The Japanese word for buckwheat is soba. Buckwheat is known for its high mineral and anti-oxidant content. It has little fat. Soba is a staple of the Japanese diet.
The study “Buckwheat: A Useful Food and it’s Effects on Human Health” (1) concludes:
Buckwheat is a food with rich nutrient content and important functional properties. In addition, it does not lose these properties in the processing stages, it also enriches the products it is added to both nutritionally and functionally. Because of these properties, it can show positive effects such as antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic on human health.
In particular, soba has health benefits for the heart. For more details, please see the four-page paper here.
The above is important to know as the price of soba increases. Japan only produced 42% of its buckwheat consumption domestically in 2020, according to the Japan Soba Association. Russia is the world’s largest exporter. European buckwheat average prices are up 50% 2022 versus 2021 (Euro 4.11 versus Euro 2.65). (2)
References:
- Buckwheat: A Useful Food and it’s Effects on Human Health, by Haci Omer Yilmaz, Nurcan Yabanci Ayhan, and Cagdas Salih Medic, 2018
- https://eng.lsm.lv/article/economy/economy/economists-prices-in-latvia-will-continue-rising.a458372/
