When I was a kid, I used to complain when bean sprout salad was served at the table, always looking for sausages or meat dishes first, and when bean sprout soup was served, I would leave all the solids and just drink the broth.

But now that I'm over 40, I strangely find that bean sprouts are cheap and low in calories, making them a great side dish.

When I think of bean sprouts, the first thing that comes to mind is hangover relief. It's not just a habit for Koreans to seek out bean sprout soup the day after drinking.

Bean sprouts contain aspartic acid. However, thinking that bean sprout soup helps break down alcohol is a bit of an exaggeration; it's more accurate to see it as a convenient food to eat the day after a hangover.

When managing weight, bean sprouts are low in calories, high in water content, and contain dietary fiber. Once you hit your 40s, it's not as easy to lose belly fat just by eating whatever you want and exercising a little. Instead of having another plate of pork belly, adding a lot of bean sprouts can at least reduce the calorie burden.

What I'm particularly interested in is dietary fiber. As I age, my digestive system doesn't move as freely as it used to.

If I eat fewer vegetables for a few days, it shows immediately in the bathroom. Since bean sprouts also contain dietary fiber, eating them regularly with other vegetables can help maintain normal bowel movements and gut health. Of course, it's not to say that eating a plate of bean sprouts will immediately solve constipation. You need to drink enough water and look at your overall diet.

Bean sprouts also contain various nutrients, including vitamin C and folate. So, while it's not necessary to say they will suddenly improve your skin or prevent you from catching a cold, they are excellent ingredients for supplementing nutrients in a diet that lacks vegetable intake.

What I like most is the price. These days, when I go to the grocery store, I find that just a few items in my cart can easily add up to $50 or $100.

However, bean sprouts are still affordable, allowing you to buy a bag for $4-5 and use them for soup, salads, and stir-fries.

You can prepare them by blanching and mixing with sesame oil and salt, adding them to soup, or throwing in a bunch when stir-frying meat. When you toss a handful into ramen, it even feels like you're eating something healthy.

In the end, bean sprouts aren't a cure-all. Still, they are cheap, low in calories, and provide dietary fiber and various nutrients, all while being familiar to Korean tastes.

While it's nice to buy an expensive supplement, keeping a bag of bean sprouts in the fridge might be a much more realistic approach to health management.