Edamame (Soybeans)
By: Jessica Stout
Fun Facts/ Notes of Soybeans
*Edamame as it turns out, is just a fancy name for boiled green soybeans.
*A study in women reported that regular consumption of soy foods was associated with healthy cholesterol levels.
*Soy protein may help reduce insulin resistance, kidney damage, and fatty liver in people with diabetes, according to a study in rats.
*Results from a new study in China suggest that eating more soybean protein may help prevent and treat hypertension.
*It contains around 10% of the Daily Value for two key antioxidants; vitamin C and A.
*And for a plant food, it's quite high in iron; it has about as much as a 4-ounce roasted chicken breast.
*To retain the freshness and its natural flavor, it is parboiled and quick-frozen.
*Edamame is consumed as a snack, a vegetable dish, used in soups or processed into sweets.
*Just 1/2 cup of them a day really punches up the fiber, protein and vitamin/mineral content of your diet.
*The component thought to be at least partly responsible for soy's health benefits is a type of phytoestrogen called isoflavones. Isoflavones also appear to work with certain proteins in soy to protect against cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.