When my cystic acne was at its worst, I’d try just about anything to make it go away. Drink apple cider vinegar, chant organ-stimulating sounds, apply un-legable Chinese creams to my face—you name it. But I knew healing holistically was for me because I’d always learn a little something from these creative prescriptions. So when my QiGong mentor told me to eat mung bean soup for my acne, I was like, never heard of it, but okay. Then my boyfriend told me his Chiropractor and Doctor of Chinese Medicine told him to eat mung beans for his eczema I was like, Holy. Shit. Overly curious, I had to find why Eastern medicine loves mung beans for skin conditions.
To help explain, I got in touch with Dr. Vincent Caruso Jr., D.C. of New Jersey Total Health and asked him about this magical legume. On the phone, we spoke about mung beans for all of 10 minutes before discussing the importance of MINDSET when healing acne naturally. “When you have a hangover, your body gives you messages that you went overboard,” explains Dr. Caruso. “But as a whole, we don’t support those messages enough.” At first, I was pissed when cysts started to grow on my cheeks. I did the, why me, bit, then ignored it, then went right into I-need-to-fix-this-now-mode. Over time, as I uncovered the layers of my acne, I grew more grateful for my body’s signal. “It’s always, oh there’s something wrong, but really what’s wrong is the way we look at it. You have to really factor in how much is coming from your mind and how much is coming from your body.”
So, dear friend, I know you may be suffering but know that your biggest tool, beyond food and beyond supplements, is your mindset. How are you going to live this portion of your life? What are you going to say to yourself in the mirror every morning? What messages are you going to send to other acne-sufferers out there? “You really have to factor in the whole process,” says Dr. Caruso. “Real healing is that you’re enjoying your life.” For a little extra help, here are a few reasons why you should add mung beans to your Sunday meal prep.
1. THEY HELP RELEASE TOXINS
If you’ve ever gone to an Eastern practitioner, you may have heard her talk about ‘heat in your body’. In its simplest form, this means there are a lot of toxins in there. Sometimes they show up in the form of anger, frustration, overactive thoughts, sweat, and of course, red breakouts. For those of us with acne, it’s a main point of healing. “The body tries to compensate for the extra liver or stomach heat by releasing toxins in our body in the form of acne, which is not a bad thing. It’s just a message from the body,” explains Dr. Caruso. Sometimes this heat can turn into a damp heat, like humidity, and make the digestive system sluggish. “Mung beans do wonders for releasing these toxins in an appropriate way because they are known as cooling and help the body metabolize all the things we don’t need,” he adds.
2. THEY’RE HIGH IN PROTEIN AND MINERALS
“From a western perspective, in terms of vitamins and minerals, it’s just a great food,” explain Dr. Caruso. “Mung beans are high in protein, they have a good amount of B-vitamins, iron, magnesium, fiber, folate, potassium, even zinc, and copper.” Impressed? You should be! These mildly sweet legumes pack a rich meal that also happens to help ease PMS symptoms. Mung beans are pretty cheap and easy to prepare. You can eat them sprouted, cooked (whole), or pureed into a hummus, which I’ll show you below. I buy a 27 oz bag of Bob’s Red Mill Mung Beans, which lasts me 2-3 months. I cook a batch whenever I meal prep and throw them in my salads and soups throughout the week. “Always keep an eye on your body,” says Dr. Caruso. “Mung beans are powerful, so if you’re seeing loose, watery stools or get a stomach ache from eating, back off. Maybe just drink the water and see how you feel.”
3. YOU CAN USE THEM TOPICALLY
Now, to fully benefit from mung beans, eating them is the way to go. But sometimes my acne was hot to the touch. I’d cool it off with a mud mask or do my best to drink more water. Then I started making a mung bean mask and found calming relief. See, mung beans are known as ‘cooling’ in Chinese Medicine, which is why they’re so good for releasing internal heat. Externally they function similarly by drawing toxins out and ease inflammation. For me, it turned into a weekly routine. I’ll do a longer post to show step-by-step instructions on how to make a mung bean mask in the coming weeks! For now, here’s my favorite way to incorporate mung beans into my diet.
MUNG ME HUMMUS
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes: 4 cups hummus
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
1 cup dry mung beans
1 clove elephant garlic
1 tbs. water
1 tbs. tahini (I love Soom Foods Organic Pure Ground Sesame Tahini Paste)
3/4 juiced lemon
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt (I love Redmond Real Salt) to taste
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Ground pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Start by sorting and rinsing 1 cup of dry mung beans (take out any shells or half beans) and place in a medium pot. Add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer on medium for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Check to make sure water is covering the raw beans when cooking. If there is any water left over this is super nutritious to drink! Or set aside. Now you’ll have about 4 cups of cooked mung beans.
In a food processor or blender, chop garlic, then slowly add cooked mung beans until pureed. Spoon in your tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, water, and spices. I like to add salt 1/8 tsp. at a time and taste as I go to get it just right. If it’s too thick for your liking, slowly add some of the extra water.
I personally love my dip warm or room temperature served in a handmade ceramic bowl. If you’re feeling fancy, add a sprig or two of parsley on top. Mung hummus lasts up to one week in the fridge.