Makhana is the seed of the plants in the genus Nelumbo. It is also known as lotus seeds. They are oval or elliptical, and the seed coat is red or white. The makhana seed holds a vital position in the diet of traditional Asian medicine. In general, makhana seeds are very good for our bodies. Fresh makhana seeds can be eaten raw, and some people will make various kinds of porridge. Let’s take a look at the nutritional value and benefits of makhana seeds.
Potential benefits of makhana seeds
01. Lowers blood pressure
Scientists extracted liensinine crystals from the makhana seeds. This substance can temporarily lower blood pressure. If it is converted into quaternary ammonium salt, it will enhance the effect of lowering blood pressure, and the effect will be more lasting.
In addition, the makhana seeds also contain non-crystalline alkaloid Nn-9, which also has a relatively strong hypotensive effect. Scientists injected the compound into anesthetized cats and tested it. It has been found that cats’ blood pressure can be reduced by as much as 50% and kept for 2 to 3 hours.
Scientists have also found that after injecting those compounds into dogs, rabbits, and other animals, their body quickly develops tolerance and plays a faster role in lowering blood pressure.
Therefore, through these experiments, we can also find that the alkaloids contained in the makhana seeds can effectively release histamine, expand the surrounding blood vessels, and play a good role in lowering blood pressure. (05)
02. Strengths the heart
In addition to the effect of lowering blood pressure, the makhana seed also has a good promoting effect on the heart. The non-crystalline alkaloid Nn-9 contained in the makhana seed core mentioned above can reduce blood pressure and have an excellent protective effect on the heart.
The amorphous alkaloid Nn-9 will cause the surface of blood vessels to expand after entering the body. So it will gain good heart health and also has a certain effect on nerves.
03. May have an anti-cancer effect
Makhana seeds are good at replenishing the deficiency of the internal organs. The antioxidants contained in the makhana seeds have an inhibitory effect on nasopharyngeal cancer. All these form the anti-cancer and anti-cancer nutrition effects of the makhana seeds. (01)
04. Supplies strong nutrients
The raffinose contained in makhana seeds is a stimulant suitable for all ages. It is a commonly used nutritional product for those who are chronically ill, postpartum, or elderly with a physical deficiency. (03)
05. Releves wet dreams
Makhana seeds contain Liensinine. Liensinine has a certain effect of calming sexual desire. Taking Liensinine has a good effect of stopping spermatorrhea. It is more beneficial for young people with many wet dreams or frequent spermatorrhea. (04)
06. Improves brain health
It is beneficial to usually eat makhana seeds for Middle-aged, older adults, and especially mental workers. It can strengthen the brain, enhance memory, improve work efficiency, and prevent the occurrence of senile dementia.
07. Promotes heart and blood vessel health
Although the taste of a good makhana seed heart is slightly bitter, it has excellent medicinal value. The core of the makhana seed contains liensinine, isoliensinine, and many other alkaloids(02). It has the function of clearing heat and purging fire and has a significant heart-strengthening effect. It can also clean blood vessels and expand blood vessels.
You can drink a cup of makhana seed tea frequently. It effectively regulates blood pressure, inhibits the increase in blood pressure, and prevents sudden cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
08. Soothes the nerves
Do you suffer from poor sleep quality, insomnia, dreaminess, confusion, and anxiety? Drinking a cup of makhana seed water can effectively change this situation. You can take a cup of makhana seed water one hour before going to bed every day. That will help to quality of sleep all night.
09. Smooths the skin
Experts tell us that it is recommended that some women who love beauty can regularly take some makhana seed soaking water. Scientifically, which can significantly improve some loose skin or long wrinkles, make the skin smoother and more elastic, and make people live and younger.
Also, you can use makhana seeds to relieve acne. Take a 1:1 quantity of Aloe vera and fried makhana seed powder. Mix them together and apply them to your acne area for about 5, 7 minutes. Then wash out and do this for one week. Finally, you will see an amazing result.
Precautions of eating makhana seeds
01. Don’t overdose makhana
The common people are suitable for taking makhana seeds, and it is not easy to have many side effects. However, any matter or overdose is harmful to the body, and even the best medicine can become a harmful poison after overdose.
Makhana seeds have a cold constitution. So, taking them in a proper amount has a good effect of clearing away heat and reducing fire. However, I do not recommend taking it for some people with a cold constitution. It is best to consult a professional doctor if these people want to use it. Otherwise, it will easily cause adverse effects on the body.
02. Be careful when long-term use
Many people like to take makhana seed after experiencing insomnia and take it for a long time to maintain the effect. In fact, this is wrong. Clinical trials have found that makhana seed is suitable for those with mild insomnia.
Bud don’t addict to anything for a long time. If you want to make your body healthier every day, it is the best choice to develop good living habits, such as taking a walk after a meal, doing more aerobic exercises, etc. These methods can help improve the quality of sleep and improve your body. As a result, your physique will get better and better.
03. Avoid eating makhana with protein-rich foods
The protein content of makhana seeds is high. But, sometimes, it’s not easy to digest protein. So, It is difficult to digest other protein-rich foods with makhana seeds. Also, too much gastric acid is easy to stimulate the gastric mucosa and cause physical discomfort.
So it is good to avoid common protein-rich foods eating with makhana such as eggs, fish, shrimp, crabs, peanuts, etc.
04. Avoid eating makhana with starchy foods
The starch content in makhana seeds is very high. More than half of the amount of makhana seed is starch. Besides, eating starch will promote gastric acid secretion.
Therefore, eating too much food rich in starch when eating makhana will increase gastric acid content in the stomach. So it will lead to the upwelling of gastric acid and affect your health.
How to choose the best makhana seeds?
Generally, all makhana in the market are processed seeds. The traditional processing method is manual peeling other one is machine polishing and peeling.
The productivity of these two methods is low, and the loss rate is high. So there are black methods that use harmful chemicals to process. For example, some manufacturers process makhana seeds using sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide. It contains heavy metals that are harmful to the human body. In this way, the processing efficiency is high, and the cost is low.
The processed makhana seeds should be white and yellow, and the shape is complete, full, and bright. Thus, they sell well and are more marketable.
Some manufacturers add fluorescent whitening agents in the processing to make the makhana seeds look more attractive. But, unfortunately, that will cause large damage to the human liver. So, to distinguish the best makhana seeds, we can start from the following aspects.
01. Appearance comparison
The makhana seeds polished by the machine are rounded, and the points at both ends are smoothed. There is a little residual red skin on it.
It is chemically peeled. There is a little expansion at the knife mark during processing. Also, the color of makhana seeds can vary according to the amount of hydrogen peroxide and whitening agent. Sometimes, its color can be like white paper.
02. Taste comparison
Hand peeled and machine peeled makhana seeds smell very fragrant after cooking. Also, those are enlarged nicely when cooking or soaking.
The makhana seeds that are chemically peeled look larger (due to soaking), but they don’t swell much when cooked, and they smell alkaline.
03. Price comparison
The machine peeled makhana seeds are 25%~35% more expensive than the chemically peeled makhana seeds.
