An detailed overview about the top pho soup health benefits

Pho is a famous dish of Vietnam, whose broth is stewed mainly from beef bones with some spices, along with rice noodles, beef and green onions. So how many calories does pho have, is pho healthy? What are the pho soup health benefits? Pho is a specialty of Hanoi people and is a typical noodle dish in Vietnamese cuisine, known by many foreign visitors. It appeared in the early years of the 20th century, originating from two localities, Hanoi and Nam Dinh. However, some also believe that pho originated from a Cantonese dish, or from the French preparation of beef stew.

I – Where do pho soup health benefits come from? 

The pho health benefits come from the ingredients itself, including the broth, noodle soup, beef (or chicken) and onions, possibly vegetables. When eating pho, you can add some other spices according to your taste such as monosodium glutamate, fish sauce, lemon, or chili sauce, and serve with herbs such as basil, coriander,… The delicious pho broth is made from beef or pork bones, along with some herbal spices such as sago, grilled ginger, dried onion, star anise, cloves…

1 – Broth

Depending on the ingredients in the broth, the ingredients of the meat, and other ingredients, the pho soup health benefits are also different, providing different calorie content. For example, each bowl of beef noodle soup usually contains more than 300 cal along with a number of other nutrients such as protein, carbs, fat, calcium and sodium. Meanwhile, the mushroom noodle soup contains about 110 cal with the ingredients being fish, mushrooms, carrots, green onions and rice noodles. Vegetarian noodle soup alone can provide about 160 cal, with the main ingredients including celery, onion, star anise, garlic, chili, spring onion head and rice noodles. 

2 – Herbs & vegetables

Not only is it an easy dish to eat, the many pho soup health benefits thanks to the ingredients used are also an attractive point of it. Herbs and vegetables are packed with antioxidants, essential vitamins and minerals. Ginger contains gingerol, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, supporting joint pain relief and fighting body inflammation. When eating pho, you can have it with some herbs like coriander and basil, which contain large amounts of polyphenolic compounds that have been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

II -  Who is suited to Pho soup health benefits?

Is pho healthy to all? The pho soup benefits also make it a popular addition to any healthy diet, including dietetics. Specifically, in a study in the journal Kidney Nutrition in 2017 said: bone broth provides a lot of protein, friendly to the Paleo diet. Bone broth is rich in collagen, glucosamine and chondroitin, all beneficial for bones and joints, and can be simmered from beef, pork or chicken bones. On average, each serving of broth in pho provides about 30 grams of protein, which is known to play many important roles.

If you ignore the pho soup health benefits above, most people think that eating pho often causes fat for the body. However, the fact is that if you know how to balance the portion, it will not cause fat, actually add enough energy for the body to function. An adult’s body needs about 1800 – 2100 cal per day, while the average bowl of pho contains about 350 cal. If eaten with herbs, it also contributes to weight maintenance by increasing the amount of fiber in the body. You can also exercise regularly to burn off excess calories if you eat too much pho at one time.

In order to eat pho without fat and enjoy all the pho soup health benefits, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. The first is to balance the amount of beef – the red meat rich in protein, iron, cholesterol along with a significant amount of saturated fat. Therefore, consuming too much beef increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and several other types of cancer. You should also use pho broth in moderation, especially as it often contains salt, which provides about 1,000mg of sodium – almost half of the 2,300mg daily maximum.

One way to secure and add other pho soup health benefits is to flexibly use beef bones, chicken bones, pork bones or vegetables to make pho broth. For example, chicken noodle soup is lower in calories than beef bone broth, helping you control your daily calorie intake. Not only that, you can choose to use rice noodle soup made from brown rice instead of regular rice, helping to increase fiber. If you eat beef noodle soup, you should try to consume more herbs and bean sprouts, or mushrooms, carrots, white radish, tofu and some leafy vegetables.