SOY OR SOYA BEANS - USEFUL SOURCE OF PROTEIN: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF SOY BEANS

SOYA OR SOY BEANS, GLYCINE MAX 

In British English we say soya bean while in US English it’s a soybean, but they are the same thing. They originated in South-East Asia and were first domesticated in China sometime around 1100 BC. From there they spread to other Asian countries where they were cultivated by the first century AD (including Japan). The soya plant is a member of the Leguminoseae or Fabaceae family which includes lupins, kudzu or pueraria, liquorice, carob, peas, beans, chickpeas, indigo, alfalfa and broom to name but a few. Its wild ancestor is Glycine soja.

  The first European to describe and illustrate the plant was Engelbert Kaempfer, the German botanist, in his “Amoenitatum Exoticarum” published in Germany in 1712. He also gave a detailed description (some say the most detailed to date) of the process of making shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) and miso. Before this date six Europeans had written about soy food products, miso, soy sauce and tofu but they had not realized how it was made and were ignorant of the fact that the products were made from the soya bean.

  Shoyu was imported into Europe long before the soya bean, first by the Dutch in 1670 who supplied it to King Louis XIV of France for use at his banquets. It was a luxury item at that time, just as it had been when it was first introduced into Japan, centuries before. John Locke, the English philosopher, wrote that it was available at a London restaurant in 1679 and during the 18^th century soy sauce was popular in Europe, and widely used in Britain by the end of that century. The famous Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce had a base of soy sauce and was spiced up to market it as a different food item.

  The soy plant was grown in Botanical Gardens in France, The Netherlands and England as a curiosity only, during the 18^th century. We know that Benjamin Franklin sent some seeds to a friend of his in 1770, but they didn’t really come into their own until George Washington Carver took an interest in then and realized that they were a valuable source of oil and protein in 1904. He persuaded farmers to rotate their crops and plant nitrogen fixers such as peanuts and soya plants (also sweet potatoes) and then plant cotton in the third year and farmers were amazed to find that the next cotton crop was better than it had been for many years.

  Henry Ford had his scientists make strong durable plastic from soya beans and made a car entirely out of soya bean plastic. When the plant was first introduced into the American colonies by Europeans in 1765 it was called “Chinese vetches.” The soya bean has been one of the five main plant foods in China along with rice, wheat, rye, barley and millet for centuries, but the beans were fist exported to Europe only in 1908.Now soya oil is used for many purposes, in the form of flour it can be added to wheat flour and helps compensate for the lack of the amino acids, tryptophan and lysine in the grain flour. Sixty pounds or one bushel of the beans yields eleven pounds of oil and forty-eight of meal. The oil can be used as a green fuel and lubricant as well as for culinary purposes, while the lecithin extracted from the oil is a natural emulsifier and used to stabilize the ingredients of some food products, as it makes fat and water compatible, and can prevent cocoa butter and chocolate from separating for example. The oil is used in margarines, salad dressing and can be found in paints, varnishes and printers’ ink. The plants themselves have always been used as fodder for animals, so the whole plant is useful.

  Soy beans in our diet have many health benefits and the same is true of tofu, soy milk, tempeh and miso as these soya products contain isoflavones which can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The cooking oil and soya sauce do not contain them however. Soy foods may be beneficial for menopausal and pot menopausal women as they can help maintain healthy bones and a healthy cardio-vascular system. They do not increase the risks of breast cancer as was previously believed, but on the contrary may help protect from it. They can also help to stabilize blood sugar levels and so are helpful to sufferers of Tye-2 diabetes. It is also believed now that they may boost the functions of the brain. Soy protein may also help protect against atherosclerosis by increasing the levels of nitric acid in the blood, which improves blood vessel dilation and inhibits damage caused by free radicals.

  The choline found in soybeans lessens chronic inflammation, while a sphingolipid in the beans, soy glucosylceramide may promote gastro-intestinal health and inhibit the formation of cancerous tumours.

