Mung Beans
For thousands of years, mung
beans have been used for a variety of purposes. Mung beans originated in
India and were cultivated throughout Asia. The ancient Chinese used mung beans
for culinary and medicinal purposes such as dispelling heat and detoxifying the
body. Today mung beans are still being used for culinary and health purposes
due to the beans’ high nutritional content and value.
Cholesterol
If you have high cholesterol you may
benefit from eating mung beans daily. Mung beans are low in cholesterol and
high in soluble dietary fibers. Dietary fiber refers to certain food particles
that cannot be digested. Dietary fiber comes in two forms: soluble and
insoluble. Insoluble fiber aids in normalizing bowl movements, but it does not
do much for lowering blood pressure. Soluble fiber when mixed with water in the
digestive tract will form a gel-like material, which in turn aids in supporting
essential bodily functions.
Foods rich in soluble dietary fibers
are shown to help lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by encouraging the
production of LDL receptors that are responsible for removing excess LDL
cholesterol out of the blood stream. It is recommended to consume 10 to 25 g of
soluble fiber per day to reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol. Mung beans
contain 1.9 g of total dietary fiber per cup. Mung beans may be combined with
other dietary fiber-rich foods to further lower LDL cholesterol levels.
Breast
Cancer
Mung and other type of beans contain
protease inhibitors. Protease inhibitors slow the replication of certain cancer
cells including those found in breast cancer. Protease inhibitors are known to
block and prevent formation of tumor cells.
Post-Menopause
Beans such as the mung bean variety
contain isoflavone nutrients. Isoflavones help regulate hormonal activity.
Isoflavones are a class of phytoestrogen, making mung beans estrogenic in
nature. Mung beans contain about 495.1 µg of phytoestrogen content, making mung
beans a good source of phytoestrogen.
In a 12-week trial, phytoestrogen
was shown to relieve hot flashes that are often disruptive and unpleasant.
Potentially taking 90 mg per day of phytoestrogens may benefit post-menopausal
women in preventing the often devastating effects of osteoporosis by
stimulating bone formation.
Diabetes
Mung beans are a low glycemic index
food, which means the beans are a diabetic friendly food. Low glycemic foods
promote healthy blood sugar levels. People who eat foods that have a low
glycemic index tend to have lower total body fat levels as opposed to those who
consume high-glycemic foods, such as white bread and soft drinks. In recent
studies, mung beans have shown promise in reducing blood glucose, plasma
C-peptide, glucagon and blood urea nitrogen levels in non-human type-2 diabetic
subjects. In the study, mung bean sprouts and mung bean seed coats were
consumed for a total of five weeks before reaching a conclusion.
Protein
Mung beans contain approximately
3.16 g of protein per cup. While meat is still one of the best sources of
protein at 7 g per ounce, mung beans and vegetable based foods have far less
saturated fat and cholesterol than certain meats.
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