How often you consume Mung beans. Is it daily or weekly? Or monthly may be once in 3 months! I think we know these grains (Mung beans, Chickpeas,Green peas etc) are nutritious but actually we forget to add them into our daily meals. Don’t we? I thought to write this article about Mung beans just to remind you the impressive health benefits it has and to remind you about the importance of adding Mung beans to our daily diet. 

First, here is the nutritional profile of Mung beans. 

Mung beans are rich in vitamins and minerals. One cup of boiled mung beans contains, 

• Protein 14.2 g 

• Calorie 212 

• Fat 0.8g 

• Carbohydrate 38.7 g 

• Folate (B9) 80% of the reference daily intake (RDI)

• Fiber 15.4 g

• Vitamin B1 22% of RDI

• Magnesium 24% of RDI

• Manganese 20% of RDI

• Phosphorous 20% of RDI

• Iron 16% of RDI

• Copper  16% of RDI

• Potassium 15% of RDI

• Zinc 11% of RDI 

• Vitamin B2, B3, B5, B6, Selenium 

Mung beans are good for vegetarians because they are one of the best plant based sources of protein.  Some amino acids are there; they cannot be synthesized within our body, those are called essential amino acids. Mung beans contain some of those essential amino acids, like phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, and arginine. 

In Sri lanka we eat boiled Mung beans, milk rice with Mung beans (Mung kiribath), Mung beans porridge, Mung beans curry, Mung aggala, Mung soup and sprouted mung beans. Sprouting changes the nutrient composition of mung beans, they contain fewer calories and more free amino acids and antioxidants. The sprouted Mung beans salad is very tasty and I will post the recipe soon on this website. 

High antioxidant levels in Mung beans reduce chronic disease risk. If you go through the articles regarding food & nutrition, you may know about antioxidants and their importance to our health. Antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals, which are capable of damaging the cells in our body and lead to heart diseases and developing tumors and cancers. Phenolic acids, flavonoids, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid are some of the antioxidants present in Mung beans. Sprouted mung beans appear to have six times more antioxidants than regular Mung beans. 

Mung beans have the ability to cool our body. It may be due to its anti inflammatory property.  Vitexin and isovitexin are among the  antioxidants that are present in Mung beans, they may help protect the body cells from injury during heat stroke by free radicals, according to animal studies.  

Animal studies have shown that antioxidants in Mung beans may lower the LDL cholesterol (Bad cholesterol) level in the body which leads to reduced heart disease risk. 

Mung beans may help lower blood pressure because they are a good source of potassium, magnesium and fiber. There are studies that have been shown these nutrients can lower the risk of high blood pressure. 

Mung beans contain resistant starch  and pectin, a soluble fiber. They nourish the health gut bacteria. These bacteria digest the resistant starch and turn it into short chain fatty acids like Butyrate. Butyrate is a fatty acid that promotes digestive health. Butyrate can lower the risk of getting colon cancer as well. 

The carbohydrate in Mung beans is easy to digest.  

In addition to those benefits, folate in mung beans support healthy pregnancy. Folate is essential for optimal growth and development of the fetus. However it is better  to avoid eating raw sprouted mung beans if you are pregnant because they may contain harmful bacteria which lead to infection. You can eat cooked mung beans and sprouted mung beans instead.  

Since mung beans are healthy, delicious and versatile, don’t forget to  incorporate them into your diet.