Enzymes & Bacteria in a specific legume
Discussion
I've easily found a huge amount of papers online relating to studies carried out on a particular legume, mung beans. However, apart from a load of promotion via health supplement-types sites sites and an article by 'Dr' Gillian McKeith (or to use her profeccional title, Gillian McKeith) on the Channel 4 website, I was wondering if anyone could confirm that these innocuous little sprouts are as amazing as they appear to be, in terms of how they can benefit the body?
There seems to be some pretty amazing claims being made - is this just hype or are they actually true?
There seems to be some pretty amazing claims being made - is this just hype or are they actually true?
Enzymes are proteins, Proteins are complex chains of amino acids, broken down in the gut to the amino acids they are made from. So the enzymes are irrelevant.
The amino acids are nitrogen-containing organic acids. There are 22 amino acids found in Earth life, most but not all of which humans can synthesise from less complex molecules. The 9 "essential" acids we must get from food, and mung beans contain them . See: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01087...
But there are many other sources of "essential" amino acids, which is why a widely balanced diet is the best advice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid
Bacteria are part of digestion; in fact our bowels contain about two kilogrammes of bacteria. The mix of bacterial species may have important effects on health, but it seems unlikely that an occasional meal of mung beans will change that.
John
The amino acids are nitrogen-containing organic acids. There are 22 amino acids found in Earth life, most but not all of which humans can synthesise from less complex molecules. The 9 "essential" acids we must get from food, and mung beans contain them . See: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01087...
But there are many other sources of "essential" amino acids, which is why a widely balanced diet is the best advice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid
Bacteria are part of digestion; in fact our bowels contain about two kilogrammes of bacteria. The mix of bacterial species may have important effects on health, but it seems unlikely that an occasional meal of mung beans will change that.
John
Legumes (like mung beans) have root nodules with bacteria in that take nitrogen from the air and fix it into a form the plant can use, they find these bacteria in the soil after they start growing and make little homes for them (aah). So they help the legumes with obtaining nitrogen but won't be in the seeds, or anywhere else for that matter.
Otherwise it's just a case of which amino acids as already said. An old fashioned description is 1st class and 2nd class proteins, 1st class have all the amino acids we need, 2nd class have some but not all. 1st class tend to be from animal sources and 2nd from plant. Maybe mung beans are 1st class or less 2nd class than other plant foods. If you have a balanced diet you'll get them all. I've never heard of a deficiency disease due to specific missing amino acid, I'm sure they exist but are probably incredibly rare and have to be induced in lab animals by a particular and restricted diet. Maybe if you're a vegan they might make a difference.
There's always some latest wonder food being touted or the "health food" industry would be as run of the mill as the carrot or turnip industries, so I call bulls
t in big piles on this one.
Otherwise it's just a case of which amino acids as already said. An old fashioned description is 1st class and 2nd class proteins, 1st class have all the amino acids we need, 2nd class have some but not all. 1st class tend to be from animal sources and 2nd from plant. Maybe mung beans are 1st class or less 2nd class than other plant foods. If you have a balanced diet you'll get them all. I've never heard of a deficiency disease due to specific missing amino acid, I'm sure they exist but are probably incredibly rare and have to be induced in lab animals by a particular and restricted diet. Maybe if you're a vegan they might make a difference.
There's always some latest wonder food being touted or the "health food" industry would be as run of the mill as the carrot or turnip industries, so I call bulls
t in big piles on this one.Thank you for the educational and interesting biological insights.
The reason for asking was, apart from hoovering up the hype machine's latest sproutings (
), I was also interested to find out if these legumes might be useful in populating the gut with beneficial bacteria, but more specifically I had heard that they were supposed to be extremely effective against indigestion - therefore some basic gugling led me to all of these fantastic additonal claims. I've had indigestion quite a bit in the past as well as an ulcer so was interested in finding out more.
To be specific, below are the sort of claims which I wanted to question. From Channel 4's You Are What You Eat web site - I know there's a lot of pseudo-science-dietary carp in there with words like 'cleansing', 'detoxify', of which cleansing features quite a lot. Anyway, here you go for those interested/cynical:
"Why should I be eating mung beans?
