December 3, 2018
If you are on a weight loss diet, you may have heard people advising you to cut down on carb intake. The advice is often misinterpreted and we start eliminating all the carb sources from our diet, which puts our health at stake. Carbs are essential as they are required by our body to process energy, store energy and build macromolecules. Therefore, avoiding carbs completely is not healthy. All you have to do is make right choices; meaning avoid foods that are filled with refined carbs like junk food and sugary foods. Refined carbs are classified as simple carbs, which get metabolised quickly and promote weight gain. When we consume more carbohydrates than we need to burn for energy, our body ends up storing them as fat. Therefore, for weight loss, one must load up on low-carb vegetables that are high on fibre like radish, or mooli as we call it in Hindi.
There are different kinds of radishes with some growing in spring and summer, and some in winter. Daikon, the white variety that is most commonly found in India, is a winter vegetable. The other varieties available in the country are the pink, and sometimes even the black. Now, even though not everyone likes radish, but did you know that it comes with a host of health benefits, including weight loss? Yes, that’s right. Radishes are packed with fibre and water that helps you give the feeling of being full for a longer period of time as fibre takes the longest to digest. Moreover, radish is low in calories; hence, eating them won’t make you gain more calories and at the same time can prevent your hunger pangs.
Furthermore, radish is a low GI veggie. Low GI foods keep a control on the blood sugar level. This, in turn, keeps the insulin level balanced in the blood which is necessary for proper fat burning. Over and above, the availability of antioxidants in radish starts the process of anti-oxidation in the body, which further improves our metabolism and ensures that not much fat is stored in the body.