Beans and legumes of all kinds are extremely economical and mostly available everywhere, which makes them from this point of view to be a perfect food choice.
A lot of people avoid eating beans because they feel bloated afterward or are worried because of the enormous critical information about their ingredients.
It is totally understandable, as beans can be difficult to digest but there are a few things you should know about preparing and combining with other foods:
- Start out with a small serving of milder beans like Mung beans, Adzuki or Dahl.and built up from here
- Soak them overnight which makes them easier to digest.
- Always add a bit of ground cumin and fennel seeds to your beans or lentil dish.
- Make sure that you don’t consume any other sugars within 2 or 3 hours of eating beans.
- Avoid pairing them with potatoes in the same meal.
- If you suffer from IBS or similar digestive problems avoid eating legumes and beans.
- The potentially toxic lectins (type of protein that bind to cell membranes) are high in legumes and beans but they can be easily destroyed when you do the preparation like mentoined above and heat them up over 40 degrees.
- The same is valid for the phytic acid (acid storage form of phosphorus found in many plants, especially in the bran or hull), which can also be lowered by soaking and roasting.
- In combination with high protein whole grains like buckwheat, millet or quinoa, legumes can provide a balance of all essential amino acids needed by humans.
We are always open for healthy food trends like paleo and for this we want to follow the rules but our general meaning about beans and legumes are: if you enjoy them, tolerate them well, and willing to prepare them properly there is no evidence that they will harm you while eating.
Our recommendation as always: moderation is the key!
