Bamboo shoots, the edible sprouts of bamboo plants, have been a culinary staple in Asian countries for centuries and are now gaining recognition in Western nations as a healthy, nutrient-packed food. Grown throughout Asia, Africa, and the Americas, bamboo refers to any one of about 1,450 species in the Poaceae family. Most varieties of bamboo are incredibly hardy and grow well in both tropical and cold, mountainous climates. They’re among the fastest-growing plants in the world, capable of growing up to 60 centimeters in a single day. In the 21st century, bamboo shoots are recognized as a superfood and are used to prepare many food and pharmaceutical products. Today, bamboo is used in a variety of ways, from building houses to making paper.
Nutritional Profile of Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo shoots are highly nutritious and contain a good amount of fiber, copper, and vitamins B6 and E in each serving. The exact nutrients per serving of bamboo depend on the species of bamboo you're eating. With so many species to choose from, there's no easy nutritional table to draw from. However, there is a generally accepted nutrient range per serving.
One cup (155 grams) of cooked bamboo shoots contains:
- Calories: 64
- Protein: 2.5 grams
- Fat: 4.5 grams
- Carbs: 5 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Copper: 19% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin B6: 14% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 9% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 3% of the DV
- Riboflavin: 3% of the DV
- Thiamine: 3% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 3% of the DV
- Potassium: 3% of the DV
- Iron: 3% of the DV
Half a cup of fresh bamboo slices contains approximately:
- Calories: 20
- Fat: 0 grams
- Protein: 2 grams
- Carbohydrates: 4 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Sugar: 2 grams
- Sodium: 3 milligrams
Bamboo is also a source of a number of vitamins and minerals, including:
Read also: Jamaica Bamboo Rafting Review
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Manganese
- Zinc
- Chromium
- Copper
- Iron
- Thiamine
- Niacin
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin E
Bamboo shoots have a Nutrivore Score of 776, which makes them a high nutrient-dense food! One serving of bamboo shoots is standardized to 1 cup, sliced or about 151 grams (5.3 ounces). The Nutrivore Score of bamboo shoots varies based on method of preparation and processing. For the most part, the canned version is what is familiar to most people.
Health Benefits of Bamboo Shoots
With so many vitamins and minerals packed into these sturdy shoots, it comes as no surprise that there are a number of health benefits to bamboo. Bamboo shoots have been associated with several potential health benefits.
Lower Cholesterol
With high levels of fiber and very few calories per serving, bamboo shoots are a great way to lower your levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. This, in turn, can reduce your risk of heart disease. Some studies suggest that bamboo shoots could help reduce your cholesterol levels to improve heart health. The health benefits of dietary fiber from bamboo shoots were explored in a study by Park and Jhon (2009), which involved the comparison of a fiber-free diet with one containing bamboo shoot fiber and demonstrated the positive effects of bamboo shoot dietary fiber on improving bowel functions and reducing blood cholesterol levels.
For instance, one test-tube study showed that fibers extracted from this vegetable had powerful cholesterol-lowering properties. Plus, a small, older study from 2009 among 8 healthy women found that consuming 12.7 ounces (360 grams) of bamboo shoots significantly decreased levels of total and LDL (bad) cholesterol after 6 days, compared with those following a control diet. This may be due to the soluble fiber found in bamboo shoots. Soluble fiber absorbs water in the gut and has been linked to decreased cholesterol levels.
Stimulates Appetite and Improves Digestion
From digestive disorders to pregnancy-related nausea, there are plenty of reasons you might want to increase your appetite. It’s not just the mildly sweet taste and crunchy texture of bamboo that gets your stomach rumbling though. The high concentrations of cellulose in bamboo have been shown to stimulate the appetite, prevent constipation, and improve digestion.
Read also: Are Bamboo Shoots Low-Carb?
Supports a Low-Carb Diet
Low-carbohydrate diets have been shown to help prevent or improve some medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. Bamboo supports a low-carbohydrate diet by providing plenty of nutrients with very few carbohydrates. This can help people on low-carb diets get the vitamins and minerals they need.
