This Cheap, Delicious Food Could Help You Live Longer

Tofu — a staple of Japanese cuisine — is versatile, inexpensive, tasty and may even lead to a longer life.

What To Know: CNBC contributor Michiko Tomioka grew up in Nara, Japan, eating countless tofu-based dishes throughout her childhood. She carried on the culinary tradition with her own children when she moved to the U.S.

Instead of giving her kids ultra-processed baby foods, Tomioka opted for tofu recipes that helped save time and money.

Tofu is widely believed to have significant health benefits. It’s consumed by people of all ages across Japan, which has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world.

Tomioka’s in-laws are 95 and 88 years of age and eat tofu, along with natto and miso soup every day. According to CNBC, Tomioka’s in-laws attribute much of their longevity and immunity to their diet.

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Why Tofu: Tofu is traditionally made using soybeans and nigari, the solution that remains after removing salt from ocean water. Tofu is often made in the U.S. with calcium sulfate. Regardless of how it’s made, tofu contains all of the essential amino acids one normally gets from meat, poultry, eggs, fish and dairy, but without cholesterol.

The report cites studies that claim tofu can help reduce risks of heart disease, bone loss, and cancer.

Tofu is also economically and environmentally friendly. Tomioka noted that it takes more than 70 kilograms of greenhouse emissions to produce one kilogram of beef, but it takes only 3.2 kilograms of emissions to produce one kilogram of tofu.

“To me, it is simple math. In the course of the week, if you were to swap out one or two beef burgers for tofu burgers, you would feel better, pay less for groceries and do something small to help the environment,” Tomioka said.

You don’t have to sacrifice taste for health and cost benefits. Tofu actually has a subtle, natural taste that can be paired with just about any dish. Tomioka serves tofu pan-fried, in soups and salads, dumplings, burgers, cabbage rolls, ice cream and more.

“I often call tofu my best friend for happy living,” Tomioka said.

Photo:  Joanna Wielgosz from Pixabay.

This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

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