How Indians use an edible gum to keep cool in searing heat, and its other health benefits

Tragacanth gum looks like crushed ice when soaked in water. Social media is buzzing about its health benefits

Reading Time:3 minutes

Many Indians swear by the cooling and hydrating properties of tragacanth gum, especially during the summer heat. The superfood is used in Ayurveda, and has numerous health and nutritional benefits. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:17pm, 29 Jul 2024Updated: 4:41pm, 29 Jul 2024

During the searing summer months in India’s desert state of Rajasthan, a young Shobha Rajkumar drank glasses of lime juice spiked with a “miracle” ingredient: gond katira.

Her mother and grandmother valued its cooling, hydrating qualities. For centuries, this edible gum, also known as almond gum or tragacanth gum, has been used in the traditional Indian medicine Ayurveda.

Now a homemaker in the south Indian city of Bengaluru, Rajkumar says edible gums have always been part of their traditional diet. “Often I have a glass of milk with gond katira at night – it helps me sleep peacefully,” she adds.

Social media has been buzzing with posts about this unusual superfood – but what is tragacanth gum exactly?

The gum comes from the sap of a thorny shrub, Astragalus gummifer, also called gum tragacanth milkvetch, that grows in deserts and mountainous regions of southwest Asia. It is dried into twisted ribbons that break into crystals or flakes that may be powdered.

Celebrity chef Neha Deepak Shah, the runner-up on Masterchef India season 4, has an Instagram account with 1.7 million followers. In a popular reel, Shah shows how the gum is usually sold in crystal form. When soaked in water, the light orange crystals become a gooey, translucent, gel-like substance that looks much like crushed ice.