Miso

Miso is a soy paste that is created by inoculating trays of rice with the vitamin B12 synthesizing fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, then mixing in a ground preparation of cooked soybeans and salt, and letting the mixture ferment for several days before grinding it into a paste with a nut butter consistency. Because it is fermented with a B12-synthesizing bacteria, miso has been commonly recommended as a B12 source for vegans. Miso is quite high in sodium (1 ounce contains 52% of the recommended daily value for sodium), but a little miso goes a long way towards providing your daily needs for the trace minerals zinc, manganese, and copper. In addition, a single tablespoon of miso contains 2 grams of protein for just 25 calories. An impressive nutrient profile for a flavoring agent! Use miso in your cooking instead of plain old salt and reap a variety of benefits in addition to enhanced flavor.

Miso's Minerals Support Immune Function, Energy Production, Bones and Blood Vessels

If one mineral were awarded first prize for its beneficial effects on immune function, it would be zinc. A cofactor in a wide variety of enzymatic reactions, zinc is critial to immune function and wound healing.

Copper and manganese, two other enzyme cofactors, are essential components of the enzyme, superoxide dismutase, which is important in energy production and antioxidant defenses. Copper is also necessary for the activity of lysyl oxidase, an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide the ground substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints.Iron is primarily used as part of hemoglobin, the molecule responsible for transporting and releasing oxygen throughout the body. But hemoglobin synthesis also relies on copper. Without copper, iron cannot be properly utilized in red blood cells. Fortunately, Mother Nature supplies both minerals in miso.

Protection Against Breast Cancer

The incidence of breast cancer in first-generation Japanese migrants to Hawaii is about 60 percent of the rate in subsequent generations of Japanese born in Hawaii. Researchers thought this might have something to do with the fact that, in Japan, consumption of soy foods is about five times or more what it is among Japanese migrants to Hawaii. Researchers at the Departments of Nutrition Sciences and Biostatistics/Biomathematics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, theorized that miso, natto, soy sauce, and other traditionally fermented soybean foods might contribute to their lower incidence of disease. To test this hypothesis, the scientists initiated feeding trials with laboratory animals and found that feeding them miso delayed the appearance of induced breast cancer compared with animals on the control diet. The miso-supplemented animals showed a trend toward a lower number of cancers per animal, a trend toward a higher number of benign tumors per animal, and a trend toward a lower growth rate of cancers compared with controls. The researchers concluded, "This data suggest that miso consumption may be a factor producing a lower breast cancer incidence in Japanese women. Organic compounds found in fermented soybean-based foods may exert a chemoprotective effect."

The different types of miso include:

hatcho miso (made from soybeans)
kome miso (made from white rice and soybeans)
mugi miso (made from barley and soybeans)
soba miso (made from buckwheat and soybeans)
genmai miso (made from brown rice and soybeans)
natto miso (made from ginger and soybeans)

History

The origins of miso, like many other foods made from soybeans, can be traced to ancient China. Its predecessor was known as "hisio," a seasoning made from fermenting soybeans, wheat, alcohol, salt and other ingredients. Some accounts hold that it was a luxury food item, only enjoyed by the wealthy aristocrats.

This fermented soybean paste was introduced into Japan around the 7th century. The refined and elaborate process of making miso was further developed throughout the centuries to produce the miso that we know today.

The creation of miso is very complex and is held as a high art in Asia, just as wine making and cheese making are revered in other parts of the world.