Health Benefits of Miso
http://www.bodyecology.com/07/02/15/miso_health_and_anti-aging.php
Miso Soup: A Delicious Bowl of Health and Anti-Aging Power
by BodyEcology.com
Find out why sipping fermented miso soup is the real secret to longevity in Japan. Studies show it can protect against radiation and cancer and keep you looking healthy and young!
There’s a great debate about soy in the health food world today.
Once thought to be the cure-all for many ills and the lifesaver for vegetarian and gluten-free diets, more and more studies are showing what we at Body Ecology have known for some time: soy is NOT the health food you may think it is...unless it’s fermented and non-GMO (not genetically modified).
Unfermented soy has been linked to digestive distress, immune system breakdown, PMS, endometriosis, reproductive problems for men and women, allergies, ADD, higher risk of heart disease and cancer, malnutrition and loss of libido.1
For more information on fermented vs. unfermented and GMO vs. non-GMO soy, read: Soy Lecithin: The Risks if You Choose the Wrong Type, The Benefits if You Choose Right.
Who’s At Risk?
While sales of soy are slowing as people learn about the risks, there are still people using soy. According to Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, who wrote The Whole Soy Story, the most at risk populations, are: infants who are taking soy baby formula, vegetarians (especially vegans) eating a high soy diet and mid-life women eating a lot of soyfoods thinking it will help with the symptoms of menopause.
So how can you get the benefits of soy, without the risks?
Fermentation to the Rescue
Fermented foods and drinks are a cornerstone of the Body Ecology program because they help build your inner ecosystem. When your inner ecosystem is healthy, it is full of friendly microflora (beneficial bacteria in your intestines), that help you digest and assimilate nutrients and boost your immunity.
In fact, healthy microflora actually go to work for you, creating the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay strong and energized.
When you follow the Body Ecology program, you begin to create energy so that your body can correct digestion, conquer infections and cleanse. Once your systemic fungal infection is under control we recommend adding fermented soy foods like miso soup, natto and tempeh. Soyfoods are high in copper and we have found that high copper foods often are not tolerated when a person has candidiasis.
Amazing Miso
Miso has been eaten in Japan and China for many centuries and has been attracting the attention of many of us because of its health and anti-aging benefits. It’s also quite delicious. When you aren’t feeling well a bowl of miso soup can be especially soothing.
While it was once thought that soy was the reason for the low rates of heart disease, breast and prostate cancer in Asia, more evidence is now showing us that it is the consumption of traditional fermented soy products (usually eaten every day) that are providing the real benefits.
Traced from ancient China, where it was known as hisio, a seasoning prized by aristocrats, miso was perfected in Japan from the 7th century to today.
Making miso is an art form in Japan. It is made of soybeans and koji, a culture starter made from beneficial molds, yeast and lactic acid bacteria. As long as you choose unpasteruized miso, you will be getting the benefits of live friendly microflora for the health of your inner ecosystem.
There are many types of miso, some made with just soy beans and soy koji (called Hatcho miso, a favorite in Japan) and others made with barley and rice.
No matter which type you choose, this fermented superfood has many health benefits.
Miso Benefits
Many studies have been done on miso, some on humans and some on animals. These studies are showing the following benefits of miso2:
Reduces risks of cancer including breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.
Protection from radiation
Immune strengthening
Antiviral — miso is very alkalizing and strengthening to the immune system helping to combat a viral infection.
Prevents aging - high in antioxidants, miso protects from free radicals that cause signs of aging.
Helps maintain nutritional balance - full of nutrients, beneficial bacteria and enzymes, miso provides: protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, vitamin E, vitamin K, tryptophan, choline, dietary fiber, linoleic acid and lecithin.
Helps preserve beautiful skin - miso contains linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid that helps your skin stay soft and free of pigments.
Helps reduce menopausal complaints - the isoflavones in miso have been shown to reduce hot flashes.
Length of Fermentation Matters
Soy protein is hard to digest and takes a long, slow process of fermentation to break it down. Bacteria that can digest soy are much more hardy than the more fragile bacteria used to ferment vegetables, young coconut water and milk products (so while you may love our line of Starters, they won’t help you make homemade miso - but they WILL help you make a variety of other probiotic-rich fermented foods and drinks.
