Is Stinky Tofu Healthy? (5 Tips For Weight Loss)

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Stinky tofu is a love it or hate it cuisine for those who are familiar with this potent dish.

Growing up, I remember being hit with a strong stench of what I can describe as rotten socks every time me and my father went shopping at Chinese markets.

Although Stinky Tofu is delicious, is it healthy?

Stinky Tofu actually contains lots of protein without having too many carbs per serving. It is higher on the fats but it can definitely be managed into a healthy diet and lifestyle. Eating Stinky Tofu when steamed or boiled is key to keeping it within a good range of calories as there will be too much fat coming from the oils which will create an imbalance of calories.

Here are five key facts about Stinky Tofu and some tips you can use to stay healthy while eating this awesome Taiwanese Dish.

What Goes Inside Stinky Tofu?
How Many Calories Are In Stinky Tofu?
How Do I Lose Weight When Eating Stinky Tofu?
What Are The Benefits Of Eating Tofu?
What Are The Benefits of Working Out When Eating Stinky Tofu?

What Goes Inside Stinky Tofu?

As a kid, I absolutely hated it and plugged my nose every time I smelled it.

But, as I got older, the stench of stinky tofu became appetizing to me and I developed a taste for it!

Now it is one of my favorite Taiwanese dishes and I have to get it anytime I come across it.

Stinky Tofu is a popular street food that is commonly found in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and parts of China.

It gets its name from its most distinctive feature, its smell.

Stinky tofu gives off a potent smell most people describe as a “fart” or “rotten socks.”

This smell is the result of fermenting the tofu in a brine that is made up of shelled shrimp, vegetables, and Chinese herbs and the fermentation process can take up to several months.

It is not hard to imagine why stinky tofu is so pungent, but do not let the smell deter you from trying this delicious delicacy.

Granted, I am biased because I am on the team “love it,” but the actual taste of stinky tofu is not as pungent as its smell.

Just the tofu itself has a pretty mild flavor. It is the toppings that really bring out the flavor of this dish.

Stinky tofu is usually deep fried in oil and either served chopped up into cubes or as a skewer, topped off with a healthy serving of pickled vegetables, soy sauce, and chili paste.

Depending on the place, there could be a wider variety of toppings such as custom sauces, garlic paste, etc.

While the most common method of serving stinky tofu is deep fried, there are also healthier options such as steamed or boiled stinky tofu that are topped with the same toppings or put into soups for some extra flavor.

How Many Calories Are In Stinky Tofu?

When we look at the health benefits of a food, we should dive into the nutrition facts of what you can typically expect.

For a typical Stinky Tofu dish, we get 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of carbs and 14 grams of protein.

Not bad at all considering how delicious this Taiwanese dish is and, for 14 grams of protein, it’s worth the calories.

Although this dish has high protein and low carbs, the fats are a little high as it comes with 8 grams per serving.

Fats are the highest calorie macronutrient out of the three so these should be the lowest when eating a balanced diet.

You can see that the protein to fat is at a ratio of almost 2:1 which is decent.

You want to aim for 3:1 or 2.5:1 for the ratios when comparing protein and fats for a good balance in your diet.

Carbs and protein have 4 grams of kcals per gram served so you’ll see a lot more benefit when you eat more of these compared to fats.

Now that we know about the calories and what goes inside a typical Stinky Tofu dish, let’s see how we can lose weight while eating Stinky Tofu.

How Do I Lose Weight Eating Stinky Tofu?

When it comes to losing weight, it always will come down to calories in, calories out.

As long as you are eating in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight.

Stinky tofu when served deep fried is obviously not the ideal choice of food when you are trying to lose weight.

But, if you are craving these delicious, potent little cubes, I would say go for it but limit yourself to one serving or just eat this as one meal.

To help yourself feel fuller while eating one serving of stinky tofu, load up on the pickled vegetables that are usually added as a side or topping!

The pickled vegetables that are given as a side are usually pickled cabbage and carrots and these are actually really great for your health and weight loss!

There are literally no downsides or anything you have to look out for when you are eating pickled vegetables.

Having been fermented in brine or vinegar, the fermentation process produces probiotic bacteria that is not only beneficial for your overall gut health.

But it also promotes better skin health, increases immune functions, cardiovascular health, and prevents inflammation.

Not only does fermentation produce good bacteria for your body, it also helps preserve the vegetables’ nutritional profile and antioxidants which are usually diminished when cooked with heat.

With this fact, let’s look into the nutritional profiles for carrots and cabbages.