  Soya beans also contain dietary fibre which can reduce the risk of colon cancer. Apart from the substances already mentioned above, soy beans are excellent sources of molybdenum, tryptophan, the minerals manganese, iron, and phosphorous as well as containing selenium, magnesium, copper, calcium, sodium and zinc. They contain the B-complex vitamins, B1 thiamin, B2 riboflavin, B3 niacin, B6 and folate. Soy beans are also sources of the vitamins K, A and C along with Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, 18 amino acids,  and the isoflavone genistein which may help us stay thin, and which is generally considered to have anti-cancer properties. The beans are also excellent sources of protein and a good substitute for meat, at least occasionally.

  The whole beans are the best for our health, although tofu, soya bean sprouts, tempeh and miso also have some benefits. The beans can be cooked in the same way as chickpeas or borlotti beans, and the fresh green beans (called endamame) are particularly tasty. Unfortunately perhaps the USA is the biggest exporter of soy beans and their oil, and these are GM crops. As we don’t really know what the long-term health effects of GM food are as it has not been around long enough for valid research, it could be that soy beans may not be as healthy as they would appear at the moment. However it is probably true that if eaten in moderation they won’t be very harmful.

CINQUEFOIL- PROTECTIVE PLANT:HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF CINQUEFOIL

CINQUEFOIL, POTENTILLA REPTANS 

Cinquefoil is so named because it has five leaves (cinque=five and folia, leaves). It is also called creeping cinquefoil as it creeps along the ground on tendrils as do strawberries, and five-finger grass or five leaf grass. It is very closely related to Silverweed and is in the same genus Potentilla which implies the herb has strength and power; and is a member of the Rosaceae family which includes fruit trees such as plum, apple, apricot and peach among others.

  The plant has been associated with protection from witches, but has also been used in spells and “Witches Ointment” in the Middle Ages. In France, in Normandy and Burgundy there are examples of cinquefoil carved in churches dating from the 11^th century. In heraldry too Potentilla or cinquefoil is a symbol of strength and honour, power and loyalty. It is native to Europe and grows rather profusely in Britain. It makes good ground cover, but is an annoying weed, as it tends to invade lawns.

  In the Middle Ages in parts of Britain, it was used in a concoction for baiting fishing nets, along with the juice of houseleeks, wheat, which had been boiled with marjoram and thyme and the common nettle. The witches were supposed to have made their ointment with the delightfully named wolfsbane, this plant and smallage, along with the fat of recently dead children, dug from their graves all of which were added to well- pounded wheat. This gives a whole new take on the story of Hansel and Gretel!

  A protection charm could be made by picking a perfect five-fingered leaf on a Wednesday when the moon was waxing and then pressing it in a Bible (one of the heaviest books). The plant could be hung from the bed or door to protect the house and bring a restful sleep, and the leaves were thought to represent health or luck, power, wisdom, love and money.

  Its flowers are partially closed in dull weather and completely close at night rather in the same way as wood sorrel does and of course Tickle Me the sensitive plant.

  The plant has astringent properties so was used as a remedy for diarrhoea which makes sense because of its tannin content. Like silverweed the roots are also edible and can be boiled having, so it is said a taste similar to chestnuts or parsnips.

  Culpeper had this to say of the plant: -

   “It is an especial herb used in all inflammations and fevers, whether infectious or pestilential or, among other herbs, to cool and temper the blood and humours in the body; as also for all lotions, gargles and infections; for sore mouths, ulcers, cancers, fistulas and other foul or running sores.

   The juice drank, about four ounces at a time, for certain days together, cureth the quinsey and yellow jaundice, and taken for 30 days cureth the falling sickness. The roots boiled in vinegar and the decoction held in the mouth easeth toothache.

   The juice or decoction taken with a little honey removes hoarseness and is very good for coughs.

   The root boiled in vinegar, being applied, heals inflammations, painful sores and the shingles. The same also, boiled in wine, and applied to any joint full of pain, ache or the gout in the hands, or feet or the hip-joint, called the sciatica, and the decoction thereof drank the while, doth cure them and easeth much pain in the bowels.

