LEGUMES / BEANS

Introduction

This section is relevant to all sorts of beans. Amongst the main varieties that it applies to are: Black eye pea; broad bean; butter bean; chick pea; lentil; peanut; soy bean and mange-tout.

Beans are the second most important food group available to man after cereals. They have been part of man’s cuisine for as long as it is possible to trace, believed to be more than 4000 years. They have been an important part of the diet of all great civilisations, and in many have also been part of rituals and religious ceremonies - the Hopi Indians of America once celebrated beans in an annual festival, for example. They have always featured in folklore, as ‘jumping beans’ or magic beans as in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, for example.

Beans can be divided into two categories, although botanically they are divided a different way:

1.      Those eaten fresh and whole like French Beans

2.      Those eaten once shelled and dried like kidney beans

What do they do?

Beans have so much to offer, increasing general health and also working specifically on difficult conditions. First and foremost they are good for the heart and have been proven to reduce blood cholesterol considerably, reducing it by up to 30% when eaten daily. This is thought to be due to the levels of soluble fibre. This soluble fibre sits in the colon once eaten and is attacked by bacteria in the colon, which want it for food. This causes the release of chemicals as it is broken down that act in two different ways. Firstly they send messages to the liver telling it to cut down production of cholesterol, and secondly it sends messages to the blood encouraging it to speed up the breakdown of bad cholesterol from the blood stream. Both of these factors mean less cholesterol - which everyone knows means less arterial blockage and less chance of having heart problems.

This has knock-on effects for diabetics. It is a common belief that any foods that reduce cholesterol are also good for helping diabetics. Food high in fibre will sit in the stomach and release a very slow but constant amount of blood sugar, which in turn decreases anyone’s need for insulin. For type I diabetics 6oz of beans a day can reduce the need for insulin by 38%, and for type II diabetics it can almost eliminate the need for any injections. Further to this, beans and any food which contains high levels of gums and pectins (indigestible matter) will increase the number of insulin receptor sites in cells giving insulin more places to ‘park’, as it were, around the body increasing absorption levels of insulin.

The fibre in beans also serves to promote regularity. The insoluble fibre pushes through everything in the stomach to make ensure regular defecation. This is extremely important, as harmful substances are thus removed from the digestive system, reducing the chances of disease in the rectum and colon. Though beans can cause embarrassing wind in most people, this propensity decreases greatly the more regularly they are eaten as the body adapts, so this would never remain a persistent problem.

Beans are highly effective at preventing serious disease. They contain protease inhibitors that act in the intestines once digested. These protease inhibitors can stop tumours developing and reduce the risks of malfunction in the intestines, stomach, colon and rectum. Beans also contain lignans, powerful anti-mutagenic agents, and when the bacteria in the stomach start to work on them, they convert the lignans into hormone-like compounds thought to combat mutations in the breast and colon.

NB. Baked beans are also beneficial; however, canned baked beans should be avoided by diabetics. The best beans are:

·         black-eye peas

·         peas

·         kidney beans

Then

·         pinto beans

·         lentils

·         split peas.

Try to eat at least one serving a day (around 6oz in total). It is best to spread the amount across the day (e.g. 3oz at lunch and 3oz at dinner).