Carrots are a good source of fiber, beta carotene, potassium, vitamin k1, vitamin B6, antioxidants, and biotin. Cabbages are also loaded with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B, vitamin C, folate, fiber, potassium, and antioxidants.

Antioxidants are extremely important for your overall health because antioxidants protect the body from damage caused by free radicals.

Not only do both offer a plethora of nutrients, they are also great for weight loss because they are both extremely low in calories and they both contain fiber.

Consuming a significant amount of fiber helps you feel fuller by soaking up water in the intestines and slowing the absorption of nutrients.

It also reduces blood sugar spikes that are responsible for increasing your hunger levels.

Along with helping you feel fuller for a longer period of time, fiber also aids in digestion and promotes a healthy gut by feeding the good bacteria in your intestines.

Therefore, the more you eat the better!

So my advice when eating traditional, deep fried stinky tofu, stick to one serving and eat it as one meal but load up on the pickled vegetables.

Not only do they offer a refreshing, tangy crunch, but they are also packed with health benefits and are going to make you feel fuller for longer with less calories.

Another way of eating stinky tofu is opting for the other variations of stinky tofu that are not deep fried.

Steamed or boiled stinky tofu are lower in calories and fat which is ideal for weight loss.

But, steamed or boiled stinky tofu might be a little harder to find.

Make sure to check the menus of places that sell stinky tofu to see if they offer it steamed or boiled if you are looking for a less fatty option.

At the end of the day, enjoy your stinky tofu!

As long as you make sure to stay in a caloric deficit, you will be on track for weight loss.

What Are The Benefits of Eating Tofu?

Tofu is made from soybean curds that are compacted into what we know as tofu.

Being made from soybean, tofu is gluten-free, high in protein, and a good source of essential amino acids, iron, and calcium.

Tofu also contains a significant amount of isoflavones which is a natural supplement usually produced by beans.

Isoflavones provide many benefits for your health such as fighting against age-related diseases and even hormone-dependent cancers.

Studies have shown that soy isoflavones have the potential to prevent the growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells! The only negatives of tofu is that it also contains the anti nutrients trypsin inhibitors and phytates.

Trypsin is an enzyme needed to digest protein but this antinutrient inhibits its ability to function and phytates cause a reduction in the absorption of minerals.

Doesn’t sound too good but good news: fermentation actually reduces antinutrients!

So stinky tofu still maintains all the benefits of tofu while containing less antinutrients due to the fermentation process.

Overall, tofu’s positives outweighs its negatives! Not only is tofu good for you nutritionally, it is also great for a high protein diet.

For 3.5 ounces of tofu you get 8 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of fat for 70 calories.

These macros are perfect if you are looking to stick to a high protein, low carb diet.

Being low in carbohydrates, tofu is very unlikely to spike your blood sugar levels but instead will most likely make you feel fuller due to its protein content.

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Eating a high protein diet is very beneficial for your health. Protein is an essential micronutrient that is used by our bodies as a building block.

It is important for your bones, muscles, cartilage, and skin. Your hair and nails are mostly made out of protein too!

Along with being an important building block, protein regulates hormones and aids in digestion and cell generation by helping your body make enzymes.

Protein also provides a lot of benefits if you work out regularly.

When you work out, you tear muscle fibers and protein is what helps your muscles recover by replenishing and repairing it while also helping to maintain your lean muscle mass.

The more lean muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism is going to be.

Protein also helps boost your metabolism in other ways too!

Protein has the highest thermic effect when compared to carbohydrates and fats.

The thermic effect is the energy required by your body to digest, absorb, and dispose of ingested nutrients.

Therefore, eating foods high in protein such as tofu will lead your body to burn more calories as opposed to eating foods that are low in protein.

So, tofu offers a significant amount of benefits that outweighs any negatives that soy might have.

As long as you eat tofu in moderation and don’t over consume tofu, which is quite the feat, you are looking at a perfectly healthy lifestyle.

What Are The Benefits of Working Out When Eating Stinky Tofu?

Now let’s talk about the benefits of working out!

I’m sure if you are reading this blog you are interested in a healthy lifestyle.

While diet is a very important factor for living a healthy lifestyle, working out, I would say, is also crucial in reaching your full health potential.

Working out is also very essential to keep you on your weight loss journey when you are craving foods such as stinky tofu.

So, the two main ways of working out that I will be discussing are aerobic exercises and strength training.

First, let’s talk about the benefits of aerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises are exercises that require free- oxygen to meet the demands of the exercise.

