Love those legumes
From adzuki to soybeans, find out why legumes are one of nature’s superfoods
Legumes are among our most nutritious plant foods, high in protein, B-complex vitamins, iron, potassium, and other minerals. They provide large amounts of fiber, including the soluble type that is important in controlling blood cholesterol levels. If you’re trying to lose weight, the fibre helps give legumes a one-two punch. First it helps you feel full faster. Then, the blood sugar effect helps stave off hunger for longer.
Studies have also shown that people who eat more legumes have a lower risk of heart disease.
Legumes contain a range of important phytochemicals that have a number of disease-fighting properties. Some of the important ones include: isoflavones, which are protective against heart disease and cancer; saponins, which help lower cholesterol; and phytosterols, which have anticancer and cholesterol-lowering properties.
Most legumes are low in calories and fat; soybeans and peanuts, however, are high in mostly unsaturated oils.
The downside
Legumes harbour a number of substances or compounds that may interfere with the action or absorption of vitamins.
Soybeans, for example, contain substances that interfere with the absorption of beta carotene and vitamins B12 and D; beans and peas have an anti-vitamin E compound. Heating and cooking inactivates most of these substances, but to compensate for vitamin loss, balance legume consumption with ample fresh fruits and yellow or dark green vegetables (for beta carotene), lean meat or other animal products (for vitamin B12), and cooked greens, wheat germ, fortified cereals, seeds, nuts, and poultry (for vitamin E).
Some legumes, especially peanuts, can trigger an allergic reaction or migraine headache in susceptible people. In such cases the offending foods should be eliminated from the diet.
Dried beans, lentils, and peas are notorious for causing intestinal gas and flatulence. The method of preparation can help reduce gas production. Change the water several times during the soaking and cooking process. (Lentils don’t need to be soaked, but rinsing them after cooking lowers their gas-forming potential.) Always rinse canned beans and chickpeas; combining cooked legumes with an acidic food may reduce gas production. Some herbs, especially lemon balm, fennel, and caraway, can help to prevent flatulence.
People with gout are often advised to forgo dried peas and beans, lentils, and other legumes because of their high purine content. In susceptible people, purines increase levels of uric acid and can precipitate a gout attack. Some people of Mediterranean or Asian descent carry a gene that makes them susceptible to favism, a severe type of anemia contracted from eating fava beans. Anyone with a family history of this disease must not eat this type of bean.
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Adapted from Foods That Harm Foods That Heal, Reader's Digest
