Rich in protein and plant female hormones…contributes to muscle growth and prevention of vascular disease
There are people who buy and eat expensive functional foods for health. The most efficient food for our body is natural food. Safer than processed foods. Eating common foods around you can be of great help during menopause. Beans (soybeans), black beans, peas, etc., or tofu made from beans, bean sprouts, etc. Let’s find out the nutrients in these foods.
◆ Soybean is an eco-friendly crop… Why did our ancestors call it ‘meat of the field’?
Soybean is an environmentally friendly crop. It grows well with little fertilizer. Our ancestors called soybeans ‘meat of the field’. Many nutrients are comparable to beef sirloin. Soybean is a vegetable protein lacking in rice, which kept our ancestors healthy. According to the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, soybeans contain 40% of the most important protein among the three nutrients that sustain life. 30% carbs, 20% fat. It is a crop that is more nutritious than any other crop. ‘Saedanbaek’ breed cultivated in Korea contains 48% protein.
◆ Good reasons for female menopause… Rich in phytoestrogens (female hormones)
The most important ingredient for women who are conscious of menopause is isoflavone, a phytoestrogen (female hormone). Estrogen gradually disappears during menopause, threatening the health of blood vessels and bones in middle-aged women. Soy supplements the decrease in estrogen to slow down aging and help prevent vascular diseases such as stroke (cerebral infarction-cerebral hemorrhage) and osteopenia. It contains antihypertensive peptides to help control blood pressure and has low sulfur-containing amino acids to prevent calcium loss by reducing salt excretion through the kidneys.
◆ Beans, an essential food on the table… Helps slow down aging and prevent hair loss
Few foods are as familiar as tofu and beans. As you get older, you need to eat more. Thanks to its rich protein, it is good for maintaining muscles that naturally decrease after the age of 40. In particular, bean curd made from black soybeans has 4 times more antioxidants than regular soybeans that slow down aging and reduce damage to the body. These include vitamin E, carotenoids, saponins, and anthocyanins. It is rich in cysteine, which is essential for hair growth, and helps prevent hair loss. However, it is better for health if you do not add a lot of sugar.
◆ Tofu to eat during menopause… Low calorie, effective for weight loss and bone health
Tofu is made from soybeans and has a lot of protein, but it is highly digestible and low in calories, so it is good for a diet. Half tofu (about 100g) has only 84 kcal and more than 80% of it is water, so it gives a feeling of fullness and prevents overeating of other foods. Tofu is good for bone health, which is threatened by a decrease in female hormones, and helps prevent osteopenia-osteoporosis. This is because isoflavones promote the absorption of calcium, thereby slowing bone damage and contributing to the creation of new bone tissue.
◆ Nutritional supplementation when eaten together with seaweed… Tofu is good to eat frozen
The saponin component of soybean contributes to slowing down aging by preventing antibacterial action and fatty acid oxidation. However, it tends to excrete iodine from the body, so eating it with seaweed or kelp provides nutritional supplementation. Tofu tastes better when frozen. As the moisture escapes through the pores on the surface of the tofu, the protein particles condense and the effect increases. Frozen tofu can be thawed, drained of moisture, and used as a stew or stew because it is well seasoned and tastes better.