Growing up here in Nigeria, I enjoyed taking drinks and eating both local and foreign. However, the local ones were my major sources of satisfaction.
The Kunu drink was one that I loved so much. I enjoyed it because of its taste especially when served chilled. Due to its thickness, I’d say I sometimes had it as my meal – drinking about two glasses did fill my stomach more than some other snack.
Here I would share a brief one about kunu and its health benefits.
Kunu, also known as Kunu Zaki, is a non-alcoholic Nigerian beverage made of germinated grain known as millet. This drink is popular in Northern Nigeria and prepared mostly by the Hausas. The key ingredient used in preparing kunu, millet, is very nutritious and beneficial to human health, thus making kunu a very nutritional drink.
Sorghum and maize are also used as a substitute for millet in the preparation of this drink. It is whitish when prepared with millet or maize, while the Sorghum variant is slightly brownish in colour.
Kunu is highly recommended for vegetarians and can be taken with bread or snacks.
Health benefits of Kunu
- The Kunu drink is known to help reduce the risks associated with diabetes.
- Kunu also helps in dealing with thirst and also serves as an appetizer.
- The key ingredient, millet, contains a poly nutrient called lignin, which has cancer-fighting properties and is beneficial in the treatment of heart disease.
- Kunu is good for women that have reached the stage of menopause as it helps them relax their muscles.
- It is also recommended for nursing mothers as it helps increase the flow of their breast milk.
- Due to the ginger content, it lowers the cholesterol level and prevents the formation of blood clots.
- The kunu drink is rich in fibre, thus helping to promote a healthy digestive system.
- Kunu helps in the prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Having known few of these benefits, I’d rather recommend a chilled glass of the kunu drink rather than some caffeinated soft drink.
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