A date called Tamar Hind: Tamarind

In many tropical countries like India, Puli in Tamil, Imili in Hindi,(a.k.a)tamarind in English is blended with sugar or jaggery and eaten as a tangy snack because of the many health benefits tamarind offers for overall general health.

Due to the rich source of potassium, magnesium, fiber and vitamins found in tamarind, food becomes not only healthier but also tastier. One of the many benefits of tamarind if that it fights against vitamin C deficiency and helps in reducing fevers while fighting against cold infections.

The tamarind (Tamarin-dus indica) is native to tropical Africa. Thanks to human cultivation, it’s now found also in South and Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean.
Tamarind pods have hard brown shells, tamarind benefits inside of which are black seeds and a delicious and extraordinarily medicinal pulp. In the young fruit, the pulp is sour and acidic, and typically used in savory dishes. As the fruit ripens, the pulp grows sweeter. Tamarind is rich in vitamin C. Therefore, including it in your daily diet protects you against vitamin C deficiency. It helps to improve and strengthen your immune system.

Is tamarind good for health? Traditional medicine has several tamarind benefits to list. and both the tamarind fruit and leaves are used. Apart from the medicinal uses of the pulp and the outer shell of the pod described above, the leaves, bark, and flowers of the tamarind tree are also used to treat various diseases. Lets understand few of its benefits;

It helps to digest food in our body and improve bowel movements.
It is use in Ayurveda System of medicine to treat gastric and digestion problems. It acts as a mild laxative. It is a rich source of dietary fiber. It can prevent constipation.
It is use to treat sore throat. Just gargle with dilute tamarind pulp.
Its fruit pulp is a rich source of potassium. Potassium aids in the regulation of heart rate and blood pressure by controlling the effects of sodium in the body.
As a blood purifier, it also helps to lower cholesterol level in our body and promote a healthy heart.
Tamarind juice is also a good source of iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
The presence of antioxidants and vitamins in tamarind makes it an ideal food additive that serves to boost the body’s immunity levels.

Superstitions
Few plants will survive beneath a tamarind tree and there is a superstition that it is harmful to sleep or to tie a horse beneath one, probably because of the corrosive effect that fallen leaves have during damp weather.

“Many Sri Lankans today, Sinhalese especially, believe that ‘Siyambala [tamarind] is bad tree to have in garden!”

‘It is the home of the chief of the yakkas(demons)!’ further that ‘poison water’, actually weak carbonic acid exhaled from the tree, ‘falls and kills people sleeping below.’ and other evil forces (vas) that cause illness, misfortune or death.
Some African tribes venerate the tamarind tree as sacred. To certain Burmese, the tree represents the dwelling-place of the rain god and some hold the belief that the tree raises the temperature in its immediate vicinity. Hindus marry a tamarind tree to a mango tree before eating the fruits of the latter. The bark and fruit are given to elephants to make them wise.

TRIVIA

In Arabic The name tamar hind, means “Indian date” .
Tamarind pulp is also popular for carpentry use especially in Asian countries. People use the pulp to polish various kinds of furniture.
Tamarind kernel powder is used in the production of Corrugated Carton Boxes gum powder.
Its used in production of Food coloring agents and Tartaric acid production.
The oleoresin from Tamarind oil has very good pharmaceutical end use and it is high valued product.
Silk worms are fed Tamarind leaves in India to extract fine and superior quality silk.

Adding tamarind to your daily diet has many health benefits and it can help to improve your overall health.

BeWell,
Vivek