With miso, length of fermentation matters. Hiro Watanabe, PhD, an expert in developmental biology and cancer prevention in Japan, conducted several animal and human studies using freeze dried rice miso to better understand how miso protects against cancer, radiation and other diseases.
Dr. Watanabe’s studies showed that when it comes to healing illnesses like breast and prostate cancer, the ideal length of fermentation was between 180 days (6 months) and 2 years.
Dr Watanabe also found that miso fermented for 180 days is typically a rich color and has plenty of healthy microflora. After 2 years of fermentation, the amount of friendly bacteria has begun to disappear. And while the miso would still a fermented food and is not “spoiled” there is a risk that other pathogens can grow in the miso.
Sipping Miso Soup for Your Health
According to Dr. Watanabe’s studies, the sodium in miso did not show adverse affects for people with salt sensitivity and hypertension. Here are the amounts of miso soup he recommended for different health conditions:
Cancer - 3 or more cups per day
High blood pressure - 2 cups per day
Menopause - 1 - 3 cups per day
Special Note: Here at Body Ecology we recommend eating less miso in the summer months because our body needs much less salt in the hot months. Donna often recommends adding it to salads, cultured veggies or salad dressings during the summertime. However, right now it is winter and much of the country is having extremely cold weather. Miso is a great food to eat every day.
For health maintenance, follow your intuition when it comes to how much miso soup you enjoy. This delicious, healing food is a great way to nourish yourself to great health!
Make Your Own Miso Soup
When you are ready to introduce the benefits of miso into your diet, you have more options than soup. For example, you can blend this certified organic miso (made with healthy sea salt) (Miso Master is another recommended brand; check with your local health food store) in with your cultured vegetables or add it to salad dressings for a delicious dose of protein, minerals and anti-aging power!
Or, sip your miso in a warming cup of soup as the Japanese have been doing to stay healthy for centuries. If you are really in a hurry simply dissolve a heaping spoonful of your favorite miso paste into a cup of hot water that you’ve poured into a favorite coffee mug. Spoon some cultured veggies into another bowl, add some roasted pumpkin seed oil and some sea salt to these and enjoy a perfectly balanced meal. This is fast food at its finest!
To make a more traditional miso soup, follow this easy recipe:
EZ Traditional Miso Soup Recipe
5-inch strip wakame (sea vegetable)
1 large onion (about 1 cup)
4 Cups filtered water
2 Tablespoons miso (ideally, fermented for 6 months - 2 years)
Garnish - chopped parsley, green onions, ginger or watercress
Instructions
Soak the wakame in water for 10 minutes and slice in into 1.5 inch pieces.
Thinly slice onions
Put water, onions and wakame in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to simmer for 10 - 20 minutes, until tender.
Remove 1.5 cups of broth from the saucepan, place in a bowl.
Allow water in the bowl to cool a bit and add the miso, mixing it into the water (the water should not be boiling, because it can kill the live beneficial microflora and enzymes in miso. In general, the microflora in koji, the starter used to make miso, die at 105° F).
Turn off heat, allow the water to cool a bit.
Add the miso broth to the soup in the saucepan and add chopped parsley, green onions, ginger or watercress for garnish.
RECIPE NOTE: The above recipe is a vegetarian version. You can also add bonito flakes (dried fish) - check out these bonito flakes at Amazon or check with your local Asian market. Simmer one tablespoon of bonito flakes in the water for 10 minutes and strain. Then continue as above. When made with the dried fish as a quick stock your miso soup will be even more strengthening.
P.S. Donna and Scott Eibel, President of Body Ecology, just returned from a trip to Japan. They enjoyed several bowls of miso soup each day...even at breakfast. They felt great.
Stay tuned for a future announcement about a delicious new all-natural non-caloric sweetener that the Japanese have been enjoying for over 10 years. Body Ecology is excited to bring it to America. Expected arrival date is early to mid May.
