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The Communicator - February 2005
Food fads come and go. Who can forget the Dr. Atkins Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet and the Dolly Parton
Diet? What about the ever changing views on familiar foods such as oat bran, coffee, eggs and marga-
rine? It's a challenge to keep up with the revolving door of diet information and misinformation.
While consumers are wading through a sea of conflicting nutritional news, it's comforting to remem-
ber that dry beans consistently remain one of nature's healthiest food choices.
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Popular in the Far East for centuries, especially in Japan where it is one of the
largest crops, adzuki beans are small dark red beans with a strong, sweet,
nutty flavor.
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These legumes are rounded in shape with a point at one end and
have a distinctive white ridge along one side.
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Also known as adsuki, aduki,
asuki and azuki, this variety originates from Asia, as its name means "little
bean" in Japanese. Its red coloring red being the most important color in
Eastern celebrations means that it is greatly used in festive special meals.
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In the Far East it is principally used after fermentation as a confectionary
product, and in North America and Europe it is valued for its relatively low
cooking time, as well as its low fat, high protein and natural sugar profile.
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Like most beans, adzuki beans are rich in the best sort of fiber
soluble fiber that helps to eliminate cholesterol from the body.
They are a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc,
copper, manganese and vitamin B3. As a high-potassium, low-
sodium food, they help reduce blood pressure. Not only are
they low in fat, but when combined with grains, beans supply
high quality protein which provides a healthy alternative to
meat or other animal protein. Adzuki beans also contain
protease inhibitors that frustrate the development of
cancerous cells.
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Dry beans also make a difference in
diabetes diets. Researchers have found that eating beans
consistently produces slower and lower increases in
plasma insulin and glucose. Dry beans help maintain lower
body weight, as well as improve metabolic control in people with
diabetes.
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In preparing adzuki beans, begin by washing the dried beans and
discarding any that are discolored or badly formed. Check for
debris such as small rocks or twigs and discard them as well. Soak
the beans overnight to reduce cooking time, then rinse and drain
thoroughly, discarding the soak water. For one cup of beans, add 3
¼ cups of fresh water, cover and simmer for 45 minutes (2 hours if
the beans have not soaked). One cup of dried beans yields three
cups of cooked beans. To avoid indigestion when using dried beans,
follow cooking instructions carefully, as most beans require several
hours of soaking in order to destroy the bean toxin lectin. If you are
using canned beans, please note that most varieties are canned in a
salt solution, so rinse well before using them.
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Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, one serving (1/4 cup) of cooked
adzuki beans has 160 calories, 0.5 g of fat, 600 mg of potassium,
29 g of carbohydrate, 6 g of dietary fiber and 11 g of protein.
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The Amazing Adzuki Bean
By Kellie Fiorello
Bulk Director Steve Wolfson shows us some
adzuki beans that can be found at CCM in the
bulk section.