Facts About Moi-Moi
Moi-Moi is a well-known Nigerian food made by baking a mixture of ground beans, vegetable oil, peppers, onions, and other spices. Moi-Moi is a delicious proteinous Nigerian steamed bean pudding. Condiments like egg, corn beef, fish, and sardine are often included to nourish it. It is wrapped in Ewe eran (some kind of smooth-surfaced broad leaves) or baked in cups and tins. Almost Nigerians enjoy and love Moi-Moi; it is very delicious and keeps one full and satiated for very long.
How many of the fantastic health benefits of Moi-Moi have you figured out? We will get to know a lot of them in this article; just endeavor to read it through. As you know that Africa is a large continent with diverse ethnic groups, and each group is known for their unique special dishes. For tourists who have traveled to Africa, the varieties of local foods they ate remain evergreen in their minds. Many of these amazing native foods are high in health-beneficial nutrients; one of such an amazing native food is Moi-Moi.
Moi-Moi has all the energy and protein sustaining power better than many other diets. They are moderately light, refreshing, and are very healthy for even infants. It often attracts numerous wholesome companions such as lobster, fishes, goat meat, poached eggs, or roasted lamb. Moi-Moi is often served in ceremonies and always available in hotels, fast food, restaurants, etc. The most fascinating of all is that Moi-Moi can be stored in a freezer for over a month without spoiling or losing its values. They are traditionally prepared in many homes with a proportional amount of salt (no sugar), pepper, red palm oil, tomatoes, and other condiments.
Nutritional Value of Moi-Moi
Moi-Moi is a brilliant source of antioxidants, dietary fiber, B vitamins, iron, protein, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium, and copper. However, Moi-Moi is well known to be endowed with a lot of protein.
What are the Health Benefits of Moi-Moi?
The discovery of Moi-Moi and its various health benefits is fascinating. Moi-Moi has always been a well-desirable staple food among Nigeria families from time to time, with only a few paying close attention to the health benefits they get each moment they consume Moi-Moi. Most Africans (basically Nigerians) eat Moi-Moi alongside rice. Some people prepare Moi-Moi with a lot of fillings like fish, eggs, or corned beef. Now let us review shortly some of the brilliant health benefits one can get from eating Moi-Moi.
1) Improves Blood circulation
Moi-Moi is a good source of vitamin B9 (folate), an essential B-vitamins our bodies rely on to produce RBCs and WBCs in the bone marrow. The importance of folate in our body can never be over told as it also aids in transforming carbohydrates into energy and stimulating the DNA and RNA production.
Most importantly, vitamin B9 is very important during periods when our body undergoes some rapid growth, such as infancy, pregnancy, adolescence, etc. It also protects pregnant mothers from having miscarriage or dystocia (birth difficulty) and reduces any risk of congenital deformities.
2) Weight Loss
Did you know that this Moi-Moi is good to shed weight? Yes! If you wish to lose some weight and are confused about which ration to go on, then Moi-Moi should just be added straight up. Since Moi-Moi is made from beans and other healthy spices like eggs and fish, which all affect weight loss. It is very high in dietary protein and can easily get you satiated, thus making you eat less. Proteins make up about 45 percent calories, which is just optimum for weight loss.
3) Prevents Anemia
Anemia is a deadly health complication that is characterized by the presence of a few red blood cells or hemoglobin to properly transport oxygen to all essential tissues. Some of the common signs of anemia are weariness, tiredness, jaundice, staggering, and feeling of weakness, and many more.
On the high side, Moi-Moi contains a good quantity of iron, which serves a major purpose in the production of myoglobin and hemoglobin in the body to improve our energy levels and keep us healthier.
4) Boosts Heart Health
Moi-Moi is rich in a significant amount of soluble dietary fiber and some other powerful properties that are highly beneficial to the heart. Moi-Moi’s fiber contents aid the reduction of risk of heart diseases, certain cancer kinds while improving gut health alongside. Fibrous foods like Moi-Moi have been proven to reduce “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoprotein LDL cholesterol) levels, inflammation, and blood pressure.
5) Helpful to Diabetics
All part of beans is essential and has certain health advantages one can derive from them. For example, Beans skin has been proved to have insulin, which is very beneficial to diabetics. This means it might not be necessary to remove the bean peels before preparing our Moi-Moi because you may be throwing that additional health benefit.
6) Promotes Digestive Health
One of the most known benefits of eating Moi-Moi is seen in our digestive tract. By now, you should have known one of the effects of consuming Moi-Moi is the fact that you would visit the toilet often. The reason is due to the high fiber content of Moi-Moi beans. Fiber improves the quality of stool and aids regular emptying of the bowel, thereby reducing constipation. So including Moi-Moi as part of our diet plan is yet another natural way of maintaining a healthy digestive system.
Besides, the high fiber content of Moi-Moi also improves satiety and has been proved to help prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and all forms of cancer.
7) Antioxidant Property
Although the hull (the outermost shell of the bean) seems to be a waste, it is also enriched with essential B vitamins, more dietary fibers, and disease-combating antioxidants. These antioxidants assist in clearing off harmful free radicals from our body, which are responsible for a lot of diseases, including cancers.
8) Rich in Protein
Protein is extremely important for the growth and maintenance of skeletal bones and muscles. With a very high amount of protein in Moi-Moi, it is required of people living with protein deficiencies or folks longing to boost their overall health to give eating Moi-Moi a try. The protein present in Moi-Moi provides the building units for hair, muscle, skin, enzymes, blood, and other vital tissues in your body. It also plays an exceptional role in the repair and growth of the tissues.
Moreover, proteins are macronutrients that help in bone and muscle formation and also energy supply to the body.
9) Moi-Moi Leaf Wrap
Many people prefer to use leaves to wrap their Moi-Moi for several reasons. It should interest you to find out that the plant leaf used to package Moi-Moi also have some very interesting health benefits one can derive from them.
Some Nigerian researchers demonstrated how Moi-Moi wrap made from leaf plant (Thaumatococcus Danielli) shields against diabetes complications such as kidney damage and liver failure. The published research in the Journal of Biological Sciences and Science Alert has proved that Thaumatococcus daniellii seed is an amazing source of antioxidants with beneficial properties. It also proved that the in-vivo antioxidant characteristics were favorable compared to ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and one could exploit the seeds for their bioactive antioxidant components to cure several kidney and liver diseases.
10) Improves Bone and Muscles Health
Moi-Moi is very rich in magnesium, which is the fourth largest mineral in our body. It plays an important role in the normal functioning of the brain, body, and overall health. Part of magnesium (Mg) functions in our body is the activation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which stimulates energy production in our body.
Adding to the above, the Mg in Moi-Moi contributes greatly to all neuromuscular contractions and signals, meaning it can also help to ease muscle spasms and aches. It also works with calcium to keep our blood pressure in check and thus prevent hypertension.
Other Amazing Health Benefits of Moi-Moi:
- Keeps your blood sugar levels in check.
- Reduces blood pressure.
- Reduces the level of homocysteine, one of the major causes of most cardiovascular diseases.
- Reduces the chances of cancer.
- Curtails irritability and fatigue.
- Reduces insulin resistance, one of the main factors that lead to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
