Important reasons to eat tiger nut regularly

Tiger nuts are one of the most popular nuts you will find in Nigeria. They are also very affordable, with as little as #50 you can buy a handful of either the dry ones or the wet ones. They are grown majorly in the North and are also sold majorly by Hausa men in the local markets.

Apart from serving as a sweet snack loved by children and adults, tiger nuts contain lots of vital nutrients needed to keep the body healthy, so when you eat them regularly, they nourish your body and keep it in good health.

Some of the reasons why you need to include tiger nuts regularly in your diet are:

1. It is very good for your digestive system. The digestive system is very important. It is where all the food you eat everyday is processed, nutrients are extracted and transferred throughout the whole body, and waste is formed and removed from the body. It is important that it is kept healthy and in perfect function.

Eating tiger nuts helps to keep the stomach, small and large intestines, rectum and anus which make up the digestive system in good shape.

This is because it contains fibre. The digestive system benefits a lot from fibre because it makes food move easily through the digestive system, it also helps waste (feaces) to be formed quickly and passed out easily from the rectum to the anus and out of the body.

2. It helps to lower blood sugar level. This is for those who are prediabetic or noticed that their blood sugar level just went high, the good news is that you can use tiger nuts to lower it down significantly.

This is because it contains an important amino acid (protein) known as arginine which helps to boost insulin production. Remember that diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes develops when the pancreas do not produce enough insulin to digest the sugar you eat, that means, when you eat tiger nuts regularly, there is constant supply of arginine which helps to constantly boost the production of enough insulin, which helps to sufficiently digest all the sugar you eat.

Also, because tiger nuts contain lots of fibre, it slows down the absorption of sugar in the digestive system, which helps to also lower blood sugar levels.

3. They provide a lot of essential nutrients to the body. To boost your immune system, you need to eat foods that are packed with several nutrients regularly. As small as tiger nuts are, they pack lots of nutrients which can help to build up your immune system.

The essential nutrients they contain are : fibre which is good for your digestive system, protein which helps to build and repair body tissues and cells, monounsaturated fats which are very good for the heart, iron which is good for the production of red blood cells, potassium which is good for lowering high blood pressure, calcium which is good for strong, healthy bones, vitamin C which is good for fighting infections etc.

In conclusion, tiger nuts should always be eaten in moderation. This is because it contains antinutrients like oxalates, phytates, saponins and tannins which could cause kidney stones and other ailments. It is advisable to always drink lots of water after eating it so that the antinutrients can be flushed out of your body.