Have you ever wondered why miso soup is served before Japanese steakhouse dinners? The answer is likely to do with the exotic idea that it is not an American soup, it is rather inexpensive to make and it can store for long periods of time. In contrast from restaurant owners, the answer from health professionals tells a different story about the benefits of miso soup.

How Nutrients are absorbed

Nutrients are absorbed from food that moves through your digestive tract. Organs such as your stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small and large intestines work together releasing acids, bile and enzymes to break down the food. The intestines contain good bacteria that also help break these foods down and provide a healthy balance of normal flora and water content to keep things moving properly.

Gastrointestinal problems are a growing issue in America as well as nutrient deficiencies. low nutritional diets could lead to nutrient deficiencies in which clean multi vitamins could be the answer, but there are also cases where a highly nutritious diet can still result in deficiencies. These cases are growing as people become more aware of gluten intolerance, other food sensitivities, and many other malabsorption syndromes. Inflammation from these GI problems, lack of digestive enzymes, and reduced probiotics can result in decreased nutrient absorption.

Symptoms of malabsorption can include:

  • Chronic diarrhea
  • Bloating and gas
  • Growth failure
  • Slow hair growth and brittle nails
  • Fatigue
  • Exercise intolerance
  • Headaches
  • Muscle spasms and aches

Conventional options to relieve these symptoms often result in constipation, stomach acid imbalance or probiotic imbalance resulting in infection. For some malabsorption issues, natural foods often provide the natural relief people hope for such as lemon water to remedy constipation.

How miso soup is beneficial for nutrient absorption

For nutrient absorption issues caused by digestive enzyme and probiotic imbalance, miso soup offers natural relief. The miso paste is made from fermented soybeans, salt and koji which is also used to make sake. The soup can be made in different ways but the miso paste is the true benefit of the soup providing a rich amount of natural digestive enzymes including lactase, lipase, amylase, and protease. The fermentation process also includes those beneficial probiotics needed for healthy digestion.

The digestive enzymes breakdown different groups of foods such as lactase breaks down foods containing lactose like dairy, lipase break down fatty foods, amylase breaks down starchy foods, and protease breaks down protein such as meat. There are not many natural foods out there that contain ALL of these digestive enzymes AND come with the probiotic boost. Therefore, when eating miso soup before or during a meal, the soup itself can help digest your meal for you when your digestive enzymes or normal gut flora are not readily available. Thus, leading to more nutrient absorption to help you feel better throughout the day.

Miso soup not only aids in digestion for optimal nutrient absorption, but research suggests miso soup can help cut breast cancer risk. Some of us women are born with a predisposition to breast cancer. Learn about your breast cancer risk here.

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How to eat miso soup

Miso soup is very soothing to eat and can be eaten at any time of the day. The lower calorie soup can be eaten more than once a day if you really enjoy it. Miso soup is best prepared homemade with organic ingredients. conventionally grown soybeans tend to be higher in herbicides and pesticides. I recommend this organic miso paste. Miso soup can be made in a variety of ways. If you enjoy the Japanese culture and would like to learn how to make other healthy meals, this cookbook is perfect to learn from. Maybe you will also make edamame at home which also contains more health benefits for postmenopausal women.

If you enjoy the miso soup digestive benefits, you may also enjoy the clam chowder soup benefits during menstruation.

Who doesn’t love soup especially if they have so many health benefits!

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