Beans-Azuki, mung, black bean and soya

Beans are the best protein supplement when combined with whole grains.  Beans are basically Yin because they are high in the oil and fat and have an expanding energy, producing gas when eaten in excess.  Certain beans are considered to be more therapeutically valuable for certain conditions than others.

Ideally, all beans should be soaked up to twenty- four hours before cooking.  This step, along with throwing out the soak water, adding a piece of kombu seaweed, a pinch of salt, and later some suitable herbal condiments such as cumin seed will help to make most beans more digestible. 

The Aduki (or Azuki) beans is a small red bean which has the least Yin qualities and is considered to be most like a grain.  It is the preferred bean for healing and therapy, especially for kidney-adrenal malfunction.  Cooked as a soup with a freshwater fish, such as trout, the broth is taken to eliminate excess fluid from the body.

The Green mung bean is the easiest to digest and can be used to lower high blood pressure, demonstrating its cooking nature.  For high blood pressure, a simple home remedy is to put two or three tablespoons of mung beans in a cup of boiling water in the morning.  Allow it to stand until cool enough to drink, leaving the mung beans at the bottom of the cup.  Repeat afternoon and evening by adding boiling water to the remaining mung beans.  In the evening, drink the broth and at the beans.

The black bean is very sweet and nourishes the Yin.  It is often included in desserts and confections in the East.  It is  very good for the reproductive organs, increasing sensitivity in women.  A folk remedy is to dry roast pre-cooked black beans and black sesame seeds.  These should be done separately since the black bean will take longer.  Using equal parts, grind the two into a flour.  Take one teaspoon in warm water three times a day before meals.

The soya bean is highest in protein content having a 34.3% protein in contrast to beef which has only 20.0% protein.  However, the soya bean is very hard to digest and needs not only twenty-four hours to soak but several hours in cooking to soften them and make them digestible.  For this reason, they are seldom eaten by themselves, but are subjected to a number of ways of fermentation and processing to utilize their protein efficiently.

The Way of Herbs   Michael Tierra,  L.A.c., O.M.D.