Are you struggling with obesity? If yes then most probably you want to fight it. You want to lose weight. But I know it is not an easy thing though. Weight Loss is much easy said than done.
But it is not impossible either. And in the age of globalization where we get to hear facts from the rest of the world, it is not hard either.
All you have to do is follow some instructions and you will end up losing a significant amount of weight.
There are many healthy ways to lose weight. However, some are more efficient than others. Recently a Japanese recipe has made a lot of hype among the aspirants of weight loss.
The recipe is “Miso Soup”. Whether it is helpful in weight loss or not is our main topic. Let’s find out.
What is Miso Soup?
Miso Soup is a Japanese traditional soup. It has so much importance in Japanese cuisine that it’s called the representative of Japanese soups. The Miso soup is made of miso paste with many other ingredients (some optional as well).
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae). Rice, seaweed, and other multiple optional ingredients are also used as well. Nearly 80% of the miso paste production in Japan is used in Miso Soup. And nearly 75% of Japanese consume miso soup at least once a day.
Is Miso Soup effective for weight loss?
After a brief introduction, it is time that we turn to our main question. Miso soup is a very light dish. A bowl of miso soup has only 25 calories. Yes, you read it right. That means if a person consumes even four bowls of miso soup. He would only have consumed calories near 100. Miso soup also contains 2 grams of protein.
This makes it a good part of the person’s diet plan who is aspiring to lose weight. However, before proceeding further I want to make it clear that Miso Soup contains a high amount of sodium. So, if your doctor has advised you to not eat food high in sodium then please don’t consume Miso soup.
Benefits of Miso Soup
How Miso soup helps in losing weight can be understood by knowing about its benefits. It has multiple benefits that are discussed below:
Miso soup boosts your energy
The soup contains vitamin B12. This vitamin complex boosts your energy by speeding up your body’s metabolic rate. When your body has more energy you can do more work.
This increases the ability to do more exercise, the main way of weight loss. It also helps in reducing depression which is one of the main reasons for weight gain.
It keeps weight off
Miso soup contains protective fatty acids that can keep weight off. In other words, you can call it ‘anti-fat. The human body also produces the fatty acids it needs. However, miso soup has omega 3, which our bodies can’t produce.
It can reduce the risk of breast cancer
Yes, miso paste contains fermented soybean paste that can reduce the risk of breast cancer. It also has vitamin E and antioxidants. Seaweed, which is used in miso paste helps in lowering blood pressure. Another benefit of Miso soup is that it increases the strength of your immune system to fight any kind of illness.
As you can see, this traditional Japanese soup has multiple benefits. It surely helps in losing weight but not directly. It boosts your energy which is essential for workouts. Which is a crucial part of weight loss. It can also be a very good choice for your dinner. Because it’s being lighter in calories you can consume miso soup instead of high-calorie food.
However, the soup contains a high amount of sodium which might be a concern for some people. As mentioned earlier if your doctor advises you to stay away from such food, then please don’t consume miso soup. Miso soup is very lighter in calories which means it cannot satisfy our hunger.
That’s why having miso soup only at night would be a very good choice. Otherwise, at lunch, you would end up eating a whole pizza, as it does not satisfy your hunger.
Ingredients for Miso Soup
Miso soup needs multiple ingredients. First of all the major requirement is preparing miso paste that can be prepared with the following ingredients:
Brown rice, barley, whole wheat, buckwheat, soy, proso millet, foxtail millet, hemp seed, and hot chili pepper for dipping sauce.
Besides that, there are also other vegetables namely, potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, daikon, and tofu.
There are three different types of flavors that Miso soup can be prepared in, red miso, white miso, and mixed miso.
Conclusion
For most of the past time, weight loss has been a controversial topic. Most people feel ashamed even to discuss it.
The main reason behind it is that people think others are going to mock them when they admit that they are struggling with obesity. Sure, body-shaming is a thing but it is not as much as it was in the past.
Besides, who is going to fight such stereotypes when we are afraid of even mentioning something about it? Things are improving with time. I mean think about the previous century and how everything has changed.
So, if you are struggling with obesity don’t feel shy to discuss it. The world is full of nice people.
I hope that this article has made it easier for you to decide whether Miso soup is your thing.
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