Basically aerobic exercises are any form of exercise that gets your heart pumping and you are having to breath rapidly to keep up.

Examples of these exercises are running, swimming, dancing, hiking, etc.

When performing aerobic exercises, your body is using large muscle groups to strengthen your cardiovascular system which is made up of your heart and lungs.

It strengthens your cardiovascular system because by using large muscle groups in a consistent rhythmic way.

And our muscles are in demand of more oxygen-rich blood so your heart works more to meet this demand.

Not only is your heart working hard, your lungs are also working harder to replenish your oxygen source.

Hence, why it is so much harder to breath once you start doing aerobic exercises.

Not only does it strengthen your cardiovascular system, aerobic exercises are also great for burning excess calories fast, lowers blood pressure by raising your good cholesterol and lowering your bad cholesterol, and it is affordable and accessible.

Aerobic exercises do not require any equipment for you to reap all the benefits!

It’s as easy as going outside for a run or even just light jogging up and down the stairs in your house.

Now let’s talk about my favorite way of working out, strength training.

Strength training is meant to improve your strength and endurance by putting your muscles under tension for a certain amount of time.

Usually strength training is done with weights, but there are other equipment that can be used to achieve the same results.

The most important contribution of strength training is its ability to help you gain and maintain lean muscle mass.

Having more lean muscle mass than fat on your body is not only beneficial for weight loss in the long run, but it is also very important for your overall health.

In terms of weight loss, studies have shown that people who maintain a higher percentage of lean muscle also have a higher metabolism when they are at rest when compared to those who have less lean muscles.

While very beneficial for increasing metabolism naturally, strength training also leads to a good amount of long term health benefits.

Consistent strength training has been shown to be good for mental health, bone health by helping increase bone mineral density, improving flexibility and mobility through eccentric exercises, and is better at reducing and avoiding lower abdominal fat.

This ability to reduce abdominal fat is crucial for your health because not only does it reduce the fat around your stomach, but it also reduces visceral fat around your organs which leads to better heart health and reduces cancer risks.

Not only is strength training extremely beneficial for boosting your metabolism and overall health, strength training also leads to what is referred to as body re composition.

Body re composition means living a lifestyle where your body’s composition of fat and muscle is trained to be structured differently.

The more lean muscle you gain, your body is going to change the way it stores fat, therefore leading to an overall better physique and better posture!

This is something that cannot be accomplished through only doing aerobic exercises.

Aerobic exercises are great for shedding weight but if you are not doing strength training along with it, muscle loss will be a part of the weight loss too.

As you can see, both types of exercises are extremely beneficial for a healthy lifestyle.

My recommendation is to try to get a combination of both into your workout routines for a balanced physique and good cardiovascular health.

Ideally, try to prioritize strength training before aerobic exercises because lean muscle mass is going to provide you more benefits in the long run!

Strength training isn’t only limited to a gym membership, you can reap the benefits by getting a couple equipment yourself and working out comfortably at home!

If you are looking for the best at-home strength equipment, click on this link right here (Best Home Workout Equipment) and it will lead you to everything you need for a well rounded base for strength training.

There you have it!

Stinky tofu, although not the healthiest due to it being deep fried, most of it is actually pretty healthy!

Although soybeans get a bad rep at times, it is actually pretty healthy.

Especially when it is made into tofu because it becomes a clean protein source and not only that, since it’s stinky tofu, the fermentation process takes away the anti nutrients which is basically the only downside of tofu.

Stinky tofu doesn’t have to be deep fried either, you can make it even healthier by going for steamed or boiled stinky tofu!

Again, I really recommend that you ask for extra orders of the pickled vegetables that go with stinky tofu to really ham up the dish in terms of volume.

These pickled vegetables offer many health benefits while providing a lot of food volume without adding too many calories.

This is a great way to satisfy your cravings for stinky tofu and making sure you feel as full as possible with only one serving.

What makes this dish even better is the pairing of protein from the tofu and fiber from the vegetables.

Having these two paired together is going to make you feel satiated than eating foods that are low in protein and high in carbohydrates and fats.

Overall, stinky tofu is a dish you should not have to feel too bad about eating if you are on a weight loss journey.

At the end of the day, to stay on the path, make sure you are eating in a caloric deficit and working out!

Getting a workout in will make this feel even less like a “cheat” and when paired with strength training, stinky tofu is actually good for muscle building due to its protein content!

So go enjoy that stinky tofu, eat more pickled vegetables, and remember to lift some heavy weights!