Can Taro Help You Lose Weight? Benefits, Uses, Contraindications, and Foods You Should Not Eat It With
Autumn is the perfect season to eat taro. Taro, also known as taro corm, has a sweet, soft and glutinous taste and is rich in starch and dietary fiber, making it very suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach. So what are the benefits, uses and contraindications of taro? Can it help you lose weight? What should you not eat it with?
1. Introduction to Taro
Taro, or taro corm, commonly known as taro, is a plant of the genus Colocasia in the Araceae family. Its bulbous underground stem (tuber) can be eaten and also used as medicine, and it is a traditional staple food of the Polynesian people on the islands of Oceania; it is produced all year round, and its flowering period is in autumn. The earliest cultivators, the Indians, domesticated wild taro from the wetlands of Malaysia around 5,000 BC, and it later spread to Egypt.
2. Benefits and Uses of Taro
Taro is sweet and pungent in flavor, neutral in nature, and slightly toxic; it enters the intestine and stomach meridians. The most common ways to eat it are steaming, boiling, stir-frying and deep-frying. It is mainly used to treat lumps, phlegm nodes, scrofula, constipation and other conditions. According to experts, taro has 5 major benefits and uses.
| Nutritional Content of 100g of Taro |
| Calories (kcal) 79 |
| Potassium (mg) 378 |
| Carotene (mcg) 160 |
| Phosphorus (mg) 55 |
| Calcium (mg) 36 |
| Sodium (mg) 33.1 |
| Folate (mcg) 31.3 |
| Vitamin A (mcg) 27 |
| Magnesium (mg) 23 |
| Carbohydrates (g) 18.1 |
| Vitamin C (mg) 6 |
| Protein (g) 2.2 |
| Selenium (mcg) 1.45 |
| Iron (mg) 1 |
| Dietary fiber (g) 1 |
| Niacin (mg) 0.7 |
| Zinc (mg) 0.49 |
| Vitamin E (mg) 0.45 |
| Copper (mg) 0.37 |
| Manganese (mg) 0.3 |
| Fat (g) 0.2 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg) 0.1 |
| Vitamin B1 (mg) 0.06 |
| Vitamin B2 (mg) 0.05 |
1. Taro helps protect teeth: Taro contains protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A and other substances, among which the fluorine content is relatively high, giving it the effect of preventing tooth decay and protecting teeth.
2. Taro helps boost immunity: The polysaccharides contained in taro can enhance the body's immunity and play a supportive role in the recovery process after illness.
3. Taro helps with beauty and skin care and preventing gout: Taro is an alkaline food that can regulate the body's acid-base balance, producing effects of beauty and skin care and relieving joint swelling and pain in gout patients; moreover, taro contains collagen, which helps delay aging.
4. Taro helps prevent constipation: Taro contains a large amount of dietary fiber, which has a very good effect on preventing constipation.
5. Taro helps tonify the middle and boost qi: Taro is rich in mucilaginous saponin and various trace elements, which can increase appetite and promote digestion. It is suitable for people who are fatigued and weak, listless, short of breath and prone to sweating, and who catch colds repeatedly.
3. Dietary Contraindications for Taro
1. Do not eat taro that is half-cooked, because raw taro is slightly toxic; in mild cases it causes numbness of the mouth and tongue and gastrointestinal discomfort, and in severe cases it causes food poisoning.
2. Do not eat too much taro, because it contains a relatively large amount of starch; otherwise it easily causes bloating. Generally, about 2-3 is enough.
3. People with phlegm, allergic constitution (urticaria, eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis), children with food stagnation, gastrointestinal discomfort, and diabetes patients should eat less.
4. People with weak spleen and stomach, intestinal diseases, tuberculosis, and patients in the recovery period can eat it in moderation, which helps restore good health
3. Infants, young children and the elderly can eat it in moderation.
4. What Should Taro Not Be Eaten With?
Taro should not be eaten with bananas: Taro contains a sticky substance, and when this substance mixes with bananas in the gastrointestinal tract, it enhances the gas-producing effect of bananas and causes bloating and discomfort.
5. Can Eating Taro Help You Lose Weight?
Eating taro can help with weight loss. According to the nutritional information, every 100g of taro contains 80 kcal of calories and is also very rich in dietary fiber, so it can increase the feeling of fullness and can be eaten as a staple food during weight loss. However, taro itself is relatively difficult to digest, so be sure not to eat too much, otherwise it will cause bloating.
Conclusion: After reading this article, everyone should now know the benefits and uses of taro. As a common food, we can eat some taro in moderation in daily life, and it is especially suitable for children and the elderly. However, be careful not to eat too much, and do not eat it half-cooked.