Poha Can Help You Shed Weight! Myth or Fact?

Is Poha Healthy?

Poha is beaten or flattened rice and is a popular breakfast food in India. It is packed with flavor and is healthy at the same time. Did you know poha can aid in weight loss? Yes! Poha can be a perfect choice for your weight loss diet. Let’s understand how poha can benefit weight loss.

How is Poha Beneficial for Weight Loss?

Low in Calories

For losing weight, it is essential that you keep a check on your calorie intake. You should be on a calorie deficit if you want to shed weight. Poha is low in calories. However, the total calories in your dish is determined by how you prepare it. 

If you are planning to lose weight, then make sure that you add healthy ingredients such as vegetables and dry fruits to your dish. This increases the nutritional value of the dish and also helps in keeping the total calorie count low. 

High in Fiber

Poha is high in fiber. Fiber-rich foods help in keeping you full for long periods of time. Fiber absorbs water in the stomach and increases in volume, thus satiating your hunger. 

Therefore, consuming poha prevents you from unnecessary snacking throughout the day. This helps you control your calorie intake and aids in weight loss.

Packed with Essential Nutrients

Poha is packed with essential nutrients that can benefit your overall health and can also help in weight loss. Let’s take a look at the nutritional value of poha, per 100 g.

Improves Digestion

Poha is high in dietary fiber and is light on your stomach. It helps improve digestion and speeds up your metabolism. A healthy rate of metabolism is essential to burn sufficient calories in a day. The key to weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. Therefore, poha can be considered an ideal weight loss food. 

How to Eat Poha for Weight Loss?

You can make a wide variety of dishes with poha. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

• Vegetable Poha: 

Adding some healthy vegetables to your poha can make it a wholesome dish and benefit in weight loss.

• Bread Poha: 

It is a popular breakfast and snacking option in India. It can be made by adding bread pieces to your classic poha.

• Dry Fruit Poha: 

It is a nutritious recipe and a perfect weight-loss snack. You can prepare it by roasting poha along with your favorite nuts and seeds.

• Poha Chat: 

This dish is loaded with flavor and is healthy at the same time. To your classic poha, you can add corn, lemon juice, coriander leaves, chat masala, and your favorite vegetables.

• Poha Salad: 

It can be an excellent mid-day or evening snack. You can make it by adding your favorite raw vegetables such as cucumber, tomato, or capsicum to poha.

When is the Best Time to Have Poha?

Poha can be consumed at any time of the day. However, as poha is a rich source of carbohydrates, it is best to consume it as a breakfast item. Carbohydrates are the main energy source for your body and therefore having poha in the morning helps in keeping you energized all day. 

It can also be consumed as an evening snack. It is easy to prepare and as it is high fiber, it keeps you full for a long period. Having poha in the evening helps in curbing your hunger pangs in between meals.

How Much Poha Should be Consumed in a Day for Weight Loss?

Poha is a wholesome meal that is also appealing to your taste buds. You can consume 100 to 150 g of poha in a day. Adding nuts, seeds, vegetables, or spices to your poha will add to its nutritional value.

How to Make Poha Even Healthier?

Making small changes to your poha-based dish can make it healthier:

• Add varieties of vegetables to your poha to make it instantly more healthy.
• Use brown poha instead of white poha, as it has a lot more fiber.
• Add soya chunks to increase the protein content in your poha.
• Instead of using packed snacks such as bhujia for garnishing, you can switch to healthier options such as roasted peanuts, ground coconut, or dry fruits.
• Squeezing lime juice on your poha can increase the nutritional value of your dish with a boost of vitamin C.