Are you preparing your groundnuts the healthy way?
PEOPLE consume groundnuts in many forms. Some eat them raw, steamed, or roasted, while others crush them and make sauce. But did you know that the nutritive properties in groundnuts can be altered during preparation? <br>
By Viqué-Ocean Kahinju
PEOPLE consume groundnuts in many forms. Some eat them raw, steamed, or roasted, while others crush them and make sauce. But did you know that the nutritive properties in groundnuts can be altered during preparation?
Ruth Nabuliime, a specialist in natural medicine at Afrikana Organic Food centre in Kampala says so as to benefit fully from the nutrients, groundnuts should be steamed, not roasted or fried.
She adds that one serving of boiled groundnuts a day can reduce heart disease and stroke by 50% because the nuts contain heart-friendly fats that protect the arteries.
And because the fat in nuts is healthy, it does not clog the heart arteries like other fats, for instance, those found in meat as well as processed foods. In addition groundnuts help check dementia (loss of memory), gall stones and macular degeneration.
Nabuliime says research reveals that type II diabetes and obesity is reduced by 25% due to groundnuts’ zero content of cholesterol and less amount of sugars.
She explains that steamed groundnuts are hailed for their anti-oxidants, unsaturated protein and fat content compared to other foods. This, she says, is because the steam permeates the nuts, releasing phytochemicals (natural chemicals in plants that are not nutritious, but protect the body against diseases).
She adds that over-cooking groundnuts depletes the essential minerals and nutritive elements. “The fats and oils in groundnuts are a source of energy, necessary for good health and fitness.
The calcium in groundnuts helps strengthen bones and muscles,†Nabuliime says, adding that it is recommended that one gets 30% of the required calories from foods with fat.
“The protein found in groundnuts supplies the body with unsaturated protein and fats which are lacking in animal and processed foods,†Nabulime explains.
“And being a leguminous plant, there is plenty of protein nitrogen in it too,†she adds. A positive nitrogen balance indicates that the intake of nitrogen-containing compounds exceeds the nitrogen lost from the body, she says.
According to Dr. Augustus Rubaramira, a nutritionist in Kampala, the amino acids in groundnuts travel very fast around the body through blood as hormones, red blood cells and enzymes, thus giving the body energy.
He adds that when eaten raw or steamed, groundnuts help the body fight and resist diseases. “Eating boiled groundnuts will keep one looking younger and healthy, for instance the hair, skin and nails look radiant,†he says.
STEAMED GROUNDNUTS RECIPE
Wash the groundnuts in their pods until thoroughly clean. Place them in a saucepan or pot of salted water and cover using banana leaves or a saucepan lid.
Boil until the water reduces and put aside to cool, then serve.
Boiling the groundnuts in salty water softens the shells and makes the groundnuts tasty. If cannot easily find fresh raw groundnuts, used dried raw mature groundnuts, but soaking them overnight in the salted water, before cooking.
By Agnes Kyotalengerire
PEOPLE consume groundnuts in many forms. Some eat them raw, steamed, or roasted, while others crush them and make sauce. But did you know that the nutritive properties in groundnuts can be altered during preparation?
Ruth Nabuliime, a specialist in natural medicine at Afrikana Organic Food centre in Kampala says so as to benefit fully from the nutrients, groundnuts should be steamed, not roasted or fried.
She adds that one serving of boiled groundnuts a day can reduce heart disease and stroke by 50% because the nuts contain heart-friendly fats that protect the arteries.
And because the fat in nuts is healthy, it does not clog the heart arteries like other fats, for instance, those found in meat as well as processed foods. In addition groundnuts help check dementia (loss of memory), gall stones and macular degeneration.
Nabuliime says research reveals that type II diabetes and obesity is reduced by 25% due to groundnuts’ zero content of cholesterol and less amount of sugars.
She explains that steamed groundnuts are hailed for their anti-oxidants, unsaturated protein and fat content compared to other foods. This, she says, is because the steam permeates the nuts, releasing phytochemicals (natural chemicals in plants that are not nutritious, but protect the body against diseases).
She adds that over-cooking groundnuts depletes the essential minerals and nutritive elements. “The fats and oils in groundnuts are a source of energy, necessary for good health and fitness.
The calcium in groundnuts helps strengthen bones and muscles,†Nabuliime says, adding that it is recommended that one gets 30% of the required calories from foods with fat.
“The protein found in groundnuts supplies the body with unsaturated protein and fats which are lacking in animal and processed foods,†Nabulime explains.
“And being a leguminous plant, there is plenty of protein nitrogen in it too,†she adds. A positive nitrogen balance indicates that the intake of nitrogen-containing compounds exceeds the nitrogen lost from the body, she says.
According to Dr. Augustus Rubaramira, a nutritionist in Kampala, the amino acids in groundnuts travel very fast around the body through blood as hormones, red blood cells and enzymes, thus giving the body energy.
He adds that when eaten raw or steamed, groundnuts help the body fight and resist diseases. “Eating boiled groundnuts will keep one looking younger and healthy, for instance the hair, skin and nails look radiant,†he says.
STEAMED GROUNDNUTS RECIPE
Wash the groundnuts in their pods until thoroughly clean. Place them in a saucepan or pot of salted water and cover using banana leaves or a saucepan lid.
Boil until the water reduces and put aside to cool, then serve.
Boiling the groundnuts in salty water softens the shells and makes the groundnuts tasty. If cannot easily find fresh raw groundnuts, used dried raw mature groundnuts, but soaking them overnight in the salted water, before cooking.
By Agnes Kyotalengerire