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Legumes as Part of a Nutrient-Dense Diet
Besides being delicious, there are a variety of reasons to consume legumes. They are full of healthy enzymes and nutrients, needed by the body, and unlike other starchy foods, legumes satiate.
While beans (legumes) are 70 percent starch, they are not on our sabotage foods list because they convert much more slowly to sugar in the body than any other of the starchy foods. The slow conversion of beans to sugar in the body causes much less of a glycemic response than the conversion of grains to sugar in the body. Beans have a glycemic index of 25 to 30.
You may think that because the glycemic index is low, beans are an easy, go-to “health food.” However, like most food choices, beans must be carefully considered. Legumes have been a staple of many healthy cultures for centuries, a factor which would also point to beans as a healthy food choice. However, remember the pesky GM (genetically modified) issue that is cropping up in legislation these days? It applies to beans as much as it does to any other food. Beans have been hybridized and genetically modified along with other crops such as wheat and corn. Remember, we already learned that genetically modified American wheat does not even resemble its original form, and that the gluten in this wheat can be toxic? Genetically modified beans might not contain toxic gluten but they also may not contain many nutrients that their heirloom cousins possess. Genetically modified, non-organic beans can contain pesticides and other toxins. It’s easy to see that beans can rapidly become a disease-causing food as opposed to a health-promoting food.
How then, does one incorporate beans into their healthy diet? By careful selection. It’s best to choose organic beans (and organic produce in general), not just to avoid pesticides, but also because organic crops tend to contain more nutrients. A healthy diet is a nutrient-dense diet. Secondly, do your best to choose heirloom varieties of beans. Delicious heirloom bean types could include adzuki, turtle, anasazi, mung, pinto, cannellini and rice beans. Red, black, green, or crimson lentils are also healthy choices. And perhaps most importantly, after choosing a nutrient-dense, organic bean, make sure you combine it with healthy fats, a protein and lots of non-starchy vegetables, in order to have a nutrient-dense meal. Remember when you used to be able to get Mexican refried beans that were creamy and delicious because they were made with lots of nutrient-dense lard? Try enjoying your beans this way again, and shun the tasteless, canola-oil filled beans popular in restaurants today.
David Getoff, CCN, CTN, FAAIM, Vice President of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation also enjoys beans mixed with full-fat coconut milk. He substitutes one cup of water for one cup of coconut milk while cooking his beans which results in a creamier dish containing heart-healthy saturated fat, necessary for maximum nutrient absorption. He recommends Goldmine Natural Foods as a source of heirloom beans and lentils.
In order to make legumes more digestible, soak them for 24 hours before cooking. This will release their phytates (anti-nutrients) that are responsible for the tummy aches so many feel after eating beans. Phytates prevent your digestive enzymes from doing their job of breaking down the food you consumed. They bind to the minerals and nutrients in your food, making these nutrients unavailable to the body. If you still have digestive woes when consuming beans, David Getoff recommends adding Beano to the beans while they are cooking. Another option is to take digestive bitters, which have been used for centuries as a digestive aid. Bitters are a liquid herbal formula and help stimulate the production of digestive enzymes. If selected carefully, prepared properly, and consumed with the appropriate foods, beans can make a tasty and healthy addition to a nutrient-dense diet.
-LINDSAY WIKHOLM