Facts About Beans

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Facts About Beans - Sprague Foods Ltd, Canning in Belleville Ontario

 

http://www.spraguefoods.com/beans.html

 

Nutrition

Dried peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas (this group is known as " pulses " )

fit the overall healthy eating pattern encouraged by Canada's Food Guide to

Healthy Eating. They are low in fat and good sources of protein, starch and

fibre.

 

Soluble Fibre:

Found in beans, peas, chickpeas, oat bran, fruits and lentils. Soluble

fibre forms a gel inside the digestive system and is thought to reduce

cholesterol levels in the blood and delay entry of sugar into the blood

stream. This delay appears to stabilize blood sugar levels.

 

Insoluble Fibre:

Found in peas, beans and lentils, wheat bran, vegetables, fruits, whole

grains and breads, improves regularity by speeding up the passage of food

through the intestine and is believed have a role in the prevention of

colon cancer.

 

Lentils contain mostly insoluble fibre, while peas and beans contain both.

Because green lentils are consumed with their seed coat intact, they have

almost twice the amount of fibre of imported red lentils.

 

Folic Acid:

Pulses are rich in the B-vitamin, folic acid. A low intake of folic acid by

pregnant women could put the fetus at risk of Neural Tube Defects. Even

small servings (less than 1/2 cup, 125 ml) of lentils and other pulses

provide excellent sources of folic acid.

 

Potassium:

Pulses are an excellent source of potassium which contributes to a regular

heart beat, regulates transfer of nutrients to cells, controls water

balance and helps regulate blood pressure.

 

B Vitamins:

Pulses are good sources of niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid and

pyridoxine, necessary for healthy brain and nerve cells, for normal

functioning of the skin nerves and digestive system in the chemical

reactions of the amino acids and proteins.

 

Protein:

Pulses are good sources of vegetable protein which must be combined with a

complementary protein to become a complete protein containing the nine

essential amino acids. Pulses, when eaten with nuts, seeds, rice or grains,

fulfill the requirements of a complete protein.

 

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