It’s no secret that most Americans
depend far too much on processed foods – and far too little on whole foods to fulfill daily energy needs. A diet that emphasizes nutrient-dense foods, or those that deliver a wide range of nutrients for relatively few calories, does more than provide energy – it nourishes your body and supports good health. Legumes are a low-fat, high-protein source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidant compounds, and dietary fiber.
Other than the common types of legumes that most of us already have at least a little in our diet, such as kidney and black beans, what are the best ones that we should be eating? The legume class of vegetables is extremely broad, encompassing more 13,000 varieties of beans, peas, and lentils. Legumes can be divided into two general categories: immature and mature varieties. Immature legumes, often referred to as “fresh” legumes, include all types of edible pod beans and peas and shell beans that haven’t yet been dried. Wax beans, snow peas, edamame and fresh lima beans are all immature legumes. Mature legumes are harvested from the pod in their fully developed, dried form. They’re commonly known as “dried” beans and peas. Black beans, kidney beans, lentils and split peas are all mature legumes. Nearly all legumes provide protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium, but mature legumes tend to be particularly rich sources.
The nutritional benefits of eating more legumes is clearly abundant. As an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber, they are a highly satiating food. This means that for a relatively low amount of calories legumes make you feel fuller longer and, therefore, help prevent the hunger that can lead to unhealthy snacking and unwanted pounds. For about 115 calories, a 1/2-cup serving of cooked lentils provides about 9 grams of protein, 20 grams of mostly complex carbohydrates and less than half a gram of fat. It also supplies nearly 8 grams of fiber, or 31 percent of the recommended daily value. Most legumes contain significant amounts of insoluble and soluble fiber. Eating legumes several times a week promotes bowel regularity and helps keep blood sugar levels in check.
Few know the health benefits more than
Swarna Moldanado, Ph.D. She grew up in India where legumes were not considered the super foods they are now – they were just part of her regular Indian diet. They could be found at any meal, breakfast included. But all that changed when she moved to America and began eating whatever they served in the school cafeteria, which was mostly meats and meat products. It was only when she started cooking for herself that she realized what had been missing in her American diet—legumes. Soon she was again adding dry beans, peas, lentils, and other legumes to her daily diet and feeling better for doing so.
As an educator, Moldanado was curious to learn why legumes were so overlooked in the United States. Her subsequent research turned up a number of misconceptions and inaccuracies as reasons for the prevailing lack of interest in them. This, in turn, let her to research legume-based diets in other parts of the world to ascertain what, if any, impact they had on health and disease in those locales. The information she accumulated was very enlightening—across the board it showed there were major advantages to be gained by adding legumes to the diet.
From here it was a short step to sharing her discoveries and doing this to help improve people’s health became the initial reason for her decision to write
Legumes: The Super Foods that Should be Regulars on Your Plate. Any reader interested in optimizing or simply maintaining their health would do themselves a favor by adding this important book to their must-read list.
Thinking of giving up meat in your diet and wondering where your protein would come from? Legumes are sometimes called “poor people’s meat” because they’re an inexpensive source of quality plant protein. They truly are an ideal meat substitute, however, because the vitamin and mineral profiles of legumes and meat are comparable. Whereas meat is also a source of cholesterol and saturated fat, however, legumes are a cholesterol-free food that contains virtually no saturated fat. For just over 110 calories, a 1/2-cup serving of cooked black beans delivers 32 percent, 15 percent and 14 percent of the daily values for folate, magnesium and thiamine, respectively, and about 10 percent each of the daily values for iron and potassium. Opting for legumes instead of meat two or three times a week promotes healthy cholesterol levels and helps protect against heart disease. If you'd like to upgrade your diet even more and try going vegan, check out
www.vegannook.com The site was created by a woman who chose to make healthy foods her medicine and contains some very yummy recipes to get you started!
To read more about the health benefits of legumes and how to get them into your diet more, check out Legumes: Why This Superfood Needs to Be on Your Plate at
www.basichealthpub.com or
www.amazon.com
