It’s shooting its shot at stardom.
Adding power-packed foods to your daily diet can seriously boost your health, from promoting a balanced gut to providing disease-fighting antioxidants.
While no single food can provide all the health and nutritional benefits we need, items like fermented foods, blueberries, avocados and nuts have long been powerhouse staples of healthy eating.
Now, you can add one more superfood to the list — an oft-overlooked ingredient in Asian dishes that lowers blood sugar, improves gut health and reduces cholesterol.
Bamboo shoots should be in your grocery cart, argues new research highlighting the value of this unsung veggie.
Not just a snack for pandas, the plant boasts a crisp texture and mild, earthy flavor, while packing a nutritional punch.
Publishing their findings in Advances in Bamboo Science, a team of researchers reviewed studies involving 4,934 participants to identify bamboo’s health advantages.
The shoots lowered blood sugar in diabetics as well as “bad” cholesterol levels to improve heart health.
Other studies that examined the vegetable’s effect on human cells found signs of anti-inflammatory properties and protection against cellular damage that contributes to aging and disease.
It also contains a variety of nutrients, including a good amount of fiber, amino acids, potassium, copper and vitamins B6 and E.
Fiber can promote gut regularity, protect against colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease and help you feel fuller for longer to achieve weight loss goals.
Studies also showed that different parts of the shoot offer varying perks, with the upper portions containing more protein and minerals compared to the lower part, which had more fiber and sugar.
And it’s not just bamboo in its whole form that provides a wealth of nutrition.
Partially replacing flour in noodle recipes with powdered shoots fortified the dish with more amino acids, protein, carbohydrates and vitamins — all while containing less fat.
There is one downside, so you don’t get bamboozled — the shoots contain toxic amounts of cyanogenic glycosides that release cyanide when eaten raw.
In order to reap all their goodness, bamboo shoots must be prepared properly by pre-boiling them to remove poisonous compounds.
The shoots are often peeled to get rid of the woody, thick texture before being boiled, soaked, cooked or pickled.
While the existing studies were promising, researchers say there’s still a lot unknown about the effect of bamboo on human health.
