In recent years, many have begun to appreciate a very particular food, one of a kind. Typical of oriental cuisine, it is a very simple food to obtain and cook. We are talking about bean sprouts, a really tasty and healthy vegetable.
Widely used in oriental kitchens, it is a food rich in vitamins and mineral salts, perfect for those who want to eat healthy and light. Few people know it, yet soybean sprouts could be dangerous for our health: be careful because those who eat this raw vegetable could run health risks. Let’s find out why.
An excellent dish for food but beware of the risks
Soybeans are the seedlings that come from soybeans, a legume rich in proteins and minerals that we will all have to eat. They can be enjoyed both raw and cooked, in salads or sautéed. You can buy them at the supermarket or make them directly at our home. They are low-calorie (49 Kcal per 100 grams) and very rich in water, proteins and mineral salts as well as vitamins of all kinds.
Thanks to lecithin they would help prevent fatty deposits in the arteries and could also help lower blood cholesterol levels. They also help assimilate vitamin D, which strengthens bones.
It is therefore an excellent food from a nutritional point of view, to be integrated into our everyday recipes with creativity.
Be careful because those who eat this raw vegetable could run health risks
One thing that few people know is that bean sprouts can be very risky to eat raw. In fact, they contain phytates, substances that taken in large quantities could inhibit the absorption of some nutrients such as iron, calcium and magnesium. Phytates are naturally contained in the sprouts and as we have seen they should be avoided.
The good news is that these potentially harmful substances disappear completely after cooking at high temperatures. We can therefore continue to consume bean sprouts without worries, if we follow this advice.
It will be enough to cook our sprouts for a few minutes and the risks will decrease significantly. We will simply have to sauté them with a drizzle of oil or a drop of water over low heat for five minutes. The taste of the sprouts will not change, nor their crunchy texture but we can rest assured for our health.
In this article we have revealed how this very common food could become poisonous if we do not follow the right preparation tips.