The nutritional value of mung beans and the health benefits of mung beans

Mung bean is a plant of the genus Vigna, Fabaceae, Fabaceae, native to India and Myanmar. It is now widely grown in East Asian countries, and also in small quantities in Africa, Europe, and the United States. China, Myanmar and other countries are major exporters of mung beans. The seeds and stems are widely eaten. According to nutrition experts, the disease prevention index of mung beans is 245.93 and the vitality index is 2.87.

Introduction to Mung Bean

Mung bean, also known as green bean, is named for its green color. It has a cultivation history of more than 2,000 years in my country. Because of its rich nutrition and many uses, Li Shizhen called it "the best dish".

Nutritional value of mung beans

Mung beans can be used as food, vegetables, green manure and medicine. They are the traditional bean food of our people. The protein content of mung beans is almost three times that of polished rice, and they contain more vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other inorganic salts than polished rice. Therefore, it not only has good edible value, but also has very good medicinal value. It is said to be "the food grain that can save the world". In the hot summer, mung bean soup is the most popular summer drink for the people.

According to the analysis of nutrition expert Li Shuyun, the disease prevention index of mung bean (natural potassium content in food/natural sodium content in food X 100%) is 245.93, and the vitality index (natural carbohydrate content in food/natural protein content in food X 100%) is 2.8703, which proves that it has a very high value for recovery from diseases, but a very low value for improving vitality.

Nutritional Information

It contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamin B1, B2, carotene, niacin, folic acid, minerals calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The protein contained is mainly globulin, which is rich in lysine, leucine, and threonine, but less in methionine, tryptophan, and tyrosine. If it is cooked with millet, the nutritional value can be improved. Mung bean skin contains 21 kinds of inorganic elements, with the highest content of phosphorus. It also contains vitexin and cauda-sitosterol.

Uses and Benefits of Mung Beans

Mung beans are sweet and cool in nature, and have the function of clearing away heat and detoxifying. People who work in high-temperature environments in summer sweat a lot, lose a lot of water, and the electrolyte balance in the body is destroyed. Using mung bean soup to supplement is the most ideal method. It can clear away heat and replenish qi, quench thirst and promote urination. It can not only replenish water, but also replenish inorganic salts in time, which is of great significance to maintaining water and electrolyte balance. Mung bean porridge has similar effects. Mung beans also have a detoxifying effect. In case of organophosphorus pesticide poisoning, lead poisoning, alcohol poisoning (drunkenness) or taking the wrong medicine, you can drink a bowl of mung bean soup for emergency treatment before rescue in the hospital. People who often work in toxic environments or come into contact with toxic substances should often eat mung beans for detoxification and health care. Regular consumption of mung beans can supplement nutrition and enhance physical strength.

Health benefits of mung beans

Mung bean is a top-grade food in summer, and its higher value lies in its medicinal use. In the hot summer, people drink some mung bean porridge, which is sweet, cool and delicious, and can prevent heatstroke and relieve heat. Children get prickly heat due to the hot weather, and the effect is better if they take mung bean and fresh lotus. If you use mung bean, red bean and black bean to make soup, it can not only treat children's indigestion in summer, but also treat children's skin diseases and measles. Regular consumption of mung bean has a good therapeutic auxiliary effect on hypertension, arteriosclerosis, diabetes and nephritis. In addition, mung bean can also be used as an external medicine, which can be chewed and applied externally to treat boils and skin eczema. If you have acne, you can grind mung bean into fine powder, cook it into a paste, wash the affected area before going to bed, and apply it to the affected area. "Mung bean clothes" can clear away heat and detoxify, and also have the effects of reducing swelling, dispersing cataracts and improving eyesight.

Because of its rich nutrition, it can be made into bean porridge, bean rice, bean wine, food, noodles, or bait cake, or sprouted into vegetables, so it is known as "the best food, saving the world". Since the "Kaibao Materia Medica" records: "Mung beans are sweet, cold, and non-toxic. Enter the heart and stomach meridians. It is mainly used for erysipelas, urticaria, and hot and humid pigs. It can be ground and squeezed into juice and taken raw, or boiled and eaten. It can reduce swelling, reduce gas, suppress heat and detoxify." The medicinal effects of mung beans have been elaborated in successive dynasties. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Mung beans, although the effect of reducing swelling and curing acne is the same as that of red beans, the effect of suppressing heat and detoxification is better. It can also replenish qi, thicken the intestines and stomach, and dredge the meridians. There is no taboo of taking it for a long time to dry people. For the treatment of carbuncle, there is Neituo Huxin Powder, which is extremely effective." It can also "detoxify all kinds of poisons from metal, stone, arsenic, and plants."

"Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Mung bean tastes sweet and is cold in nature. It is highly praised in the book. It is said that it can thicken the intestines and stomach, moisten the skin, harmonize the five internal organs, and nourish the spleen and stomach. Although ginseng, astragalus, angelica, and atractylodes are used, it is not an exaggeration. However, the reason why it can thicken, moisten, harmonize, and nourish is because the toxic evil is burning inside. All the internal organs, meridians, skin, spleen, and stomach are disturbed by the poison. Taking this is good at detoxification, so everything works well." Looking at various herbal books, the medicinal effects of mung bean such as clearing heat, removing summer heat, detoxification, and diuresis are highly praised. In recent decades, people have conducted multi-faceted research on mung bean using modern science and technology.

Pharmacological effects of mung bean

Antibacterial and antimicrobial effects

Mung bean has antibacterial and antimicrobial effects.

① Some components in mung beans have direct antibacterial effects. Antibacterial tests have confirmed that mung bean skin extract has an inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus. According to relevant research, the tannins contained in mung beans can coagulate microbial protoplasm and produce antibacterial activity. Bioactive substances such as flavonoids and phytosterols in mung beans may also have a certain degree of antibacterial and antiviral effects.

② Indirectly exert antibacterial effects by improving immune function. The many biologically active substances contained in mung beans, such as coumarins, alkaloids, phytosterols, saponins, etc., can enhance the body's immune function and increase the number or phagocytic function of phagocytes.

Lipid-lowering effect

Further research has found that the structure of phytosterols in mung beans is similar to that of cholesterol. Phytosterols compete with cholesterol for esterification enzymes, preventing it from esterification and reducing the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. They can also reduce serum cholesterol levels by promoting cholesterol dissimilation and/or preventing cholesterol biosynthesis in the liver. In addition, soybean globulin has been experimentally proven to have the effect of lowering serum cholesterol. Whether mung bean globulin has the same effect is worth exploring.

Detoxification

Mung beans are rich in protein. The protein content of raw mung bean milk made by soaking and grinding raw mung beans is quite high. Oral administration can protect the gastrointestinal mucosa. Mung bean protein, tannins and flavonoids can combine with organophosphorus pesticides, mercury, arsenic and lead compounds to form precipitates, which reduce or lose their toxicity and are not easily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Many bioactive substances in mung beans have antioxidant effects. Whether the antioxidant effect can reduce the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of organophosphorus pesticides in the treatment of organophosphorus pesticide poisoning needs further discussion.

Other effects

Sweating under high temperature can cause the body to lose a lot of minerals and vitamins, leading to internal environment disorders. Mung beans are rich in inorganic salts and vitamins. Drinking mung bean soup in a high temperature environment can replenish the lost nutrients in time to achieve the therapeutic effect of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat.

Mung bean is also a good raw material for extracting plant-based SOD. The SOD oral liquid prepared from mung bean has been chemically modified so that it will not be destroyed by gastric acid and pepsin, and its half-life is extended, making it suitable for oral absorption by the human body. In addition to SOD, the oral liquid is also rich in nutrients such as amino acids, tail-carotene and trace elements, and has good anti-aging function. In addition, experiments have shown that the tannin in mung bean has both antibacterial activity and the effect of local hemostasis and promotion of wound repair, so it has a certain therapeutic effect on various burns.

The active ingredients of mung beans have anti-allergic effects and can assist in the treatment of allergic reactions such as urticaria. Mung beans have an inhibitory effect on staphylococci. The proteins and phospholipids contained in mung beans have the function of stimulating nerves and increasing appetite. Mung beans are rich in trypsin inhibitors, which can protect the liver, reduce protein decomposition, reduce azotemia, and thus protect the kidneys.