Hi Friends of Allswell,
Today we shine the spotlight on our favourite Allswell classic – the evergreen Water Chestnut and Sugar Cane! Both sugar cane and water chestnut have got an extensive history in most Singaporean Chinese families. As these two foods are considered to have “cooling” properties in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) landscape, families often cook/extract their juices to combat the scorching heat of Singapore. Today, they are more commonly found in drink stores at hawker centres to wash down that sinful plate of char kway teow you’ve just eaten (:
Here are some benefits you can get from water chestnut and sugar cane.
- Heat Removing Properties
Without going into too much details on TCM, the terms “heaty” and “cooling” are used to describe a set of symptoms that a person experiences when their Yin & Yang is out of balance. When a person has too much Yang energy, they are considered to be “heaty” and can experience symptoms like sore throat, red eyes, fever, mouth ulcers, and excessive thirst. Water Chestnut is seen as “cooling” on the human body and might work to alleviate those symptoms! Sugar Cane also works in the same way as Water Chestnut in TCM.
- Water Chestnuts are very nutritious
Water Chestnuts contain high levels of fiber, potassium, manganese, copper, vitamin B6 and riboflavin. The exact breakdown can be found at https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/302149, but a quick summary would be that water chestnuts are very nutritious and can be eaten as a healthy snack – best thing is that they are only 97kcal per 100g, perfect for those who are counting their calories!
- Sugar Cane might be suitable for diabetics (Check with your doctor first!)
The glycemic index (GI) rating goes from 0 to 100, and is an indicator of how much a carbohydrate affects your blood sugar level. Food with high GI levels (white bread, white rice) tend to result in a bigger spike in blood sugar levels as compared to low GI foods, which release energy slower and over a longer period of time. Sugar cane juice has a GI rating of 43, making it a low GI food suitable for consumption by diabetics. However, as it still has sugar, it is recommended to drink in moderation or even better, check with your healthcare professional before consumption.
- Sugar Cane juice might be good for acne!
Whether you’re drinking it, or using it as a mask, sugar cane can be useful to ward off acne! Sugar cane is full of phytonutrients and alpha-hydroxy (try not to lose us here) acid that can reverse sun damage on skin. Don’t go guzzling on sugar cane juice though, too much sugar consumption can, on the other hand, cause acne. Everything in moderation, people!
If you’re considering a healthier alternative to your soda at home during dinner, do give our Water Chestnut and Sugar Cane drink a try! It’s also available in Less Sugar for folks who are more health conscious!
We sign off for now – keep yourself cool and have a great May Day holiday!
With Love,
Team Allswell