Mung beans are members of the legume family and are a good source of protein for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Mung beans are considered to be a cleansing pulse especially when soaked and sprouted. Cooked mung beans are also cleansing and nourishing and are a great addition to many dishes. Mung beans are easier to digest and quicker to cook than many other legumes, so are great for those who have difficulty digesting beans.
What are they rich in?
Mung beans are a fantastic source of potassium needed for cardiovascular function and a healthy nervous system. Mung beans also contain fibre needed for the removal of excess cholesterol and old hormones from the body. Their fibre content also makes them great for blood sugar control as it slows down the release of sugars from carbohydrates.
Mung beans contain good levels of the B vitamins needed for the release of energy from food, including folate needed for foetal development and cardiovascular health. They also contain magnesium which gets used up in stress. When sprouted they develop good amounts of vitamin C needed by the immune system for healing and fending off infections.
Who should eat mung beans?
Anyone with high cholesterol or at risk of coronary artery disease. Consumption of legumes such as mung beans has been strongly associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and healthy cholesterol levels
Those suffering from stress may find the magnesium and B vitamin content of mung beans helpful
Anyone wishing to cleanse and detoxify. Mung beans are a good food to eat when detoxing, especially if eaten raw and sprouted
Anyone with a sluggish bowel. The fibre in mung beans is great for improving bowel function and cleansing the intestines
Anyone with high blood pressure or who has previously eaten a diet high in sodium or meat
Those suffering from low energy or blood sugar imbalances. Mung beans provide slow releasing carbohydrates that give sustained energy
Anyone looking for healthy vegetarian proteins, be they vegetarians or meat-eaters looking to reduce their animal protein consumption"
The reason for asking was, apart from hoovering up the hype machine's latest sproutings (
), I was also interested to find out if these legumes might be useful in populating the gut with beneficial bacteria, but more specifically I had heard that they were supposed to be extremely effective against indigestion - therefore some basic gugling led me to all of these fantastic additonal claims. I've had indigestion quite a bit in the past as well as an ulcer so was interested in finding out more.To be specific, below are the sort of claims which I wanted to question. From Channel 4's You Are What You Eat web site - I know there's a lot of pseudo-science-dietary carp in there with words like 'cleansing', 'detoxify', of which cleansing features quite a lot. Anyway, here you go for those interested/cynical:
"Why should I be eating mung beans?
Mung beans are members of the legume family and are a good source of protein for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Mung beans are considered to be a cleansing pulse especially when soaked and sprouted. Cooked mung beans are also cleansing and nourishing and are a great addition to many dishes. Mung beans are easier to digest and quicker to cook than many other legumes, so are great for those who have difficulty digesting beans.
What are they rich in?
Mung beans are a fantastic source of potassium needed for cardiovascular function and a healthy nervous system. Mung beans also contain fibre needed for the removal of excess cholesterol and old hormones from the body. Their fibre content also makes them great for blood sugar control as it slows down the release of sugars from carbohydrates.
Mung beans contain good levels of the B vitamins needed for the release of energy from food, including folate needed for foetal development and cardiovascular health. They also contain magnesium which gets used up in stress. When sprouted they develop good amounts of vitamin C needed by the immune system for healing and fending off infections.
Who should eat mung beans?
Anyone with high cholesterol or at risk of coronary artery disease. Consumption of legumes such as mung beans has been strongly associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and healthy cholesterol levels
Those suffering from stress may find the magnesium and B vitamin content of mung beans helpful
Anyone wishing to cleanse and detoxify. Mung beans are a good food to eat when detoxing, especially if eaten raw and sprouted
Anyone with a sluggish bowel. The fibre in mung beans is great for improving bowel function and cleansing the intestines
Anyone with high blood pressure or who has previously eaten a diet high in sodium or meat
Those suffering from low energy or blood sugar imbalances. Mung beans provide slow releasing carbohydrates that give sustained energy
Anyone looking for healthy vegetarian proteins, be they vegetarians or meat-eaters looking to reduce their animal protein consumption"
As I said above our bowls contain and emormous amount of bacteria, mostly helpful as long as they stay there. But some doctors theorise that certain boowel diseases may be down to an imbalnce of the various bacteria in there. And they are trying "bacterial transplants", also known as Feacal bacteriotherapy! (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_bacteriotherapy...
