Edamame: Health Benefits, Uses and Side Effects

The beans are whole and immature soybeans which are sometimes referred to as vegetable type soybeans.

This is usually green in color and is known to differ in color, the colors maybe beige, light brown or tan.

Edamame is found to be having a lot of nutrients which involve high quantities of minerals and vitamins along with fibers.

This is known to contain more amounts of folate and vitamin K than a mature soybean.

There are so many health benefits that can be linked to this legume and some of the most effective ones are listed below:

Bone loss or osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones of a person becomes very fragile and brittle and also enhances the risk of breaking as well. This condition is usually observed in the case of old people.

Studies and research have shown that the regular consumption of soy protein products and several high dose soy supplements (that are very rich in isoflavones) can reduce the risk of this condition in both menopausal and postmenopausal women.

As this is rich in isoflavones it can also affect bone health positively.

Prostate cancer is found to be the second most common type of cancer in case of men.

Soy foods like edamame are not only beneficial to women but also to men as this helps men to fight against this cancer.

Consumption of soy products has also shown that the person is at lower risk of developing prostate cancer.

Menopause is regarded as the stage of the woman's life where her menstruation ends.

The stopping of menstruation is a natural process which often has certain symptoms along with it.

The symptoms will include sweating, mood swings and hot flashes.

Soybeans and isoflavones have been helpful in reducing the symptoms slightly at the time of menopause.

Soybeans are found to be very high in a plant compound that is known as isoflavones.

This compound is found to be very similar to the sex hormone estrogen.

This is known to bind very weakly to the receptors which are usually found on the cell throughout the body.

As estrogen is known for promoting a specific type of cancer which is breast cancer.

It is believed that consumption of large amounts of soybeans and isoflavones can turn into a very risky situation.

But, when the women of Asian countries take high quantities of soybeans and isoflavones they showed lower risk of developing breast cancer.

This also means that when you take isoflavone rich food in the early part of your life could help you to fight breast cancer in the later part of your life.

For maintenance of optimal health you need to take an adequate amount of protein.

Vegetarian people and those who rarely eat high protein animal foods should be paying more attention to what they are including in their diet.

Beans is considered as the best plant based protein source and some of the vegans and vegetarian peoples consider it as a cornerstone.

You can get around 18.4 h of protein from a cup of cooked edamame.

Soybeans are also considered an amazing source of whole proteins and they are completely unlike plant protein as it provides all the essential kind of amino acids which our body requires.

People who take a lot of easily digestible food items for instance sugar lie at an increased risk of developing chronic problems like diabetes.

This happens because the rapid digestion of carbohydrates leads to increased blood sugar levels after the meal.

This is also the reason that is responsible for poor blood sugar regulation.

This poor regulation leads to an enhanced risk of development of type 2 diabetes.

Edamame is known to not increase the blood sugar level excessively.

This is because it has very less amount of carbs as compared to the fat and protein content.

It also has a very glycemic index which makes it very suitable to eat for people who have diabetes.

When there is observed abnormally increased levels of cholesterol you can suffer from greater risk of developing heart disease.

People who eat 25 g of soy protein on a regular basis have shown a decrease in the low density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Along with being a nice source of soy protein it is an amazing source of vitamin K, healthy fiber and antioxidants.

The presence of these plant compounds can lower the risk of heart disease and improve the profile of blood lipid content.

Blood lipid profile is considered as the measurement for triglycerides and cholesterol.

If you are following the traditional way of preparing this you need to take a pinch of salt and add it in your noodle dishes, soups, salads and stews or you can simply eat it alone as a snack.

This is usually served along with sushi bars in most of the Japanese and Chinese restaurants.

This is found very easily in the large supermarkets. This is usually found in the frozen vegetable section and majority of the health stores have this in stock.

Eating soy food is very controversial as some people are known to avoid eating any kind of soy product which includes soybean as well whether it is regularly or partly.

This is known to interfere with the functioning of the thyroid.

But, very high content or doses of soy does not have any significant effect on the functioning of the thyroid.

This has originated in the China and Japan region and been used for years.

This is a soy product which is usually sold while it is encased in its pods. And this encased one is not meant to be eaten.

You can also purchase this in the shelled form as well which is found without the pods.

In other countries this is sold in the frozen form only. You just need to heat the beans by steaming, pan frying, boiling or microwaving it for a few minutes.

This is a very tasty legume which is nutritious as well and can be considered as a low calorie snack option.

Instead of this being nutritious it's health benefits need to be examined with more studies.