The Japanese, after centuries of eating noodles, have developed a deep respect for the health enhancing properties of soba [2].
Soba noodles are made using buckwheat [3], which despite its name is unrelated to wheat and contains no gluten [4]. The amount of buckwheat in soba varies from 40% to 100% and it gives the noodles their characteristic dark colour and rich, nutty taste. Buckwheat also provides significant health benefits.
Buckwheat contains about 12-15% protein, including the essential amino acid lysine which is lacking in most cereal grains. Buckwheat also contains lipids, the minerals iron, phosphorus and copper and vitamins B1 and B2.
Buckwheat is very high in rutin, which is an essential nutrient, not found in other cereal grains, that helps strengthen capillaries and support a healthy circulatory system. Rutin belongs to a group of plant compounds called bioflavonoids that recent studies (1) have shown act as powerful antioxidants.
Choline, another important micro-nutrient found in buckwheat, plays an important role in metabolism, particularly regulating blood pressure and liver function. As a neutralizing agent, choline can support the liver when it is overburdened by alcoholic beverages (2). It makes sense that soba noodles and broth are often served in Japan after big parties and at the end of an evening's drinking.
Clearspring offers two types of soba noodles:
- a classic 40% variety [5]
- an exceptionally rich, All Buckwheat noodle [6] that is wheat free.
Both noodles are made using organic [7] ingredients and traditional methods.
(1) Kalinova J, Triska J, Vrchotova N., Distribution of Vitamin E, squalene, epicatechin, and rutin in common buckwheat plants, J Agric Food Chem 54 (15): 5330-5 (2006)
(2) Howe, JC et al, USDA Database for the Choline Content of Foods, March 2004 www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl [8]