Fenugreek seeds nutrition per 100g: calories, protein, fibre and GI

The table below gives fenugreek seeds nutrition per 100 g of raw, uncooked methi dana, from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 published by ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Energy is 235 kcal, and the three figures that stand out are protein at 25.41 g, dietary fibre at 47.55 g and carbohydrate at just 10.57 g. A seed that is nearly half fibre and a quarter protein is not the profile most people expect from a spice jar, which is why the per-teaspoon section that follows matters: nobody eats methi dana by the 100 g.

Two things to read carefully. First, these are raw values for the whole seed; soaking, roasting and grinding change the weight and water, so the table stays the raw-seed figures. Second, vitamin C is not reported for fenugreek seeds in IFCT 2017: no value is printed, so this page says not reported rather than guessing a number. A pack label may print different figures; every number on this page is IFCT 2017's.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN). — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

A level teaspoon of fenugreek seeds weighs 4 g, and that is the portion this seed is actually eaten in. Every figure below is the per-100 g value multiplied by 0.04, so one teaspoon carries one twenty-fifth of the table.

So methi dana calories come to about 9.4 kcal for a level teaspoon, before whatever it is soaked or cooked with, and the fibre is the line worth noticing: 1.9 g from one spoonful of seeds, since most of the seed's weight is fibre and protein rather than carbohydrate. A level tablespoon (12 g) holds three teaspoons' worth, 28.2 kcal, 3.0 g of protein and 5.7 g of fibre, in case a recipe measures by the larger spoon. Water, salt, oil and the dish around the seeds are not counted here; a soak water made from one teaspoon (4 g) of seeds steeped in one glass (250 ml) of water carries the seed's numbers once, not twice.

Fenugreek seeds protein, 25.41 g per 100 g, sits well above the other seed spices in the same tables: cumin seeds hold 13.91 g and coriander seeds 10.66 g, so fenugreek carries about 1.8 times the protein of cumin and about 2.4 times that of coriander. The catch is the serving. One teaspoon of fenugreek gives 1.0 g of protein, a contribution to a meal, not a protein course; the dal, curd or paneer beside it does the heavy lifting.

Fibre is the bigger story. At 47.55 g per 100 g, fenugreek beats cumin's 30.35 g (about 1.6 times) and sits about 6 percent above coriander's 44.81 g. The same tables also show what fenugreek does not win: both peers carry more calcium (878 mg and 718 mg against 135 mg), more iron (20.58 mg and 17.64 mg against 8.47 mg), more magnesium (442 mg and 343 mg against 167 mg) and more potassium (1886 mg and 1473 mg against 891 mg). Fenugreek's edge is protein, fibre, folate (51.11 mcg against 27.79 mcg and 22.07 mcg) and the lowest energy figure: 235 against 305 for cumin and 269 for coriander, with the lowest fat (5.72 g) and carbohydrate (10.57 g) of the three. Each seed leads on a different set of nutrients, and fenugreek leads on protein, fibre and folate.

Neither the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 nor the ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines prints a glycemic index figure for fenugreek seeds. This page therefore gives no GI number, no low-medium-high label for the seed, and no glycemic load, which cannot be computed without a GI. Any methi dana glycemic index figure quoted elsewhere is not from IFCT 2017 or the guidelines.

What IFCT 2017 does print is the seed's carbohydrate and fibre split, and those two figures are the honest context: 10.57 g of carbohydrate and 47.55 g of fibre per 100 g. In the ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines, dietary fibre is described as delaying the absorption of carbohydrate and fat from a meal and adding to its satiety value, which is a statement about fibre in general, not a GI for this seed. The measured blood-glucose findings for fenugreek come from trials rather than a GI table, and they are set out with their limits on the is kasuri methi good for diabetes page.