But if eating someone else's poo is a bit much, what about the many pots of live youghurt bacteria, Lactobacillus species, that are on the shelves of supermarket across the land? The idea is that some will survive the passage through the stomach acid, as acid as battery acid, and set up home in the small and large bowel. It may work!
JOhn
But if eating someone else's poo is a bit much, what about the many pots of live youghurt bacteria, Lactobacillus species, that are on the shelves of supermarket across the land? The idea is that some will survive the passage through the stomach acid, as acid as battery acid, and set up home in the small and large bowel. It may work!
JOhn
I'd imagine these things are considered 'healthy' because they provide eg. vitamin C (from the sprouting shoot) when such things otherwise wouldn't be available.
ie. imagine you're a peasant in Northern China, in winter, when the diet consists of nothing but rice and dried legumes.
Claims as to enzymes / bacteria are cobblers. In any case, it is nodules in the roots of legumes which fix nitrogen in the soil, not the 'seeds'.
ie. imagine you're a peasant in Northern China, in winter, when the diet consists of nothing but rice and dried legumes.
Claims as to enzymes / bacteria are cobblers. In any case, it is nodules in the roots of legumes which fix nitrogen in the soil, not the 'seeds'.
IainT said:
I recently read that around half the cells in our bodies are 'non-human' - i.e. bacteria, fungal, etc. By weight it's much less, a number of pounds as these cells are much smaller than the majority of our 'own' cells. Without all these interlopers we wouldn't survive though.
Ah yes, our complex prokaryotic cells as opposed to the much simpler smaller bacterial eukaryotic cells. And yes, we are dependant on commensal bacteria. (Commensal = both parties benefit).The fascinating thing is the concept that mitochondria are not dissimilar to bacteria, suggesting that they were once free living organisms that integrated. But then, the same is true of cancer...
tapkaJohnD said:
...And they are trying "bacterial transplants", also known as Feacal bacteriotherapy! (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_bacteriotherapy...
But if eating someone else's poo is a bit much, what about the many pots of live youghurt bacteria, Lactobacillus species, that are on the shelves of supermarket across the land? The idea is that some will survive the passage through the stomach acid, as acid as battery acid, and set up home in the small and large bowel. It may work!
JOhn
Just briefly read about a poo bacteria vs brain cancer treatment in which the doctors involved resigned:But if eating someone else's poo is a bit much, what about the many pots of live youghurt bacteria, Lactobacillus species, that are on the shelves of supermarket across the land? The idea is that some will survive the passage through the stomach acid, as acid as battery acid, and set up home in the small and large bowel. It may work!
JOhn
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/08/25/uc-davis...
But this bacterial reboot, I wonder if, rather than just shoring up existing gut bacteria with new, perhaps some sort of quaratine could be undertaken in order to virtually eliminate all bacteria in the body, and then recolonise with a perfect blend of the words finest bugs hand harvested from superior sources?
Maybe it could be a way to combat difficult diseases or something - or just to give immune systems a good boost, etc.
Simpo Two said:
IainT said:
I recently read that around half the cells in our bodies are 'non-human' - i.e. bacteria, fungal, etc. By weight it's much less, a number of pounds as these cells are much smaller than the majority of our 'own' cells. Without all these interlopers we wouldn't survive though.
Ah yes, our complex prokaryotic cells as opposed to the much simpler smaller bacterial eukaryotic cells. And yes, we are dependant on commensal bacteria. (Commensal = both parties benefit).The fascinating thing is the concept that mitochondria are not dissimilar to bacteria, suggesting that they were once free living organisms that integrated. But then, the same is true of cancer...
205alive said:
IainT said:
...and before that there were separate non-living non-organisms that came together to form ever more complex non-living non-organisms until, way down the line we had living organisms.
Wot, like amino acids and all that?But, yes, amino acids and all that. It's all a continuum of change so it's impossible to say when life started. Just that it did.
We might all be aliens anyway: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-2387...
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