A recent article published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows soybeans may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Natto, a fermented food made from boiled soybeans, contains an enzyme that has been demonstrated in lab experiments to dissolve amyloids - the tangled proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease.
Since natto is consumed throughout Asia, "western" foods likely to contain the same amyloid-busting properties would be miso (as in miso soup), tempeh and tofu.
Hsu et al., "Amyloid-Degrading Ability of Nattokinase from Bacillus Subtilis Natto," Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57 (2009).
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Since this was such a short blogpost and so many of you seem to love the recipes I post from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook, I thought I'd post a new favorite of mine: Bulghur Burgars. These are so delicious served with lettuce, onion, tomato, ketchup and veganaise on whole wheat buns.
Bulghur Burgers
3 cups water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1&1/2 cups bulghur
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup tahini
2 TBSP tomato paste
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Bring water to a boil. While it is heating, use a heavy pan or skillet to saute the garlic and bulghur in the oil on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the boiling water. Return to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat tot low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed and the bulghur is soft but still chewy.
When the bulghur is ready, stir in all the other foods. With moistened hands, form the bulghur mixture into 6-8 burgers. Cook them in a lightly oiled heavy skillet on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, flipping the burgers once when the outside is crunchy.
2 Comments:
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- Mike said...
March 15, 2009 8:51 AMI'm not so sure about other soybean products having the same ability. Look at the name of the study in your post. The were studying an element nattokinase which is produced by the bacillus they use to ferment the soybeans into natto. So it did not come from the soybeans themselves but from the bacillus. Other soy product would not have it since they are not fermented with that particular bacillus. So I guess its time to eat natto (which I've heard of but never tried) to prevent alzhiemers.- Bronwyn Schweigerdt said...
March 15, 2009 9:16 PMThat's a good point, although I would beg to differ. Yes, we might use another bacillus here, but I doubt the variety of the bacillus combined with the fermentation of soybeans matters that much. I speculate tempeh, tofu and miso all produce different enzymes, but all play a similar role in preventing diseases like Alzheimer's.
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