The tofu health benefits are as good as other flavored seafood dishes that are easy to buy and much easier to cook. Try adding this nutritious food to your menu to change your taste!
Between a bag of greasy food, tofu helps you lessen and eat better. Let’s know the health benefits of tofu.
About Tofu
Tofu is made from frozen soy milk, gluten-free and low in calories. It is a familiar dish, but not everyone knows all the nutritional values of this dish.
Nutrition Values Of Tofu
A block of tofu about 122 g contains nutritional ingredients:
- 177 calories
- 2 mg zinc
- 3.35 mg of iron
- 178 mg of potassium
- 65 mg magnesium
- 421 mg of calcium
- 15.57 g of protein
- 282 mg phosphorus
- 12,19 g fat
- 5.36 g of carbohydrate
- 27 micrograms of folate
Tofu also provides a small amount of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, choline, manganese, and selenium. Tofu is also a complete protein source so that it can provide all essential amino acids in the diet. Moreover, tofu also gives you plenty of healthy multi-polyunsaturated fats, especially alpha-linolenic omega-3 acids.
Types Of Tofu
Tofu has two types: regular tofu and young tofu. Tofu is usually slightly hard and can retain a better shape when cooked. So this kind of tofu is suitable for fried dishes. Young tofu is softer and more fragile, making it more suitable for soups and stews.
Tofu Health Benefits
Tofu contains lots of nutrients, so it is good for health with the following benefits:
1. Prevent Cardiovascular Disease
Isoflavones in tofu may help to lower LDL bad cholesterol. So, consuming tofu can help you to maintain weight, body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.
Consuming protein from tofu instead of animal protein can also help to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. You should eat at least 25 g of tofu protein daily to control cholesterol levels.
2. Reduce The Risk Of Cancer
Several experimental studies have shown that genistein and isoflavones are abundant in antioxidant tofu. It can inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Although there is information that tofu can lead to breast cancer because isoflavones have a chemical structure similar to estrogen and high estrogen levels may increase the risk of breast cancer, but if you consume less than 350g per day then eating soy products does not affect.
3. Prevents Type 2 Diabetes
People with type 2 diabetes often have kidney disease, which causes the body to excrete too much protein through the urine. A study has shown that people only consume tofu protein excreted less protein than those who only consume animal protein. So, a moderately tofu-eating routine benefits patients with type 2 diabetes.
4. Improve Kidney Function
Protein, and especially protein in tofu, can improve kidney function and benefit people who are on hemodialysis or kidney transplant.
Outside tofu contains a lot of protein and can reduce blood lipid levels, so it has a positive effect on people with chronic kidney disease.
5. Reduce Osteoporosis
Isoflavones in tofu can help you to increase the density of minerals in your bones, especially after menopause. It will help you to reduce the age of osteoporosis.
6. Prevent Liver Damage
A study in mice has shown that tofu may help to prevent liver damage caused by free radicals.
7. Reduce Menopausal Symptoms
Some studies suggest that consuming tofu as it contains a lot of phytoestrogens and genistein that can help to deal with menopausal symptoms such as flushing.
8. Prevent Brain Diseases
Studies have shown that consuming more tofu have lower rates of mental disorders associated with age. A 2017 study also suggested that the effect of tofu on Alzheimer’s patients was positive.
