Beans are rich in nutrients and play an important role in our daily diet. The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" suggests that healthy adults should consume 30g-50g of soybeans or an equivalent amount of bean products daily. Based on the protein they provide: 40g of soybeans is roughly equivalent to 200g of tofu, 80g of dried tofu, 30g of dried bean curd skin, 700g of tofu pudding, and 800g of soy milk.
Beans have 6 amazing health benefits for the human body.
In ancient China, there was a saying, "The five grains are nourishing, but without beans, they are not," which can be understood as: the five grains are nutritious and can be used for health preservation, but without beans, it can lead to adverse effects, such as nutritional imbalance. This is enough to illustrate the high nutritional value of beans. Beans are processed into various delicacies in our diet and appear on our tables. So, what is their nutritional value that makes them so beloved?
I. The Nutrition of Beans:
Beans are rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, as well as vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.
1. The carbohydrates in beans are mainly dietary fiber and oligosaccharides, which can promote the reproduction of intestinal probiotics and are important for promoting intestinal peristalsis and maintaining intestinal health.
2. The fat content is about 15%-20%. In daily life, we often use them as raw materials for oil, such as the various bean oils commonly eaten now. In addition, soybeans also contain lecithin, which plays an important role in human growth, development, and nerve activity. It can also promote the liver's fat metabolism, reduce the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines, and help prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
3. As a plant-based food, beans do not contain cholesterol.
4. Beans contain plant sterols. Due to their similar structure to cholesterol, they can compete with cholesterol during human digestion and absorption, reducing cholesterol absorption and thus preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
5. Beans contain phytoestrogens—flavonoids, which have a dual-regulating effect on estrogen in the female body. They also help prevent breast cancer, alleviate osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms; at the same time, they also help prevent prostate cancer in men.
6. Soybeans are rich in B vitamins, calcium, and other nutrients, and also contain beneficial dietary fiber for the human body.
How to Eat Bean Products for the Most Nutrition?
1. Tofu
Northern tofu, also known as brine tofu, is made from magnesium chloride and calcium chloride. Eating brine tofu can supplement magnesium, calcium, and other trace elements. Gypsum tofu, made from calcium sulfate, is also rich in calcium. Lactone tofu is made from glucono delta-lactone, and its nutritional content is not particularly different.
2. Fermented Bean Curd
Bean products are rich in B vitamins. After fermentation, bean products like fermented bean curd are even richer in B vitamins, making them an excellent source of B vitamins for vegetarians, and an important source of vitamin B12.