   The roots are also effectual to reduce ruptures, being used with other things available to that purpose, taken either inwardly or outwardly, or both; as also bruises or hurts by blows, falls or the like, and to stay the bleeding of wounds in any part, inward or outward.”

  The ancient Welsh physicians of Myddfai had other uses for it and said: -

“A sterile woman may have a potion prepared for her by means of the following herbs, viz:—St. John's wort, yew, agrimony, amphibious persicaria, creeping cinque foil, mountain club moss, orpine and pimpernel, taking an emetic in addition.”

  You can make a decoction of the plant with 1½ ounces of the root to 2 pints of water and boil this until the liquid reduces by half.  An infusion can be made with 1 ounce of the plant by pouring a pint of boiling water over it and letting this steep for 25 minutes before straining and drinking. If you have used the flowering tops of the plant this is good for menstrual cramps and diarrhoea.

  Cinquefoil has even made its appearance in English literature and here is one reference to it by John Clare in his poem, “The Eternity of Nature.”

  “But flowers, how many own that mystic power,

   With five leaves ever making up the flower?

   The five-leaved grass, mantling its golden cup

   Of flowers – five leaves make all for which I stoop.”

  However, as yet the medical profession has done little research on this prolific little plant.

CORN COCKLE - ONCE A WEED, NOW RARE: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF CORN COCKLE

CORN COCKLE, AGROSTEMMA GITHAGO 

The corn cockle is a native of Europe and is believed to have arrived in Britain on the backs (possibly quite literally) of Iron Age farmers, as it grew among crops of grain such as rye, which seems to have been its favourite neighbour in Britain, wheat and barley. Like the red poppy and blue cornflower, it flourished in cultivated land. Now it is a very rare sight in the wild in Britain, but can be bought for gardens.

  It is a member of the pink family of plants so is related to carnations, cloves, soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) and the soapnut or reetha.  The seeds and roots of the plant contain saponins which are toxic and so should not be eaten. However leaching (soaking in several changes of water for a day or so) generally rids plants of their toxins. It is said that the leaves of the corn cockle may be eaten as a vegetable in times of famine.

  The plant was extremely common in agriculture land in Shakespeare’s time and earlier, and seeds have been found in cess pits at York and other archaeological sites in Britain. It has been suggested by some that the seeds were an adulterant of bread, which like ergot, a fungus, could have lead to debility and made the population in the Middle Ages susceptible to leprosy a common disease at that time. This was discussed in 1961 by Professor Harry Godwin and K. Bachem. John Gerard writing in the 16^th century said that the corn cockle was often to be found in bread which it spoiled.

  Culpeper has this to say of the plant in his Herbal of the 17^th century: -

  “This unprofitable guest amongst corn is of Saturnine quality, causeth giddiness of the head, and stupefies if it gets amongst the corn to be made with it into bread, and, howsoever taken, it is dangerous and hurtful; although some ignorant persons have mistaken it for the right nigella, or used it instead of yuray or darnel to the great danger of the patient.” (“right nigella” is nigella sativa from which we get kalvanji or black seeds)

  However the Welsh Physicians of Myddfai have it in one of their remedies for pneumonia, taken along with other herbs: -

“Let (the patient) take, for three successive days, of the following herbs; hemlock, agrimony, herb Robert, and asarabacca, then let him undergo a three day's course of aperients. When the disease is thus removed from the bronchial tubes, an emetic should be given him (daily) to the end of nine days. Afterwards let a medicine be prepared, by digesting the following herbs in wheat ale or red wine: madder, sharp dock, anise, agrimony, daisy, round birthwort, meadow sweet, yellow goat's beard, heath, water avens, woodruff, crake berry, the corn cockle, caraway, and such other herbs as will seem good to the physician.”

