Nutritional Benefits of Eggplant

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Nutritional Benefits of Eggplant

Nutritional Benefits of Eggplant can not be described in few words. Eggplant is a vegetable containing very few calories and high amount of fiber. Fiber helps to prevent colitis and colon cancer. Amount of fat in Eggplant is very low. It also increases the appetite and helps in digestion. If you are worried about your weight and want to loss your weight, you can include eggplant in your diet.

Eggplant contains phenols which help to control blood sugar level. So, it is good for Diabetes Mellitus Type Two. Eggplant also has antioxidant phytochemicals. Eggplant can protect you from radicals that may cause heart disease or cancer. Taste of eggplant would be bitter when it contains high amount of phytochemicals. Chlorogenic acid of eggplant has ability to fight against free radicals. Eggplant also help to lower the level of LDL cholesterol which is very harmful for our body. Chlorogenic acid is antimutagenic which means it protects cells against the effects of mutagens or reduces the rate of spontaneous mutations. Chlorogenic acid acts as anti-viral and anti-microbial substence. There is another type of anti-oxydant in eggplant, called nasunin. Nasunin destroy free radicals and it prevents the growth of blood vessels that feed cancer cells. It also helps to prevent rheumatoid arthritis by stopping the free radicals from causing damage in the joints. It has antiangiogenic property which helps to fight cancer. Nasunin keeps your heart and the cardiovascular system healthy. Thus, it gives more health benefits of eggplant. Eggplant contains manganese that act as co-factor for superoxide dismutase. Potassium is an important electrolyte which helps to prevent hypertension.

Health Benefits of Eggplant

Nutritional benefits of eggplant are many because it contains following nutrients-

• Calcium
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Cholesterol
• Iron
• Carbohydrates (Sugars etc)
• Dietary Fiber
• Protein
• Fat
• Vitamins- Thiamine (vit. B1), Riboflavin (vit. B2), Niacin (vit. B3), Pantothenic acid (B5), Vitamin B6, Folate (vit. B9) and Vitamin C
• Saturated Fat
• Phosphorus
• Zinc
• Sodium

Be Careful-

There are many nutritional benefits of eggplant. But, you should be careful before you eat it. Eggplant contains oxalates. Oxalates can be harmful, if you have kidney or gallbladder problems such as Kidney stone, Gallstones etc. In this case, avoid eating eggplant. If you have excessive bile humor or acidity problem, you should avoid eating eggplant. Pregnant woman should also avoid it. If you have allergy to eggplant causing itchy skin or mouth, you should avoid it. Arthritis patient should not eat it for dinner. People with a history of kidney stones or gallstones may wish to avoid eggplant.