Most individuals can benefit by eating more vegetables, and mung bean sprouts can help you meet your recommendations. Individuals on a 2,000-calorie diet should get two and one-half cups of vegetables per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mung bean sprouts provide essential nutrients, and they are versatile. You can eat them in salads, sandwiches and stir-fry.
Low Energy-Dense
Mung bean sprouts have a low calorie density, or energy density, with only 31 calories per 104 g serving. Low energy-dense foods can help you lose weight or prevent weight gain because they are relatively low in calories compared to their serving size, so you can fill up on them without eating too many calories, according to MayoClinic.com. Low energy-dense foods tend to be low in fat and high in dietary fiber, and mung bean sprouts have almost no fat and nearly 2 g dietary fiber per serving.
Promote Healthy Blood Pressure
Each cup, or 104 g serving, of sprouted raw mung beans provides 155 mg potassium and only 6 mg sodium. Try to get at least 4,700 mg potassium and no more than 2,300 mg sodium per day to avoid high blood pressure and an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you purchase canned mung bean sprouts, limit the sodium content by choosing a no-salt-added version.
Vitamin C and Folic Acid
Each 1-cup serving of raw mung bean sprouts provides 14 mg vitamin C, or nearly one quarter of the daily value for vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin that is essential for proper immune function and wound healing. Another benefit of mung bean sprouts is their 60 mcg folic acid, or 15 percent of the daily value for this B vitamin, which is an especially important nutrient for women who may become pregnant, because it reduces the risk for neural tube birth defects.
Other Potential Benefits
A benefit of mung bean sprouts is that more than 90 percent of their weight is water, and you can use them, like other vegetables, to help you stay hydrated, according to the University of Michigan. Mung bean sprouts are a cholesterol-free food, and their dietary fiber can lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol in your blood. A diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, such as mung bean sprouts, may lower your risk for heart disease, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.
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