Contents:
- Medical Video: Plant Meat - Homemade Vegan Meats
- What is Seitan?
- What are the benefits of seitan for health?
- Rich in protein
- Easy to process
- Safe for people with soy allergy
- Suitable for losing weight
- Be careful, eating too much seitan isn't good either
Medical Video: Plant Meat - Homemade Vegan Meats
A vegetarian or vegan, will definitely avoid eating meat. Therefore, many meat substitutes are an alternative, one of which is seitan. Is it seitan and are there benefits if consumed? Consider the following review.
What is Seitan?
Seitan is a meat substitute that is popular with vegetarians. The word "seitan" comes from Japanese which means it is made of protein, precisely from gluten in wheat.
This food is originally made from a mixture of wheat flour which is washed with water until all the patented granules are gone, leaving the dough thick and sticky, but not soluble in water. Then, the mixture is frozen so it must be cut into pieces before cooking.
Its fairly dense texture makes this food very similar to meat compared to other vegetable proteins. It tastes bland but tends to absorb herbs or spices well. You can serve it with grilled, fried or steamed.
What are the benefits of seitan for health?
Rich in protein
Seitan is made of gluten, which is the main protein found in wheat. This protein is a good choice for vegetarians and vegans. One portion of seitan usually contains 15 to 21 grams of protein, equivalent to protein from chicken or beef.These proteins are useful for the body to repair tissue or damaged cells and help with the production of hormones.
Not inferior to other animal protein sources, reported by Dr. Ax, one serving (85 grams) of seitan contains the following nutrients:
- Protein: 15 grams
- Iron: 0.9 milligrams
- Calcium: 40 milligrams
- Sodium: 250 milligrams
- Fiber: 1 gram
In addition, seitan has very low carbohydrates, which is around 8 grams due to the process that makes the starch disappear. Almost all wheat grains are free of fat, so seitan also contains a little fat, which is about 0.5 grams.
Easy to process
Seitan has a tasteless taste that makes it easier to blend with all the food and ingredients that are mixed. The texture is also dense and chewy so it doesn't break easily when processed.
You can slice it into several pieces, making it suitable for sautéing. Or you can also make soup, coated with bread flour and then fried, or stabbed and baked like satay.
In addition, you do not need to hesitate to add seitan to other foods because the content is low in calories, sugar, and fat
Safe for people with soy allergy
Many popular meat substitute foods, such as tofu or tempeh made from soybeans. However, these foods certainly cannot be consumed by people who have soy allergies.
Therefore, seitan is a meat substitute food that is safe for people with soy allergy.
Suitable for losing weight
Seitan contains high protein and low in calories so it is consumed a lot during the diet. Proteins contained in seitan reduce levels of ghrelin which is responsible for stimulating hunger so that you will be full longer. Then, the low calories make the body have to burn fat in the body for energy.
Be careful, eating too much seitan isn't good either
For people who have allergies to gluten or celiac disease, it is not recommended to consume seitan. Because the seitan will cause diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, flatulence, abdominal pain and fatigue. Seitan which is included in processed foods often contains high enough sodium.
Even though it is high in protein, it does not mean that the seitan has complete protein. Seitan does not contain enough amino acids lysine is needed by the body so that other foods are needed to complete it, such as beans. In addition, a study shows that consuming a lot of gluten can have a bad effect on the intestine.
When the intestines function normally, food filtering abilities are strictly regulated so that small particles from food can pass through the bloodstream.
However, consuming too much gluten can cause indigestion, so the intestine is no longer able to absorb nutrients and instead cause inflammation. This can happen even if you don't have intolerance or are allergic to gluten.