Sources:
1 Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN. The Whole Soy Story. Wise Traditions Conference, November 2006. http://www.fleetwoodonsite.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=11&osCsid=710d1e5b3567d83b3ec429eb228bb160
2 Hiro Watanabe, PhD The Magic of Miso. Wise Traditions Conference, November 2006.
http://www.fleetwoodonsite.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=11&osCsid=710d1e5b3567d83b3ec429eb228bb160
Miso soup ‘cuts breast cancer risk’. BBC News Online, June, 2003.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2999852.stm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Tempeh-—The-Super-Healthy-Probiotics-Food&id=1653309
Tempeh - The Super Healthy Probiotics Food
By Fanda Amnesiana
Article Word Count: 592 [View Summary] Comments (0)
www.KarysDietBlog.com
If you are a person who concerns about health, healthy food should be in your family’s daily menu. For your today’s menu, why don’t you cook something delicious with probiotics contents and have many health benefits to reduce cancer risk, good for diabetic diets, lower cholesterol, boost immune system, and even help weight loss program? ‘Is there one single food that have all those benefits?’ Yes, that is tempeh, a traditional food made from fermented soybean!
In my country, Indonesia, tempeh has been our traditional food from maybe hundreds of years ago. We can find tempeh in almost all markets, even in small villages. Tempeh has been a part of our life. Whether we cook for daily meals (served with rice), or when we have a fine dining in restaurants, we can always find tempeh. It is because tempeh can be processed into many delicious foods. But not as many of its health benefits!
Probiotics
Tempeh is one of many probiotics food sources. Rhizopus Oligosporus, good bacteria contained in tempeh, produces natural antibiotic that inhibits some harmful bacteria. Rhyzopus can also improve your intestinal digestion health, as well as your skin health, from atopic dermatitis, pimples, cellulitis, etc. On the other hand, the fermentation process that change whole soybeans into tempeh, produces an enzyme called phytase. This enzyme can break down phytate acid, and therefore increase body absorption of minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc. Good news for you who have anemia, as tempeh is also claimed of having 4mg iron/100 gram!
High Protein - Low Calories
Tempeh, being processed from soybeans, becomes a high protein food, even highest among other plant foods. Daily consumption of 166 gram tempeh contributes around 60% of our protein daily needs. And with the fact that tempeh has less than 329 calories, it is safe to assume that tempeh can be your perfect choice of healthy food!
As a plant protein source, tempeh can provide healthy diet for diabetes mellitus patient too. Diabetic people can use tempeh as a substitute of animal protein foods like milk and meat.
Isoflavone
Now you can get many healthy benefits of isoflavone from tempeh, which is including :
· Improve bone mineral content, reduce the risk of osteoporosis
· Antioxidant to fight free radical that cause cancer
· Lower cholesterol (lower LDL and increase HDL)
· Lower heart disease risk
· Relieve menopause symptoms
High Fiber
The high fiber content of soybeans which is found in tempeh can help diabetic patient to control sugar level in their blood. It can also prevent colon cancer, improve kidney health by replacing animal protein to soybeans, and prevent diarrhea in children.
Boost Immune System & Health
The amino acids can improve the superiority of tempeh in boosting immune system. Tempeh is also an important source of vitamin B12, which vegetarians can use to replace meat, and an excellent source of calcium.
Low Calorie & Low Carbohydrate
And last but not least, tempeh is a suitable food for weight loss diet. Being low calories and low carbohydrate, including tempeh in your dietary food list, will help you to reduce the amount of fat stored in your body. If you combine this perfect diet with exercise, you will increase lean muscle mass that will help you to burn fat. And what make it more perfect, tempeh has its high protein you can use to regain your energy after having your weight loss exercise session.
So, I don’t need to underline, that tempeh is definitely a super healthy food for healthy people, with healthy budget, which, with a little creativity can turn into a super delicious food!
Fanda is the owner of 1st Probiotics. http://www.1stprobiotics.com will help you to know more about probiotics, the good bacteria. From the health benefits, to recipes to serve probiotics to your family. You can also learn more about tempeh and other probiotics source food in http://www.1stprobiotics.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fanda_Amnesiana
I have read about the Miso several times, but not tried it.
I more or less reject soy, for political reasons, I don’t like Monsanto and the big soy producer’s way of taking over the seeds and food supply, and I do not like to feed babies the soy formula.
Yes, I admit that I might be a little un-reasonable.