Tamarind is cultivated almost throughout India. It is a staple of Indian food. Indian cuisine uses tamarind in chutneys, curries and pickles. Apart from giving your food a burst of flavour, tamarind or imli comes with a lot of health benefits as well. Tamarind is rich in vitamins, mineral, anti-inflammatory compounds, and antioxidants and has been associated with many health benefits, including improved immunity, digestive, heart, liver, eye, and nerves’ health. It is also said to have potential anti-cancerous, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory benefits. Tamarind helps in lowering the cholesterol ratio in the blood and as it has a good amount of vitamin C, it also helps to cure scurvy.
However, 100gm of Tamarind contain (836mg) of Potassium and (113mg) of Phosphorous and is generally not recommended for kidney patients as it contains a significant amount of potassium and phosphorous, which can be harmful for those with kidney disorders. Not only raw pulp of tamarind should be avoided, tamarind which is used in different types of sweet syrups, flavoured sodas, iced teas which are used in fast food and markets should be restricted.
Limited amount (5-10ml) of tamarind pulp used in Rasam, Dals or curries is acceptable for dialysis patients. Although tamarind give sour taste to curries and dals, it is advisable that we replace tamarind with lemon or raw mango which are good and low in potassium comparatively.
