Lifestyle magazine with azuki and Japanese sweets

Azuki beans get you beautiful skin

Azuki beans get you beautiful skin

High-quality protein keeps your skin, hair, and nails fresh

The secret to keep your skin beautiful is to take the nutrients which activate your metabolism to encourage regeneration of old tissues.

Our body is mainly composed of protein, from muscle, skin, and blood, to hair and nails.

To keep your skin, hair, and nails fresh and beautiful, you need to take high-quality protein first of all. The protein you take as food is broken down into amino acids with a smaller molecular weight as digested and absorbed in your body. The protein that constitutes your body is reassembled from the amino acids.

Azuki beans contain all the 20 amino acids that constitute the human body

It is considered that more than 80 kinds of amino acids exist in nature, but only 20 of them constitute the human body. Therefore, well-balanced intake of these amino acids is important when you attain proteins from food. If the balance is not appropriate, the absorbed protein will not be used efficiently, which in turn may lead to anemia or immunosuppression.

Nine of the 20 compounds called essential amino acids, which are not generated in the human body, should be taken from food. They are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, sulphur-containing amino acids (methionine+cysteine), aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine+tyrosine), threonine, tryptophan, valine, and histidine.

Rice, the staple food of the Japanese, contains less lysine among the essential amino acids, and its content is only 61 percent of the standard value. This greatly causes inefficient use of protein.

On the contrary, Azuki beans contain all the essentials close to the standard value or more, and much of isoleucine, lysine, aromatic amino acids, valine, and histidine in particular.

Moreover, Azuki beans contain abundant vitamin B complex. vitamin B1 is mentioned above, but what is important here is vitamin B2 and vitamin B6.

Of particular note is that vitamins B2 and B6 help the metabolism of regenerating cells such as skin, hair, and nails, which functions to maintain your skin fresh and beautiful.

That is, vitamins B2 and B6 have essential beauty benefits, and the lack of them might cause rough skin, a great enemy against your beauty.

We are living in an environment that accelerates skin troubles, being exposed to various stressors and to dry air in air-conditioned rooms. I believe that daily and active intake of boiled Azuki beans, which contain great protein as well as abundant vitamins B2 and B6, will help you stay with your fresh and beautiful skin.

Written by Jun Kato PhD.

Jun KATO, PhD.​
Professor​
Department of Nutritional Sciences​
Faculty of Health and Welfare Science​
Nayoro City University​
Former​ Director General
Donan Agricultural Experiment Station
Hokkaido Research Organization  

Source from 『「あずき」のチカラはこんなにすごい!』

Translated by Azusa Yoshida.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AzusaYoshida
Japanese-English Translator

Azusa Yoshida is working as a translator for the industrial media for forest products. She is excited about the project to spread Japanese azuki beans to the world.
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