Promotes Gut Health
Bamboo shoots are a great source of fiber, with 2 grams in each 1-cup (155-gram) serving. Fiber can promote regularity and may even protect against issues like hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, and colorectal cancer. According to test-tube research, bamboo shoots also act as a prebiotic, meaning that they provide fuel for the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Research shows that your gut microbiome may play a central role in health and disease and could help prevent conditions like heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, and obesity
Fiber serves as substrate for the trillions of microbes that inhabit our digestive tracts, collectively referred to as the gut microbiome. Through their metabolism of fiber, these resident microbes benefit us in a whole host of ways, including aiding digestion, vitamin production, detoxification, regulation of cholesterol metabolism, providing resistance to pathogens, immune regulation, neurotransmitter regulation, regulation of gene expression, and more! In fact, every human cell is impacted by the activities of our gut microbes. A healthy gut microbial community is essential for our health.
May Support Weight Loss
Bamboo shoots are low in calories but high in fiber, making them a great addition to a healthy weight loss diet. Fiber can help slow stomach emptying to help keep you feeling fuller for longer between meals. According to a review of 62 studies, increasing fiber intake boosted weight loss and decreased belly fat, even without making any other diet modifications. Emerging animal research also shows that these shoots could support gut health to benefit weight loss. For example, one study found that feeding bamboo shoot fiber to mice on a high fat diet helped protect against weight gain by enhancing gut microbiome health. That said, more studies are needed to confirm its potential benefits for humans.
Rich in Antioxidants
Numerous natural compounds with antioxidant properties can be extracted from plants, such as phenols, polyphenols, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, flavonoids, amino acids, and amines. These compounds have been identified to possess the potential to minimize the risk of chronic diseases. The main antioxidants in bamboo shoots are phenols, vitamins C and E, and mineral elements such as selenium, copper, zinc, iron, and manganese. Several identified antioxidants derived from bamboo shoots display certain biological roles, including anti-oxidative, anticancer, anti-hypertensive, and antibacterial.
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
Polyphenols play a huge role in protecting against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases, and other conditions associated with oxidative stress. In fact, a major reason foods like red wine and olive oil (as well as diets rich in both, such as the Mediterranean diet) show up as so beneficial may be due to their high polyphenol content! Along with chronic diseases, supplementing with polyphenols has been shown to protect against infections and reduce the signs of aging. Polyphenols exert their most potent effects by acting as antioxidants-preventing cellular damage by neutralizing hazardous oxygen radicals and improving cellular health as a result (which, in turn, benefits virtually every system in the body). As a result of their antioxidant properties, polyphenols also boost the immune system and protect against both chronic and acute diseases.
Source of Bioactive Compounds
Bioactive compounds, found in small amounts in food, can enhance the human body's metabolic processes and provide health benefits by influencing activities such as antioxidant function, enzyme function, receptor function, and even gene expression. Bamboo shoots are a rich source of bioactive compounds with a combination of different dietary fiber components. In the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry, bamboo shoots can be a good source of phytosterol which is used for making steroids. Phytosterols serve as a precursor to several pharmaceutical steroids, and phenols function as free radical terminators, metal chelators, and singlet oxygen quenchers. There are several health-promoting properties of phenol such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, due to which bamboo shoots are gaining importance in the food industry.
Rich in Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber is a unique blend of bioactive components composed of indigestible plant parts and carbohydrate molecules that can bind and eliminate harmful toxins and carcinogens in the digestive tract. Bamboo shoots are a rich dietary fiber source with several health benefits, including treatment and prevention of obesity and diabetes, reduced cardiovascular diseases, and decreased incidence of certain types of cancer. Bamboo shoots contain lignans, a significant fiber component known for its reported properties of anticancer, antibacterial, and antiviral activity.
Fiber has other benefits, like regulating peristalsis of the intestines (the rhythmic motion of muscles around the intestines that pushes food through the digestive tract), stimulating the release of the suppression of the hunger hormone ghrelin (so we feel more full), and slowing the absorption of simple sugars into the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar levels and avoid the excess production of insulin. The recommended dietary intake for fiber is 14 grams per 1000 kcal, which translates to 28 grams of fiber, if you eat a 2,000 calorie per day diet. However, there are many studies showing greater benefits from even higher levels of intake.
