10 Asian food benefits on health
(taste.com.au)
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Asian cuisine includes countries such as India, Japan, Russia, Vietnam, China, Pakistan, Lebanon and many other countries. This cuisine rich in flavours and ingredients, not only allows you to travel for a meal but also offers many health benefits.
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1. Rice, a multi-benefit staple
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(thisisinsider.com)
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Rice has been cultivated for millennia in Asia, and feeds about half of the world's population.
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Rich in fibre, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, rice have been proven to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and certain cancers if consumed in its whole grains form. You can learn more about the benefits of whole grain rice on the Harvard School of Public Health and their study.
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2. The healing and preventive virtues of spices
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(mnn.com)
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Curry, turmeric, ginger and other spices that are found in Asian cuisine help to enhance the dishes, bring more perfume, taste to your dishes and more colour to your plate.
Furthermore, spices also accelerate your metabolism and strengthen your immune system, helping your body healing yourself quicker. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, spices facilitate digestion, reduce inflammation and works for cancer prevention and treatment.
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3. A healthy cooking method
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(elpais.com)
Among the different cooking methods in Asian cuisine, The Wok is by far one of the best. This way of cooking is particularly adapted for vegetables since it allows it to preserve their texture, their flavour but especially their vitamins! Indeed, during cooking, most vitamins in the food get destructed, but not during the Wok cooking during which the food keep all their nutritional benefits.
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4. An interesting protein intake
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(actu-environnement.com)
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The combination of cereals with legumes found in high quantity in Asian food provides an interesting protein intake. Indeed, combining cereals and legumes in the same dish actually increase your protein intake.
It reduces the amount of protein of animal origin and offers a real source of energy. In addition, legumes contain not only essential minerals, such as calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, but they also don’t contain saturated fatty acids.
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5. The cuisine of the centenarians
(cnn.com)
Japanese cuisine is well-known for being particularly balanced and dietary. For example, Okinawa Island is now well-known to be "the island of centenarians".
The diet of the inhabitants of this Island is mainly plant-based, they eat slow quantities, rarely eat meat and eat more seaweed and fish than meat in general. They have an important source of omega 3 in their diet, essential fatty acids that contribute to the proper functioning of the cardiovascular and cerebral systems. They have lower cholesterol rate, practice sports and live longer than the average human being.
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6. An antioxidant drink
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(Tea farmer in Sri Lanka, rainforest-alliance.org)
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Tea is the most popular drink in Asian, from India to China, and is also very healthy. Dried and then infused in boiling water, the tea leaves have digestive and antioxidant properties.
There are different types of tea, such as green, black, white, Oolong, Rooibos, etc., but it is to the green tea that one grants the greatest antioxidant power which can be up to four times higher than that of the vitamin C, according to studies.
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7. Complete and balanced dishes
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(tastingtable.com)
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Ramen, Bo Bun, Pad Thai and other Asian dishes have the advantage of offering taste properties but are also of nutritional interest.
They are indeed complete dishes that combine various nutrients such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates, vitamins, and fibres, while remaining dietary with a reasonable caloric intake.
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8. Use of vegetable oils
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(destockplus.com)
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One of the other cooking methods from Asian cooking is frying. Foods like shrimp fritters or spring rolls are cooking in boiling vegetable oil.
Although it is not recommended to eat fried food on a daily basis, cooking with vegetable oil is actually beneficial for your health. It is indeed rich in fatty acids essential to our nutritional balance.
Moreover, the oil has the advantage of not being a source of cholesterol, unlike fats from animal origin.
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9. A diet rich in fibre
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(ecowatch.com)
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Fruits and vegetables are highly present in Asian food. Therefore, it also offers a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables.
These fibres help promote intestinal transit and prevent several diseases and cancers. They also have the particularity of reducing the speed of digestion and thus improve the feeling of satiety.
Studies have been done showing the benefits of a diet high in fibres.
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10. Gluten-free cooking!
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(ndtv.com)
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More and more people are intolerant to gluten and must turn to a diet that does not contain wheat, barley or rye.
The interest of Asian cuisine is obvious since it is based on rice, a cereal that does not contain gluten. Furthermore, without being allergic, avoiding gluten consumption may be recommended for people with fragile intestines.
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Hope you enjoyed,
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Noémie
