Stink bean/Petai Bean: Benefit of eating Petai

Often called stinky beans, petai beans are a type of legume that grows throughout South and Southeast Asia. These beans are notorious for their strong, long-lasting odor that is said to be reminiscent of methane gas, sulfur, or rotten eggs, which is how they got their nickname.

They owe their pungent aroma to the high levels of amino acids contained in them which, when eliminated from the body, convert into sulfur-containing chemicals, often resulting in smelly urine. Although eaters may initially be put off by the beans’ unpleasant odor, petai beans are known to pack a lot of flavors.
Commonly sold from street stalls, these smelly, bright green beans are prized for their distinctive nuttiness and are believed to offer a plethora of health benefits. Petai beans are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in various ways – raw, fried, roasted in their shell, or pickled – and they are often used to prepare sambal petai, a stir-fry with petai beans, curry paste, shrimp paste, chilis, and garlic.

Benefits of Eating Petai

The stinky beans is one of Malaysia’s must-try foods. The exotic food of the tropics is definitely not for the non-adventurous foodies.

While petai has a unique taste similar to that of garlic, it has no burning spiciness or pungency.

Is it safe to eat petai, as consuming the funky-smelling beans results in stinky breath and urine? Experts’ word of advice is to avoid eating too much of them; especially the raw ones.

People with kidney problems should avoid eating petai excessively. Nevertheless, these are the 10 benefits of eating petai:

1. Helps with embarrassing problems

Dietary fiber is associated with lowering serum LDL (bad) cholesterol and improving glucose metabolism and insulin response, meaning that consuming it helps you deal with embarrassing problems like constipation. According to Singaporean scientists, a popular traditional dish called asam petai contains 131 kcal of energy and 8 grams of dietary fibre in a serving of 154 grams.

2. Helps control diabetes

In traditional practice, raw petai or the juice helps in controlling diabetes or those who suffer from high blood pressure, which could be the synergistic action of plant sterols such as beta sitosterol and stigmasterol.

3. High in potassium

Half a cup of petai is loaded with 224 mg of potassium, which plays an important role in muscle contraction and nerve transmission. It also lowers the risk of high blood pressure. No wonder many nutritionists would advise sportsmen to consume potassium-rich foods.

4.Good source of essential fatty acids which promotes healthy heart 

According to a report by Dr K.W. Ng of the Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, he suggested eating pulses such as petai, long beans and French beans instead of fish and nuts, as they contain good proportions of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids for healthy hearts.

5. Rich content of vitamin C

The 20 mg of vitamin C in half a cup of petai is sufficient to meet about half of our daily requirements of the vitamin, which is essential for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body.

6. Rich content of calcium

A half-cup serving of petai contains 75 mg calcium which is essential for bone building and keeping them healthy, help with our blood clot, nerve send messages and muscles contract.

7. Rich content of iron

The amount of iron in petai in the same serving is 2 mg. It’s essential to make enough healthy oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

8. Helps in fighting depression

A study carried out by MIND (a research institute) on individuals struggling with depressive disorders found that numerous of the focus group felt far better after consuming petai. It’s because petai contains tryptophan, a kind of protein which the body changes into serotonin which helps you to relax, enhances your mood and usually makes you feel more comfortable.

9. Helps to quit smoking

Are you struggling to quit your bad habit of smoking, and would like a cheaper and more natural alternative to nicotine patch? Petai it is! The B6 and B12 vitamins that contained in the stinky beans, along with the potassium and magnesium present in them, assist your body in getting over the end results of nicotine withdrawal.

10. Helps to cure hangover

Listen up, party people. You may now consume petai to get over hangover the next day. Try making a milkshake out of petai, honey and milk (if you dare!) as it is considered to help ease hangover since the mixture can easily enhance blood glucose levels and is calming while re-fixing the fluid level in your body.

Reference: jewelpie.com