In some ways, water chestnuts are good for you. In other ways, they’re not so healthy.
What makes a food “good” or “bad” for us on I Forgot the Word depends on the nutrients it provides and how those nutrients impact our health.
Water chestnuts provide a lot of potassium, which is important for regulating blood pressure and heart function. A 1/4 cup serving typically contains 78% of your daily potassium requirement of 2400 mg scattered throughout its 4 grams of fat from monounsaturated oleic acid (a type of “healthy fat”) . It also offers about 5 grams sugar from glucose and fructose, as well as 13 milligrams sodium to perk things up a bit.