Water chestnut: Also known as singhara is very beneficial as it acts as a coolant, cures jaundice, has antioxidant properties and treats urine infection. It also cures indigestion and nausea, relieves a cough, helps combat hypertension, improves blood count and is beneficial for the hair too. It has enough amounts of potassium to help counter the effect of sodium and is considered good for lowering blood pressure as well as for your heart.
Five raw water chestnuts daily are recommended for a healthy potassium intake. The nuts can be eaten raw or boiled. When they are dried, they can be milled into a flour (singhara atta) which is used to make rotis, poories and paranthas. This flour is used to prepare foods for religious festivals, including Navaratri. It is an allowed food during vrat because it is not made of grain. The flour is also added to milk to make the milk creamier and it can be used to make a batter for deep-frying.
Water chestnuts are a great source of fibre and provide 12 per cent of the daily fibre recommended for women and eight per cent for men.