Good Profile of Minerals
Minerals are the major groups of micronutrients essential for normal body growth, a vital role in maintaining the structural and physiological growth, and hormonal and regulatory functions of the body in building muscles and bones. Bamboo shoots are reported to have a good profile of minerals, including potassium, calcium, manganese, zinc, chromium, copper, iron, phosphorus, manganese, nickel, and selenium. Fresh bamboo shoots have a high content of potassium, reported up to 5980 mg/100g dry weight in B. bambos. Potassium is a crucial electrolyte that is essential for regulating blood pressure, maintaining fluid balance, and supporting proper muscle and nerve function. Magnesium is another mineral found in abundance in bamboo shoots. This mineral plays a critical role in maintaining healthy bones, supporting proper nerve and muscle function, and regulating heart rhythm. It is also essential for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, which is crucial for individuals with diabetes or those at risk. Calcium, another vital mineral found in bamboo shoots, is essential for maintaining strong and healthy bones and also plays a crucial role in muscle and nerve function, blood clotting, and hormone secretion. Manganese, phosphorus, and zinc are other essential minerals found in bamboo shoots. The mineral content of bamboo shoots has numerous health benefits. It plays a significant role in promoting cardiovascular health, preventing diabetes, inhibiting cancerous tumor growth, slowing down the aging process in the brain and nervous system, and reducing the risk and severity of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Therapeutic Significance
Bamboo is known for its therapeutic significance and is an integral part of the traditional medicinal system worldwide, including Ayurveda, Chinese, Indo-Persian, Unani, and Tibetan practises. Almost every part of bamboo, such as rhizomes, roots, culm, culm sheaths, seeds, leaves, sap, and shoots, are used for medicinal purposes for treating injuries, fever, skin infections, bleeding gums joint pains, and many more. Bamboo has been incorporated into many traditional formulas to treat lung, stomach, bone, and skin-related problems, wounds, and poisonous bites. Medical applications of Tabasheer were documented in Indian Ayurveda over 10,000 years ago as a fundamental constituent of Chyawanprash, a health tonic to bestow youth, beauty, and life. The medicinal properties of bamboo shoots were also documented in the book Compendium of Materia Medica of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which mentioned the benefits of a liquid circulatory system. Extracts of leaves and shoots show potential antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, and wound-healing properties.
Preparation and Safety
Fresh bamboo is almost always a better source of these nutrients than fermented or canned bamboo varieties. Many companies sell bamboo powder or pre-cooked bamboo to use in cooking. However, if you choose to buy fresh bamboo, it's important to know how to prepare it. Fresh bamboo shoots contain toxic amounts of the cyanide taxiphyllin. However, different processing methods greatly reduce their taxiphyllin content, making them generally safe for consumption. To reduce the amount of taxiphyllin, the shoots must be boiled or soaked and dried prior to consumption.
Fresh bamboo contains toxins that are poisonous to humans, so bamboo shouldn't be eaten raw. Instead, it needs to be cut and boiled in salted water before use. After you’ve boiled the bamboo shoots for at least 20 minutes, you can peel off the leaves and soak the tender inside part of the bamboo in water for 30 minutes. Now it's ready to be used in your meal or stored in the fridge for up to one week.
Bamboo shoots are also considered goitrogenic, meaning that they may affect your thyroid gland function. In one test-tube study, certain compounds extracted from bamboo shoots decreased the activity of the thyroid gland cells responsible for producing thyroid hormones. Fortunately, getting enough iodine and selenium in your diet can help prevent thyroid dysfunction. Cooking foods can also deactivate certain enzymes and decrease how many goitrogens remain. Therefore, you can safely enjoy cooked bamboo shoots in moderation as part of a healthy, well-rounded diet, even if you have impaired thyroid function.
How to Prepare Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo shoots are easy to prepare. To get started, peel them and remove the fibrous outer layers. Next, add them to salted, boiling water and cook them for at least 20-30 minutes or up to 2 hours at medium-low heat. This helps remove the bitter taste and softens the texture. You can use a skewer or toothpick to check whether they’re ready. Ideally, the skewer should go through without resistance. If the shoots are ready, remove them from the water and let them cool. You can then slice them and add them to your favorite recipes.
Once you begin using bamboo in your meals, you'll begin to understand its flavor and be able to work it into dishes you already know and love. Bamboo shoots are a common ingredient in many Asian dishes. They’re often enjoyed boiled or canned and boast a crisp texture and mild, earthy flavor. Before adding them to recipes like stir-fries, curries, soups, and salads, they’re typically boiled, soaked, cooked, or pickled.
tags: #bamboo #shoots #nutritional #value