian food like meat, fish or eggs.

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Sattu - a monsoon superfood for women Shravan is the time of monsoon when a lot of communities don't eat green leafy veggies like palak, etc., and also fish or meat. We still needed to get our folic acid, amino acids and minerals though and therefore the invention of sattu. A delicious, intelligent mix of chana dal, gehu and rice flour (depending on the region you come from), it's the stuff that nutrition love stories are made of. #Plantbaseddiets as the West likes to call it, sattu provides the body with minerals like calcium, vitamins like folic acid and essential amino acids like lysine. And this is how sattu can help you - - reduces menstrual cramps and clots - reduces dark circles under the eyes - reduces pigmentation and hair loss Diversity is an inbuilt system in our society and culture and it's time we own it with pride. #eatlocalthinkglobal #sattu #IndianSuperfoods

A post shared by Rujuta Diwekar (@rujuta.diwekar) on Aug 12, 2019 at 10:48pm PDT

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All of these foods are rich source of proteins and essential vitamins like folic acid. Folic acid is required for red blood cells production. It is one of the most important nutrients during pregnancy.

Rujuta writes that because of restrictive eating patterns that are followed by some communities in India, it still important to get folic acid and other amino acids, which can be provided by sattu. "A delicious, intelligent mix of chana dal, gehu and rice flour (depending on the region you come from), it's the stuff that nutrition love stories are made of," she says.

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Along with folic acid, sattu provides the body with essential minerals like calcium and amino acids like lysine. Speaking of the benefits of sattu of women, Rujuta says that it can help in reducing menstrual cramps and clots. Sattu can also be used for fewer dark circles under the eyes. It helps in reducing pigmentation and hair loss.

Sattu can help in reducing hair loss
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Other health benefits of sattu that you must know

1. Sattu is a low-glycemic index grain. It is safe for people with diabetes to include sattu in their diet. It is rich in iron, manganese and magnesium. It contains low quantities of sodium-something which is beneficial for people with high blood pressure.

2. Sattu contains soluble fibre that can be good for your digestion. Having a sattu sherbet is a great way to detoxify your body from a junk food or fried food binge.

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3. Fibre rich sattu can be great for weight loss. It can fill you up and reduce appetite, thus aiding weight loss.

Sattu can be included in weight loss diet
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Apart from sattu sherbet, you can also have sattu laddoos or sattu paranthas. This monsoon, give yourself the gift of good health with sattu!

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.