World Pulses Day, a food full of benefits

Today we celebrate World Pulses Day, a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of all the benefits they bring us.

For a long time, legumes have been considered a dish of humble people, and in recent years, they have hardly been given the importance they deserved in our diet… Now they are back on our plates, and thank goodness! Since their intake brings nothing but great benefits for both our health and the planet (yes, you read right!) as we will see next.

Nutritional properties of legumes

Contribution of carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, slow absorption.
Great contribution of fiber.
Good supply of plant-based proteins of high biological value (although they do not provide methionine, an essential amino acid , This is the reason why it is advisable to eat the legume with rice in order to make that full contribution, although it is not necessarily necessary to take it at that time).
Without fats.
Minerals such as iron, calcium, among others, and vitamins such as group B, as well as isoflavones (in the case of soy) and lecithins.

These nutritional characteristics make legumes the food of choice for people suffering from diabetes, hypertension, constipation, obesity…

Legumes help regulate cholesterol values, triglycerides… and adequately feed our intestinal flora (in general).

In addition, legumes are of great importance as a protein intake in vegan and vegetarian diets.

Tips to avoid intestinal gas when consuming legumes

A “problem” with legumes can be those “annoying gases” that fill our intestines, so I recommend:

Always soak the legume for at least 12 hours and throw that water away when cooking.
Add a little bay leaf, fennel, cumin or ginger while cooking.
Drink an infusion of licorice, fennel, chamomile or mint to avoid these discomforts.
Once cooked, put them in the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours (among other things, this ensures that they provide “good food” to the intestinal microbiota).

More benefits of legumes

Its production helps combat climate change since: the planting and harvesting of legumes consumes little of our water resources and, in addition, fertilizes the soil where it is planted thanks to the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the ground.
Also, very important: with a kilo of legumes you can feed and nourish (attention!!!) about 12 people (one serving: 60-90 grams) so the consumption of legumes can help reduce hunger in the world. In addition, it does not require as many natural resources in its production.
Very versatile in the kitchen. Today many recipes can be made with vegetables: delicious salads (for example , white beans with cockles, de neck and chickpeas, lentils with tuna…), Hummus chickpea along with different vegetables (beet for example), vegetable burgers, falafel, etc. This makes them a very good choice in the kitchen! They can be mixed with everything!
There is a wide variety of legumes: lentils of different types (caviar, orange , etc.), chickpeas, beans (of different types), soybeans, peas, broad beans, azukis …