Todays Nutritional Tip from Coach Kathy :) Legumes (beans and lentils) are packed with nutrition, including protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals, and are very cheap. When cooked right, they are so delicious that even the most hardened carnivores will be amazed. Why should we eat legumes? Legumes, when eaten in place of refined carbohydrates, can actually... 1. Prevent food cravings1 2. Prevent metabolic syndrome 3. Prevent type 2 diabetes 4. Protect against cancer 5. Provide lots of protein and energy 6. Provide lots of calcium 7. Provide lots of vitamins and minerals 8. Prevent obesiity 9. Protect against heart disease How can inexpensive legumes do all that? Lets examine each one of the amazing points above, made possible by legumes, one of the cheapest sources of protein, calcium, and numerous vitamins and minerals. 1. How do legumes prevent food cravings? Legumes (beans and lentils) prevent food cravings by providing energy and nutrients without causing the pancreas to flood the body with insulin1. Foods that are high on the glycemic index, such as high fructose corn syrup, sugar, refined or enriched flour, white rice, and other refined carbohydrates9, cause the pancreas to secrete large amounts of insulin, and within 1 to 2 hours (varies per person), this flood of insulin is then followed by an acute drop in blood sugar, causing food cravings, especially for refined starches that quickly satisfy a low-blood-sugar craving. This is a cycle that is difficult to break free from. 2. How do legumes prevent metabolic syndrome? Metabolic Syndrome is a collection of symptoms, the primary symptom being insulin resistance (pre-diabetes). People who have developed Metabolic Syndrome experience a higher degree of difficulty losing weight than others because the Metabolic Syndrome has slowed down their metabolism, making weight loss even more difficult. Metabolic syndrome begins after an excessive amount of fat has accumulated on the body from repeatedly eating past the point of fullness, mostly due to refined starches. Breaking free of this vicious cycle is very tough, and the victim must undergo withdrawal from refined carbohydrates, and learn to eat 3 moderately-sized meals per day with no snacks between meals in order to allow the body to burn fat and reverse the Metabolic Syndrome. Eating legumes in place of refined starches prevents the pancreas from releasing large amounts of insulin, which helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. This prevents cravings and overeating by providing a longer period of feeling full after a meal, thus preventing Metabolic Syndrome. 3. How do legumes prevent Type 2 diabetes? When we eat legumes in place of refined carbohydrates, this allows our bodies to maintain a healthy blood sugar level as described in the previous paragraph, which in turn allows the pancreas to function properly and not over-produce insulin, thus sparing us from the ravages of Type 2 diabetes. Insulin helps us to digest carbohydrate. During our lives, our pancreas only puts out a certain amount of insulin. As mentioned previously, repeated overconsumption of refined starches eventually depletes the pancreas, causing it to no longer produce insulin. The result is Type 2 diabetes. Eating legumes in place of refined carbohydrates prevents Type 2 diabetes. This means that Type 2 diabetes is a diet-related condition. 4. How do legumes protect us against cancer? According to the University of Queensland in Australia, legumes contain a compound that prevents cancer risk and may also help with cancer treatment. Another way that legumes protect us from cancer is by helping to prevent obesity, explained below in point #8. Keeping thin reduces our cancer risk, because people with excessive body fat have an increased risk of cancer. And thats not all. Refined carbohydrates feed cancer cells and suppress the immune system. Thus, eating legumes in place of refined carbohydrates prevents fueling malignant cells with sugar and helps to keep the immune system stronger, which helps to protect against cancer. Additionally, eating beans (legumes) in place of refined starch helps to prevent liver cancer caused by fatty liver disease which usually is a result of obesity, a preventable condition by avoiding refined carbohydrates, according to the British Journal of Cancer. 5. How does eating legumes provide protein and energy to the body? In research performed by Dr. Nijhoff in the Netherlands, he concluded that the quality of protein and energy supplied by legumes rivals that of any other grain protein. Legumes are a good source of protein, contributing critical nutrition to the diets of both people and animals globally, according to research of soybeans, peanuts, peas, French beans, chick peas (garbanzo beans), pigeon peas, cowpeas, mung beans, black gram beans, azuki beans, lentils, Lathyrus, lupinus, Lotus, Medicago, Trifolium, Winged beans, Guar beans, and tree legumes. 6. How do legumes provide calcium? Legumes are rich in calcium, with winged beans having the highest concentration of calcium, followed by soybeans, white beans, great northern beans, baked beans, navy beans, French beans, yellow beans, lentils, pinto beans, mung beans, pink beans, refried, garbanzo (chick pea), and many other legumes. 7. How do legumes provide lots of vitamins and minerals? Legumes provide many essential vitamins and minerals, according to the Australian Governments Department of Health and Aging. All beans provide similar nutrition and dietary fiber. A few of the more popular legumes are listed below with their vitamin/mineral content. Black beans (also referred to as black turtle beans) provide folate, manganese, protein, magnesium, vitamin B1 (thiamin), phosphorus, iron, and are also packed with antioxidants. Garbanzo beans (also referred to as chick peas) contain manganese, folate, protein, copper, phosphorus, and iron. Kidney bean consumption provides folate, manganese, protein, iron, phosphorus, copper, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B1 (thiamin), and vitamin K. Lentils, which are also a legume, are a rich source of folate, manganese, iron, protein, phosphorus, copper, vitamin B1 (thiamin), and potassium. Lima beans, which are also a legume, (also referred to as butter beans) provide us with manganese, folate, protein, potassium, iron, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B1 (thiamin). Navy beans (also referred to as white beans) are an excellent source of folate, manganese, protein, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, iron, and vitamin B1 (thiamin). Peas, which are also legumes, contain manganese, protein, folate, vitamin B1 (thiamin, potassium, and phosphorus. Pinto beans (also referred to as mottled beans) give us folate, manganese, protein, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and vitamin B1 (thiamin). Soybeans are a rich source of manganese, protein, iron, phosphorus, vitamin K, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, copper, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and potassium. 8. How do legumes prevent obesity? Legumes, when eaten in place of refined starches, prevent obesity by allowing the pancreas to release safe, low levels of insulin for digesting the legumes, which helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. This prevents cravings and overeating by providing a longer period of feeling full after a meal. This process greatly helps to prevent obesity. 9. How does the consumption of legumes protect us from heart disease? Legumes may help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, thus reducing or eliminating the risk of heart disease. Legumes have absolutely no cholesterol, because they are a plant. In summary, beans (legumes) are packed with nutrition: vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, and antioxidants. Legumes can help to lower cholesterol levels. When eaten in place of refined starches, legumes prevent food cravings, prevent metabolic syndrome, prevent type 2 diabetes, protect against cancer, provide lots of protein, energy, calcium, vitamins and minerals, prevent obesity, and protect against heart disease. And they are very inexpensive. How can we afford not to eat them?
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 13:58:44 +0000
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