According to modern medical research, among the top 10 foods with life-extending benefits, soybeans and soybean sprouts rank first, while mung beans and mung bean sprouts rank sixth. This is because bean sprouts contain a large amount of acid-resistant substances, which can provide a good anti-aging function.
Among all bean sprouts, soybean sprouts have the highest nutritional value. The protein utilization rate of soybean sprouts is about 10% higher than that of soybeans. Additionally, during the germination process, more minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc are released due to the action of enzymes. Research shows that after soybeans germinate, carotene can increase by 1-2 times, vitamin B2 by 2-4 times, vitamin B12 is 10 times that of soybeans, vitamin E is 2 times that of soybeans, and niacin increases by more than 2 times. Furthermore, a substance called aspartic acid increases dramatically, so when people eat bean sprouts, it can reduce lactic acid buildup in the body and eliminate fatigue. Most importantly, the chlorophyll in soybean sprouts can break down nitrosamines in the human body, thereby preventing various malignant tumors of the digestive tract, such as colorectal cancer.
Additionally, the mung bean sprouts we commonly eat have high medicinal value. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that mung bean sprouts are cool in nature and sweet in taste. They can not only clear summer heat, unblock meridians, and detoxify, but also tonify the kidneys, promote urination, reduce swelling, nourish yin and strengthen yang, regulate the five organs, beautify the skin, and dampen damp-heat. They are suitable for patients with damp-heat stagnation, poor appetite, physical fatigue, vexation and thirst from heat diseases, constipation, difficult urination, red, swollen, and painful eyes, sores in the mouth and nose, etc. They can also lower blood lipids and soften blood vessels.
Utilizing these pharmacological effects of mung bean sprouts, several dietary therapy recipes for treating common diseases have been created—
★ Blanch the mung bean sprouts in boiling water, then add soy sauce and vinegar to make a cold salad, which can sober up and detoxify;
★ Stewing mung bean sprouts with crucian carp can treat insufficient lactation;
★ Take an appropriate amount of mung bean sprouts and winter melon peel, add vinegar to make a soup, which can prevent and treat summer heat vexation and thirst;
★ Take 100 grams of mung bean sprouts, 1 pig's heart, a little salt, and 20 grams of dried tangerine peel, add water and stew until cooked. Eat the meat and drink the soup to treat bronchitis;
★ Mash the mung bean sprouts and extract the juice, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and drink it as tea to provide auxiliary treatment for urinary tract infections, hot and reddish urine, and frequent urination;
★ Take 100 grams of mung bean sprouts, 1 pig's stomach, and 100 grams of dandelion, add water and cook until well-done. Eat the pig's stomach and mung bean sprouts, and drink the soup to treat stomach pain.