Red tofu contains lipid-lowering ingredients.

As a side dish of breakfast, bean curd is a favorite food of many people, and its unique flavor also makes the light porridge have a different flavor. Needless to say, tofu milk is delicious, but it can reduce blood fat. Can you believe it? Yesterday, Professor Xie Yingbiao of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine said in the health science report that the "lipid-lowering component" of red tofu lies in a layer of red substance attached to fermented bean curd, not dye. This pure natural additive is not only harmless, but also has a health-preserving effect when eaten in moderation. This ingredient is called monascus, which is a natural blood lipid scavenger.

Xie Yingbiao mentioned in the report that the Institute of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases of China Academy of Medical Sciences once conducted a study, which investigated more than 4,800 patients in 65 hospitals, and each person was followed up for an average of 4 years. The results showed that monascus could reduce their risk of coronary heart disease by 45% and their mortality by 33%.

The reason, Xie Yingbiao said, is that Monascus plays the role of "vascular scavenger", and the lovastatin contained in it can prevent the formation of cholesterol and avoid the accumulation of vascular fat to produce atherosclerosis.

What is monascus?

Ancient "smart women" often used it to make wine and cook the meat.

Red bean curd can reduce blood fat, which is the effect of red yeast. Monascus, a layer of red additive attached to red tofu, may not be familiar to many modern people, but in ancient China, "Monascus" was a common table for ordinary people. For example, Qing Louis, written by allusions in the Tang and Five Dynasties, mentioned "using red yeast cook the meat"; In the Song Dynasty, Hu Bai wrote "Tiaoxi Fishing and Conceiving Conghua": "Jiangnan people brew red wine, which is absolutely delicious." Visible, China ancient "clever woman" already knew how to use red yeast technology to make wine and cook food.

Not only that, but also the efficacy of monascus is recorded. "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty records that "red koji is mainly used to promote digestion and blood circulation, strengthen the spleen and regulate the stomach, treat red and white dysentery, and enter the valley. Brewing wine, breaking blood and taking medicine, killing Shan Lan miasma, treating traumatic injury, treating women's bloody pain and postpartum hemorrhage. "