Is urad dal good for weight loss? Calories, protein and portions

It can fit a weight-loss plan when the cooking stays plain. A cooked katori of dal, from 30 g of the dry pulse, brings 97 kcal, 6.9 g of protein and 3.6 g of fibre. ICMR-NIN notes that dietary fibre delays the absorption of carbohydrates and fats and increases the satiety value of food.

The preparation changes the numbers. A vada takes up frying oil, and a laddu adds jaggery and ghee, so neither carries the plain katori's 97 kcal. The dal is not the problem; the frying pan is.

Black gram and urad dal are the same pulse, so the numbers match. Per 100 g of dry dal, IFCT 2017 records 324 kcal of energy, 23.06 g of protein, 11.93 g of fibre and just 1.69 g of fat. Those per-100 g figures are what the katori numbers above are worked from.

Urad's GI of 43, from a single test in India, is in the low band of 55 or less. The University of Sydney's GI group calls low-GI eating one of the keys to maintaining weight loss, and cites Europe's Diogenes study, in which a moderately high-protein, low-GI diet worked best for longer-term weight management. Neither source tested urad dal.

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

The pooled evidence comes from a 2016 meta-analysis of 21 randomised trials with 940 participants: diets containing pulses, eaten at a median of 132 g a day for about six weeks, brought a modest weight reduction of 0.34 kg more than comparison diets, and the effect held even when the diets were not calorie-restricted. The authors conclude that adding pulses may be a beneficial weight-loss strategy and call for studies of long-term weight loss.

A 2014 review of pulses is about diet quality rather than weight: it says pulses provide protein and fibre with iron, zinc, folate and magnesium, and that half a cup of beans or peas a day can raise intakes of these nutrients. It also describes pulses as high in fibre with a low GI.

ICMR-NIN's vegetarian My Plate for the day allots 85 g of pulses, which is close to three katoris of cooked dal. A katori of cooked dal is made from 30 g of dry urad. The guidelines set no separate pulse figure for weight loss, so your share of that allowance is a question for your dietitian.

Cook it plain: boiled or pressure-cooked dal with a measured tempering. A teaspoon of groundnut oil (5 g) in the tadka adds about 44 kcal to the pot, so measure it rather than pour it. The site's urad dal khichdi recipe is a boiled one-pot dal and rice, and the urad dal for diabetes page shares the same katori maths; the urad dal hub carries the full background on the pulse.

• Count the whole dish. Idli and vada both start from soaked urad batter, but idli batter also carries rice and vada takes up frying oil, so neither is the plain dal's 97 kcal. The idli with urad dal and rice and urad dal vada recipes print their own per-serving figures.
• Dal, not laddu. Urad dal laddu is a sweet made with jaggery and ghee; a katori of plain dal is the everyday form.
• Watch the toppings. Ghee poured over the dal, or the ghee in a richer dal, adds energy that the katori figure leaves out.
• Vegetables fill the rest. ICMR-NIN's My Plate gives about half the day's food to vegetables, greens, fruits and tubers, so serve the dal with roti or rice and fill the rest with vegetables.

Weight loss runs on more than dal: medicines, thyroid function, activity and medical history all belong in the plan. If losing weight is a medical goal, a dietitian builds the day's energy target, and the portions on this page are a starting illustration, not a prescription. When in doubt about how urad dal fits that target, talk to your doctor or dietitian before changing the plate.

Is black gram good for weight loss?

It can be part of a weight-loss diet. Black gram has 23.06 g of protein and 11.93 g of fibre per 100 g of dry dal, and ICMR-NIN notes that fibre adds to the satiety value of food. No single food decides your weight, so let a dietitian set the portion within your day.

Does black gram help in weight loss?

It can, modestly. In a 2016 meta-analysis of 21 trials with 940 participants, diets with a median of 132 g of pulses a day led to 0.34 kg more weight reduction over about six weeks than comparison diets, even without calorie restriction. The effect is modest: dal supports a weight-loss diet; it does not do the work alone.

Does urad dal increase weight?

Not by itself, going by the pulse trials: in the 2016 meta-analysis above, diets with pulses led to slightly more weight loss than diets without them. A katori of cooked dal holds 97 kcal; frying, as in vada, or jaggery and ghee, as in laddu, add energy on top of that.

Can urad dal cause gas?

It can, like other pulses. A 2019 review links pulse gas to sugars that escape digestion in the small intestine and break down in the colon, while noting that this explanation has recently been questioned. It also reports that people who keep eating pulses mostly get used to them within a few weeks, and that the amount of gas differs between people.

Is urad dal good for diabetes?

It can fit a diabetes diet in a measured portion: its GI of 43 is in the low band, and a cooked katori holds roughly 15.3 g of carbohydrate and 3.6 g of fibre. The urad dal for diabetes page covers the trials and the dishes; your doctor or dietitian sets the portion.