Health Benefits and Nutritional Value of Bamboo

Bamboo Shoots - Health Benefits and Nutritional Value

Bamboo shoots...they’re not just for panda bears anymore. You might not have given much thought to how bamboo shoots can be a healthy part of your everyday diet, but there are actually many health benefits you can receive from them. And as surprising as it may be, it’s not just a food that’s healthy for panda bears to eat, we humans can see many health benefits as well. 

Bamboo shoots are found very often in Asian cuisine. There’s a reason many Asians live to such ripe old ages and we could take a tip or two from their eating habits. Here are ten ways that bamboo shoots can benefit your health.

Ten Things Bamboo Shoots Do for Your Overall Health

1. Helps promote weight loss - We know; we had you at hello. Seriously, though, the amount of calories and carbohydrates is so negligible it makes bamboo shoots the perfect food to eat when you’re trying to lose weight. It’s filling without those extra calories and carbs which need to be burned off.

2. Heart healthy - Bamboo shoots contain nutrients which help dissolve LDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood. This makes it a great part of a heart healthy diet since the blood can flow freely through the arteries. And let’s not forget the low calories. Less fat in the bamboo shoots means less chance for cholesterol to get out of control. Also, the high amounts of potassium helps lower blood pressure.

3. Improved bowel movements - Those negligible amounts of fat and calories coupled with high amounts of dietary fiber helps keep your bowels moving and improve your bowel function.

4. Fights cancer - Because the leaves of bamboo shoots have chlorophyll, this can help control many mutations of cancer.

5. Good for the immune system - No one ever wants to get sick. A strong immune system helps prevent you from contracting things. Bamboo shoots are jam packed with vitamins and minerals, all of which will help boost the immune system and prevent you from getting sick. 

6. Anti-inflammatory - Do you experience pain and inflammation? Bamboo shoots possess anti-inflammatory and natural pain killers. They help in the healing of ulcers as well. You can use the juice from bamboo shoots to treat external wounds and ulcers.

7. Effective in treating respiratory disease - Boiling the shoots twice, once for 5 minutes and the second time for 10 minutes and then taking with honey will help clear up those respiratory problems.

8. Stomach problems - The leaves of the bamboo shoots are used as a remedy for intestinal worms and other stomach disorders.

9. Anti-venomous - It is believed that bamboo shoots can be used to cure some scorpion or snake bites. 

10. Used to clean wounds - Bamboo shoots can be used to effectively clean out wounds.

With low calories and high amounts of vitamins and minerals, having bamboo shoots in the home is a no-brainer. Not only because of how great they are when eaten, but also due to how useful they can be in use of first aid. It's a nutritional and healthy vegetable that you won’t want to discount for its usefulness.