Is Baingan Bharta Healthy?

Brinjal or baingan might not be your most favorite vegetable, but no one can deny its several health benefits. Which is primarily why baingan bharta as a dish is so popular among people of the subcontinent, but Is Baingan Bharta Healthy?

It’s primarily an Indian dish that’s made using baingan as the key ingredient along with other vegetables like tomatoes and onions. A mix of spices is then incorporated into the dish to give that extra tang of flavor and it is then served with chapati and raita.

In this article, we’ll be talking about the specific health benefits this spicy, delicious dish provides as well as the calories you can expect from consuming about 1 cup or 100g of the dish. So, without any further ado, let’s get straight into it.

Calories in Baingan Sabzi

Baingan or eggplant is a vegetable that contains carbohydrates, proteins and even fats which all add up to some major calories. However, how much of this sabzi you eat is very important to figuring out how many calories you’re consuming.

As someone who cares about your health, we’d advise eating baingan bharta in only 1 cup or 100g servings as those quantities contain an adequate amount of calories you should be getting from a meal.

That said, here’s all the baingan bharta nutrition facts you need to know when serving the dish  in 1 cup and 100g quantities.

Baingan Bharta Calories 1 cup

There are a total of 232 Calories in 1 cup of baingan bharta. Here’s the calorie breakdown:

• 12.66 g fat which constitutes 113.94 Calories;
• 30.17 g carbs which constitutes 120.68 Calories;
• 4.05 g protein which constitutes 16.20 Calories.

Baingan Bharta Calories 100g

In one 100g serving, baingan bharta contains a total of 97 Calories. Here’s the Calorie breakdown:

• 5.28 g fat which constitutes 47.52 Calories;
• 12.57 g carbs which constitutes 50.28 Calories;
• 1.69 g protein which constitutes 6.76 Calories.

Brinjal Benefits and Side Effects

To definitively answer the question once and for all: Yes, baingan bharta is healthy. Primarily because of all the health benefits brinjal as a vegetable provides.

The vegetable is made up of a number of very important nutrients and minerals that provide support to multiple areas of your body.

In this section, we’ll be discussing the top 4 benefits of consuming brinjal, along with some of the minor side effects you might experience from consuming too much of the vegetable.

Improves your Heart Health

Brinjals or eggplants are filled with important minerals and vitamins like soluble fibers, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and other natural antioxidants.

These nutrients take on the role of preventing cardiovascular diseases and maintaining your heart health by fighting off harmful free radicals.

Additionally, brinjal also contains some flavonoids like anthocyanins which help fight against inflammatory markers that can increase your risk of contracting a heart disease. 

Anti-Cancer Properties

Scientific research conducted on the vegetable suggests that brinjals are packed with solasodine rhamnosyl glycosides, a compound that can effectively stop cancer cells from growing. Thereby reducing the chance of certain cancers recurring in your body.

The antioxidants in its makeup also help fight against free radicals that can effectively mutate your DNA which can in turn cause cancer. 

Great for Reducing Cholesterol

Multiple scientific studies conclude that brinjals contain a huge amount of chlorogenic acid, a special antioxidant that’s known to decrease the level of LDL cholesterol in the body. Thus reducing the risk of you contracting nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

In fact, just 1 cup of cooked eggplant can provide you with around 2.4g or fiber as well which can go a long way in keeping a check on your cholesterol levels.

Reduces the Risk of Diabetes

We’ve already mentioned in this section how eggplants are quite rich in fibers, but what you might not have known is that eggplants are quite rich in polyphenols as well.

Which is good for a number of reasons. Firstly, these fibers and polyphenols gang up to reduce your body’s absorption of sugar which can as a side effect also help you with weight loss.

Secondly, polyphenols specifically can also increase the secretion of insulin in your body which in turn helps promote better blood sugar control.

All in all, both of these actions can reduce the risk of diabetes, especially for older individuals who are at greater risk of contracting the disease.

Side Effects

Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of plants and offer plenty of health benefits to its consumers. However, like every other food in this world, it can also cause some side effects if taken in excess or when combined with other substances.

Minor side effects include stomach irritation, swellings in unusual places and slight difficulty breathing. These side effects are majorly attributed to allergic reactions.

Additionally, the cooked form of this vegetable can potentially worsen the symptoms of people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.

The vegetable’s peels also contain nasunin a type of chemical that binds with the iron in your cells and removes which could lead to iron deficiency if the vegetable is consumed in inordinate amounts.

Individuals suffering from kidney stones should also be wary of consuming the vegetable. As in high quantities, brinjal contains a high amount of oxalates which can lead to urinary tract infections.

Final Thoughts

And that’s all we have for you folks in terms of our answer to the question: Is Baingan Bharta healthy?

All in all, the vegetable itself offers an immense amount of health benefits, while the dish itself is low in calories which essentially allows you to get all the nutrients you need while keeping your weight under control.

However, we’d still advise against consuming too much of it as it comes with its own set of side effects, some of which can be particularly harmful for someone suffering from a preexisting condition.

Lastly, if you’d like more information about how brinjal can specifically help you maintain your health and how much you should consume of it on a weekly basis, we’d suggest booking an appointment with Ayesha Nasir, one of the leading nutritionists in Pakistan.