Iron is the mineral people ask about first, and IFCT 2017 reports 8.47 mg per 100 g, which a 4 g teaspoon turns into 0.3 mg. Plant iron of this kind is taken up better when vitamin C shares the meal: the ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines name guava, pineapple and citrus fruits, and chutneys made with coriander and green chillies, as foods that improve iron absorption from plant sources when eaten as part of a regular meal. The same guidelines ask that tea stay at least an hour away from a meal, because tea binds dietary iron and makes it unavailable.

The rest of the list: calcium 135 mg, magnesium 167 mg, potassium 891 mg, zinc 3.80 mg and folate 51.11 mcg per 100 g, with sodium at 40.20 mg. Per teaspoon that is 5.4 mg of calcium, 6.7 mg of magnesium, 35.6 mg of potassium, 0.15 mg of zinc and 2.0 mcg of folate. Potassium outruns sodium by a wide margin in the raw seed, though a 4 g teaspoon of anything remains a small slice of a day's minerals. What each of these nutrients does in the body, and how the protein and fibre above read as everyday benefits, is on the 10 benefits of fenugreek seeds page.

No Indian kitchen measures methi dana by the 100 g. The seed goes into food three ways, and each keeps the arithmetic above small: a quarter teaspoon (1 g) cracked in hot oil for a tempering, one teaspoon (4 g) soaked overnight for chewing or for the methi dana water habit, or a teaspoon roasted two to four minutes and ground for doughs and masalas, the method on the fenugreek powder page. In the ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines, fenugreek seeds sit on the list of small seeds with health-promoting effects that can be eaten at least three to four times a week, which is a rhythm, not a gram target.

The everyday ways to prepare the seed, from soaking to sprouting, are set out on the fenugreek seeds how to eat page, and the whole plant, from names to the dried leaves, is on the fenugreek (methi) hub.

What is methi dana in english?

Methi dana in English is fenugreek seeds: methi is the Hindi word for fenugreek and dana means seed, so the two words name the same small yellow-brown seed this page measures. IFCT 2017's English entry is exactly that, fenugreek seeds, and the seed's other printed names include Tamil venthayam, Telugu menthulu and Malayalam uluva.

How much protein is in fenugreek seeds?

25.41 g per 100 g of raw seeds (IFCT 2017), which is about 1.8 times what cumin seeds hold and about 2.4 times coriander seeds. A level teaspoon (4 g) gives 1.0 g, so the seed is protein-dense but arrives in small spoonfuls; the dal, curd or paneer in the same meal carries the meal's protein. Full numbers are in the table above.

How many calories in methi dana?

235 kcal per 100 g of raw fenugreek seeds (IFCT 2017), the lowest of the seed spices compared above: cumin and coriander both sit above it. One level teaspoon (4 g) comes to about 9.4 kcal, so a tempering or a soak adds little energy while its 1.9 g of fibre joins the meal.

Does fenugreek seeds help in hair growth?

None of the fenugreek references shows fenugreek seeds growing hair, so this page makes no such claim. The hair packs and rinses made with methi are home tradition, and neither IFCT 2017 nor the guidelines speaks to them. What IFCT 2017 does show is the seed's protein, fibre and minerals; for hair concerns, a doctor or dermatologist is the right address, not a spice jar.

How much fibre is in fenugreek seeds?

47.55 g of total dietary fibre per 100 g (IFCT 2017), which beats cumin's 30.35 g and edges past coriander's 44.81 g. One teaspoon (4 g) delivers about 1.9 g. The seed is eaten by the teaspoon, so it adds fibre to a meal rather than supplying the day's share on its own; vegetables, dal and whole grains carry the rest.

What is the glycemic index of methi dana?

Neither IFCT 2017 nor the guidelines prints a GI value for methi dana, so this page gives none, and without a GI there is no glycemic load to compute. What IFCT 2017 prints instead is the carbohydrate and fibre split, 10.57 g and 47.55 g per 100 g. Be wary of any site that quotes a methi dana GI without naming its source.