Kinds of bean

Doctor Nguyễn Ý Đức

Beans are grown all over the world and there are over ten thousand different varieties. However, housewives are usually only familiar with a few types of beans such as peas, green beans, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, bean curd, soybeans ...

The beans are in long pods that, when ripe, will crack in half.

According to archaeologists, beans were first grown in Southeast Asian countries tens of thousands of years ago. In many places, beans are sown between two rows of corn, because beans can absorb nitrogen from the air, store them underground, and enrich the soil to help maize growth.

Nutritional value

Peas are a rich source of nutrients, delicious, but relatively inexpensive.

Soybeans provide all the essential amino acids that the body needs. Beans are high in calcium, so monks and vegetarians can live a healthy life with just tofu and other soy products. In general, beans are two to five times higher in protein than other grains.

Peas are high in B vitamins, high in iron, potassium, and lots of fiber. Most beans have very little fat and calories, except soybeans and peanuts are high in unsaturated fats.

Beans are low in energy but contain a lot of water.

One hundred grams of cooked beans provide about 100-130 calories and 7 grams of protein, which is equivalent to the amount of protein in 30 grams of animal meat. Sprouted beans have more protein than whole beans. When eating beans with nuts, the protein of the beans has the same quality as animal protein.

North Americans and Europeans pay little attention to beans because it takes a long time to cook, or so the beans must be soaked before cooking.

To save time, using pre-cooked beans in a can is very convenient: just pour out the salty water in the beans or wash the beans to make them less salty and cook.

But South Americans and Asians see nuts as an important ingredient in food.

In Latin America, from Mexico down to Central America and South America, black and red beans are found everywhere in the meal.

In India, lentils (lentil) are eaten mixed with rice and are very popular.

Japan has a brown type of bean called azuki that is eaten with rice.

In China and Japan, Vietnam soybeans are very popular in making soy sauce, soya, and tofu.

Cooked beans can be eaten while still hot or left to calm.

Beans can be cooked with meat, fish or with other vegetables. Cooked beans can also be seasoned, crushed and then smashed into sandwiches to eat.

Fresh beans do not need much cooking time, but when they are dried they require longer cooking time. To shorten the cooking time, you can soak the beans in hot water for several hours to make the beans more absorbent and softer. The broth can be used to cook dishes for added flavor.

Advantages of beans

1- Beans contain a type of fiber called pectin. This fiber has the ability to absorb water and expand in the stomach, making people feel full without appetite. It also slows down the absorption of food in the gut, helps diabetics avoid the rapid rise in blood sugar, and prevents the body from secreting a lot of insulin.

Legumes high in pectin may play an important role in lowering blood cholesterol, even better than oat bran.

Of the legumes, soybeans are considered the most effective for lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

Research in Italy and Switzerland showed that, patients with high cholesterol, who ate a lot of soy protein instead of meat and fish, their cholesterol level dropped to 31%. This result seems to be even better than the effect of expensive cholesterol-lowering drugs sold on the market.

Dr. James Anderson of the University of Kentucky advises patients to eat one cup of cooked pinto beans a day to lower cholesterol.

2- Also according to Dr. Anderson, eating beans regularly reduces the need for insulin to cure diabetes, because beans make blood sugar rise very slowly.

3- Recently, scientists have discovered a very beneficial effect of the beans, which is the ability to fight cancer. Beans contain phytic acid, a powerful antioxidant. can stop the oncogenesis of the cell.

In addition, research on a number of laboratory animals showed that beans, especially "pea" and "lentil" lentils contain protease inhibitors, which are substances capable of preventing skin, breast and liver cancers. in animals. Human trials have also found similar effects on prevention of breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Cancer specialist Anne Kennedy feeds the rats a cancer-causing chemical, but when a protease inhibitor is applied to the rat's mouth, cancer does not occur.

4- Beans help bowel regularly and easily because the puff is bigger and softer, thereby reducing the risk of colon and rectal cancer. That is the result of research by Dr. Sharon Fleming, University of Berkeley, California.

5- An Indian scientist is SN. Sanyaldan noticed that the population of Tibetans had not changed for the past 200 years. Their main food is a type of bean. After many years of research, he found that this bean has the ability to prevent birth by chemical m-xylohydroquinone. He tested women using this substance, the fertility rate dropped completely, while for men, it also caused the sperm count to decrease. This comment is being further investigated. In addition, its effect is probably not as strong as the existing fertility drugs, so few people pay attention.

Doctor Nguyen Y Duc