15 Health Benefits of Eating Bathua (Chenopodium Album) & Its Side Effects

Bathua the Chenopodium Album is known to be a weed but they are loaded with numerous health benefits and it is famous as a healthy vegetable in India. I’m going to introduce to their medicinal benefits and side effects.

let’s start with their introduction.

What is Bathua the Chenopodium Album ?

The Bathua Leaves raise with cultivated crops and known to be a weed. Bathua develops across the hot places of the globe. Many countries raise chenopodium album for its seeds. Human uses bathua leaves & seeds for eating for the ancient time.

The Bathua leaves are boiled and eaten as other leafy veggies in India. Some of the recipes that we prepare in India are Raita, paratha of bathua leaves, and curd bathua.

Believe me, Bathua is delicious, and easy to make :).

On the other hand, Bathua seeds are edible and actually healthful. It is loaded with entire crucial amino acids.

Common Names of Bathua

Bathua has many other different names. some of them are listed below-:

• White Goosefoot, Goosefoot, allgood
• Pigweed, Lambsquarters, Lamb’s-quarters, Wild Spinach
• Bathua, Bathuwa , Cheel Bhaji, Chill Bhaji, Bettusag (Hindi)
• Chenopodium album (Scientific/Botanical Name)
• lamb’s quarters, melde,  and fat-hen
• Pappukura (Telugu)
• hakvaath, Chandan bathua (Marathi)
• Katu ayamoddakam, Vastuccira (Malayalam)
• Chandan betu, Chandanbethu, Beto Sag (Bengali)
• Parupukkirai (Tamil)
• Kaduoma, Sakothina soppu (Kannada)
• Tanjaliyo, Tandaliyo, Chilni bhaji (Gujrati)

Scientific/Botanical Name of Bathua

After Seeing numerous name of Bathua, You probably confuse why it’s also known as Chenopodium album?

Actually, Chenopodium Album is the scientific/botanical name of Bathua.

Bathua Seeds

Bathua seeds are provided to animals and poultry as supplements. The seeds prepared as rice and also consumed along with daal.

The seeds are outstanding to wheat, buckwheat, millet, corn, and rice. Some of the recipes with bathua seeds are porridge, cakes, soup, the fermented beverage is known as soora in Shimla, an alcoholic drink known as Ghanti and so on.

 

Health Benefits of Eating Bathua (Chenopodium Album)

 1) Cures Constipation

The reason behind constipation is the wrong type of diet or unbalanced diet, eating disorder, lack of fibers in your meal, consuming a lot of dairy products and made it a common issue these days.

The Bathua leaves are loaded with fibre, and it has laxative properties, which helps cure constipation.

2) Rich in Vitamin A

Bathua is rich in vitamin A, which makes it more valuable. Its vitamin A content is comparable to carrots.

Vitamin A is crucial for normal eyesight and the immune system. It helps kidneys, heart, and other organs work the right way. It also protects against problems like night blindness.

Vitamin A plays a role in -:

• Immune system function
• Growth
• Bone formation
• Reproduction
• Wound healing

100 grams of raw Bathua have:-

• Vitamin A (RAE) = 580 µg/Vitamin A (IU) = 11600 IU

 

3) Blood Purifier

Bathua leaves also have cleansing properties, the juice of its leaves can purify your blood. Eat bathua with the juice of 4-5 neem leaves for purifying your blood.

4) Loaded with Crucial minerals

It is loaded with important minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc.

Crucial Minerals in 100 grams of Raw Bathua

[Source= USDA]

• Iron = 1.20 mg
• Calcium = 309 mg
• Magnesium = 34 mg
• phosphorus = 72 mg
• potassium= 452 mg
• Sodium = 43 mg
• Zinc = 0.44 mg
• Copper =0.293 mg
• Manganese = 0.782 mg
• Selenium = 0.9 µg

5) Rich In Vitamin C

Along with important nutrients, and beneficial effects. Bathua has decent amount of Vitamin C.

The deficiency of vitamin C can cause a disease, that is popular by the name of scurvy. Therefore, Bathua is useful in treating Scurvy.

Few of the health benefits of Vitamin C are following-:

• development and restoration
• It is an antioxidant
• Good For Brain
• Makes Collagen

6) Improves Appetite

The natural recurring desire for food is Appetite and it is the need to eat in an effort to maintain energy balance.

If you are suffering from appetite problem then you can add bathua to your daily diet. Adding Bathua  to your meal plan can enhance your appetite. Bathua leaves can be used as a salad with tomato, juice of lemon and pinch of salt.

 

7) Improve Haemoglobin Level

Haemoglobin levels in the blood can be improved by increasing intake of iron rich foods in your meal plan, Including iron to your diet is an easy approach to increase the usual production of hemoglobin.

Already mentioned above, Bathua has a good amount of iron, which makes it ideal to enhance haemoglobin level in blood.

 

8) Rich in Amino Acids

According to National Library of Medicine, Amino acids are organic compounds that combine to form proteins. Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life.

Our body uses amino acids to make proteins help the body for breaking down food, grow, repair body tissue. perform many other body functions.

Bathua Leaves have a decent amount of amino acids. The leaves have 8 crucial amino acids such as Tryptophan, Phenylalanine, Methonine, Theonine, Threonine, Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.

9) Heart Tonic

Bathua is thought to be a heart tonic because it’s good for heart health.

10) Common Medicine for Intestinal Parasites

The juice made by Bathua leaves is used as a common medicine for intestinal parasites. It eliminates intestinal worms in children if they eat bathua on a regular basis for a few days.

How To Take It-:

• Take 10-15 ml juice of leaves
• Add with pinch of rock salt
• Take three times a day soon after meals

NOTE:

•  It’s best to seek the advice of your doctor first.

11) Keeps Digestive System Healthy

The leaves of chenopodium album are ideal for liver, gall bladder, and spleen. For maintaining digestive system healthy, you may consume 10 ml Bathua leaves juice.

12) For Kidney Stones

Chenopodium album is helpful and works effectively against the problem of kidney stone. It also decreases the tendency of stone formation.

How To Take It:-

• Take tender leaves and stems
• Crush them to draw out its juice
• Take 10-15 gm of this on a daily basis with or without water.

NOTE:

• Always talk to your doctor first, it’s best to seek the advice of your doctor.

13) Dental Health

When chewed the leaves, it helps to keep dental problems away. Leaves of raw bathua also help with ulcers of the mouth, pyorrhea, bad breath and other dental issues.

14) For Piles

Already mentioned at the top of the benefits list that it helps with constipation. Because of this aspect, the leaves are also useful in piles. Eating Bathua two times a day, in morning and evening,  gives a lot of relief to those who is suffering from piles.

15) Reduces Swellings

Bathua can be consumed to get rid of internal swelling and steamed leaves might be used externally to swellings to lower them. It helps reduce swellings both internal and external.

Side Effects of Bathua (Chenopodium Album)

• These leaves are rich in oxalic acids, and it has a tendency to bind with calcium and reduces the availability of calcium.
• Bathua seeds are abortifacient (that which will cause a miscarriage).
• Therefore, It is not suggested during pregnancy because it can cause miscarriage in pregnancy.
• This plant also has anti-fertility outcomes.
• you should Eat Bathua in moderation because eating bathua in a large amount may lead to diarrhea.
• Eating excessive amount of bathua leaves can cause gastric pain and issues in the nervous system besides other symptoms.

 

Above I covered how a weed, Bathua the Chenopodium Album have amazing health benefits and side effects.

Let us know your comment about the weed, Bathua the Chenopodium Album.