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
The following guidelines will help you transform your favorite desserts into more healthful treats.
| Sweetener Source | Characteristics | Baking with Natural Sweeteners |
| Pure maple syrup | From the sap of maple trees. Use in all baked goods; wonderful in cakes. |
Substitute 2/3 to 1/4 cup maple for 1 cup white sugar. Reduce liquid in recipe by 3 tablespoons. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup of maple syrup. Buy pure U.S. organic syrup. Some maple producers still use illegal formaldehyde pellets and other additives during processing. Store refrigerated. High in potassium and calcium. |
| Maple sugar | Dehydrated maple syrup. 93 percent sucrose; 1 percent to 3 percent invert sugars* | Use in all baked goods. Substitute 1 cup maple sugar for 1 cup white sugar. No reduction of liquid is necessary. Add 1/8 teaspoon baking soda per cup. Store in a tightly closed container and sift before using. Mix with liquid to make glazes. Organic is available. |
| Barley malt syrup | Sprouted barley. Maltose, glucose, complex carbohydrates: 3 percent protein from malt. Dark brown, thick and sticky; has a strong, distinctive flavor like molasses. Half as sweet as white sugar. | Best used in combination with other sweeteners. Wonderful in spice cakes, gingerbread, and baked beans. Substitute 1-1/3 cups barley malt for 1 cup white sugar. Reduce liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup barley malt. Purchase only 100 percent barley malt, not barley/corn malt syrup. Store refrigerated. Organic is available. |
| Brown rice syrup | Brown rice and various enzymes. Maltose, glucose, complex carbohydrates. Amber-colored syrup with mild "butterscotch" flavor. Half as sweet as white sugar. | Baked goods made with rice syrup tend to be hard or very crisp. Use brown rice syrup in cookies, crisps, granola, pies, and puddings. Combine with another sweetener such as maple for cakes. Substitute 1-1/3 cups for 1 cup white sugar. Reduce liquid 1/4 cup per cup rice syrup. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per 1 cup rice syrup. Store refrigerated. Organic is available. |
| Honey | Extracted from flower nectar by bees. Fructose, glucose, sucrose. Color and taste depend upon the flower source. 20 percent to 60 percent sweeter than white sugar, so use less! | Use in all baked goods. Substitute 2/3 to 3/4 cup for 1 cup white sugar. Reduce liquid by 1/4 cup. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup honey. Reduce oven 25°F and adjust baking time. Some vegans don't use honey, as bees are sometimes killed after the season. Honey can affect blood sugar levels, as most concentrated sugars can. |
| Date sugar | Ground, dehydrated dates. Sucrose, glucose, fructose, and complex carbohydrates. Mahogany color, coarse granules. | Contains folic acid. Use in crisps, crunches, as sprinkle, or topping. Substitute 1 cup for 1 cup white sugar. Add hot water to dissolve date sugar before using in batters. Use in combination with other sweeteners. Burns easily. Purchase date sugar made from unsulphured, organically grown dates. Store in a tightly closed jar. |
| Granular fruit grape juice concentrate and rice sweetener syrup | Glucose, fructose, maltose, and complex carbohydrates. Light brown granules, brown sugar-like taste. | Use in cookies, crisps, granola, pies, puddings and cakes. Substitute 1-1/4 cups for 1 cup white sugar. Reduce salt 30 percent to 50 percent. Don't overmix batters. Oil or line pans with parchment. Bake at 325°F to 350°F maximum and adjust baking time. Organic is available. |
| Mixed fruit juice | Peach, pear, grape, and pineapple concentrate juice are most common. | Use in all baked goods and desserts, especially spice, carob, and chocolate cakes. Substitute 2/3 cup for 1 cup white sugar. Reduce liquid 1/3 cup per cup of fruit sweetener. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup fruit sweetener. Reduce oven 25°F and adjust baking time. Some concentrates are more acidic than others. Store in refrigerator. Use at room temperature. |
| Sucrose, some natural fructose | Generally amber-colored and fruity tasting. | Dried cane juice. Sugar cane, water removed. Minerals and molasses are retained. Use in cookies, crisps, granola, pies, puddings and cakes. Substitute 1 cup for 1 cup white sugar. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup dried cane juice. Be sure to purchase organic. Any pesticides and chemicals used on the cane are concentrated during processing. Store in a tightly closed container and sift before using. |
* Sucrose and invert sugars. Amber-colored coarse granules, with a mild molasses-like taste.
NaturoDoc's Take: Though some components of natural sugars are chemically identical to refined white sugar, it's not true that "sugar is sugar." Low-tech processed natural sugars retain vitamins, minerals, and other components essential for their digestion, and are metabolized more slowly than white sugar. White sugar creates a strain on our bodies, depletes stored vitamins and minerals, and suppresses the immune system.
Chemically, many kinds of sugars exist. Labels could say sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, lactose, galactose, or levulose. All nutritive sweeteners contain one or more of these sugars.