  It gets a mention in Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” in Act III scene I when Coriolanus and other senators are discussing a recent gift of corn to the poor, and liken them and their ingratitude for the gift to the “cockle”

“Coriolanus: …In soothing them we nourish ’gainst our senate

                     The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition,

                     Which we ourselves have plough’d for, sow’d and scatter’d,

                     By mingling them with us, the honour’d number.”

 In the Middle Ages the seeds from the corn cockle were prescribed by the apothecaries of the time as a laxative and were more harmful than jamalgota. In folk medicine systems in Europe the seeds were prescribed for treating cancer and tumours, as well as for hard swellings of the uterus (apostemes). The saponins were responsible for the local anaesthetic uses of the plant, but the seeds cause acute poisoning if taken in large doses resulting in vomiting, vertigo, difficulties in breathing, diarrhoea and excessive salivation, amongst other symptoms. The seeds contain githagenin which can get rid of intestinal worms, but the plant is best left alone and admired as a garden ornamental. If you do plant these in the garden, they need support as they can grow quite tall and bend under their own weight, producing a solitary flower which is pink-purple at the top of the spindly stem.

BRAZILIAN GRAPE TREE - LITTLE-KNOWN OUTSIDE ITS GROWING AREA: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF THE JABUTICABA TREE

BRAZILIAN GRAPE TREE, JABUTICABA, MYRCIARIA CAULIFLORA 

As you might have already guessed the Jabuticaba tree is a native of Brazil, where it has been cultivated since Pre-Columbian times and this particular species is native to a south-eastern corner of that country. There are several types of grape tree, which bear different fruit, however they all have one thing in common- the white flowers which are the precursors of the fruit grow straight from the trunk and branches of the tree, and so do the fruits. When in full bloom the trees look as though they are covered with snow. The tree is a member of the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family which means that it is a distant cousin of the eucalyptus tree, allspice and guavas.

  Jabuti means tortoise and caba means place in the local Tupi language, so the trees grow in the place of tortoises. The tree is a slow growing evergreen which can reach heights of forty-five feet in its natural habitat, although they don’t grow that tall in southern Florida, where they have been introduced. They were introduced into California in 1904, but by 1939 none had survived. Now some are grown in Florida, but they remain trees which flourish best in tropical climates. Some different varieties of grape tree grow in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. Because they are one of nature’s curiosities they are grown enthusiastically by people who adore bonsai (miniature) trees.

  In their natural habitat, and if they are irrigated well and looked after they can produce up to five crops of fruit every year, but usually only manage two. The fruit are eagerly awaited in the areas where they grow, but they are not sold very far afield because they perish quickly and cannot be exported. They are eaten raw, although one shouldn’t eat the skins as they are very astringent as they have a high tannin content, which could be harmful if eaten in large quantities for a prolonged period of time. They are eaten raw or used to make jams and marmalades, although they have to have added pectin to set. Wine can also be made from the fruit which can be sweet or slightly acid and astringent, depending on the variety. The fruit can be bright green when ripe, or purple-black, red-purple and burgundy-purple tasting spicy and slightly acid. It can range from between two and six centimetres in diameter, and has white, gelatinous flesh which clings to the seeds it contains (from 1 to 4). It has been likened to a muscadine grape (hence the name grape tree) with larger seeds.

  In Brazil the skins of the fruit are sun-dried and made into an astringent decoction and used in traditional medicine for asthma, diarrhoea, and it is also used as a gargle for chronic tonsillitis and sore throats. The fruit contains vitamins B1, (thiamin), B2, (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin), vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, along with the minerals calcium, iron and phosphorous. It also contains the amino acids, lysine and trptophan. The colour of the skin (purple-black) shows that it contains anthocyanins as do aubergines and blueberries, bilberries, blackberries and blackcurrants, which have potent antioxidant properties. Extracts from the fruit have demonstrated some anti-cancer properties in several studies, but more research is needed into its compounds. A unique (so far) one has been found, jaboticabin, a depside, and it is believed that the fruit has anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant properties.

  If you have never seen pictures like these before, the tree is real and although it looks like one of nature’s jokes like the Nipple fruit, it may have some very beneficial properties.