Are Broad beans healthy? Nutritious and healing properties of broad beans
Broad beans, like other legumes, have many nutrients. First of all, it has a high protein content, which can be an alternative to animal-derived protein. It is also a very rich source of folic acid, so needed in pregnancy. 100 g of raw bean covers 106% of the daily demand for this valuable vitamin. Read or listen to the nutritional and healing properties of broad beans and to whom and why they can harm.
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Table of Contents:
- Broad beans – medicinal properties
- Beans – how to eat? With or without skin?
- Beans and slimming – is it fattening?
- Broad beans – vitamins and nutritional values
- Broad beans – can you eat pregnantly?
- Beans – who can it hurt?
- Beans – how to cook?
Broad beans, like other legumes, are a treasury of vitamins and nutrients. It is valued for its many medicinal properties. Beans include binds bile acids in the large intestine, and thus reduces the concentration of LDL cholesterol in the blood. In turn, due to the high content of folic acid, it can prevent the occurrence of malformations in the fetus and support the process of anaemia treatment. Check out other health benefits of broad beans.
Broad beans – medicinal properties
Broad beans for cardiovascular disease
Broad beans are an excellent alternative to meat, specifically to animal protein. There are as much as 7.60 g of protein in 100 g of the cooked bean. Therefore, the beans can be found in the diet that, among others, people with cardiovascular disease who need to limit their consumption of rich not only protein but also unhealthy saturated meat fatty acids.
In addition, broad beans are low in sodium, are rich in potassium and soluble fibre, which promotes the reduction of blood cholesterol levels, thanks to which it regulates blood pressure.
Be useful in treating anaemia
Broad beans are helpful in treating both microcytic anaemia – a consequence of iron deficiency, and megaloblastic anaemia caused by folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiency.
Both iron and folic acid are necessary for the production of red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting oxygen to all cells in the body. In both types of anaemia, this process is disturbed.
Broad beans are a very good source of folic acid, therefore, while taking appropriate doses of vitamin B12 from other sources, it effectively helps in the treatment of megaloblastic anaemia.
Eating broad beans in Parkinson’s disease
Some drugs against Parkinson’s disease are made on the basis of broad beans because it is a natural source of levodopa – the biologically active form of dopamine (the neurotransmitter responsible for sending impulses between nerve cells). Levodopa can pass from the blood to the brain, where it is converted into missing dopamine, which improves the patient’s mobility.
However, according to specialists from the University of Maryland Medical Center, people with Parkinson’s disease who take levodopa tablets and want to consume broad beans should first consult a doctor. Studies have shown that broad bean prevents proper use of the drug, significantly increasing its concentration in the blood.
How to eat broad beans – with or without skin, cooked or raw?
Broad beans can be eaten both raw and after cooking. Young beans can be eaten right out of the pods because their rind is not very hard yet. In addition, most vitamins are found in the skin of broad beans. Broad beans can also be steamed or lightly salted. Unfortunately, traditional cooking causes a loss of about 40 percent of the vitamins and minerals contained in beans.
Beans and slimming – is it fattening?
Cooked broad beans in 100 g contain not much, as much as 110 kcal, however, due to the low-fat content and a large amount of soluble fibre, it is one of the desirable ingredients of a slimming diet. Broad beans can help you control your weight because it slows down the digestive process and gives you a feeling of satiety for a long time. In addition, it is rich in folic acid and B vitamins – substances necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system. Therefore, broad beans will help you survive the crisis during weight loss.
Nutritional values ??of cooked beans in 100 g
- Energy value – 110 kcal
- Total protein – 7.60 g
- Fat – 0.40 g
- Carbohydrates – 19.65 g
- Fibre – 5.4 g
vitamins
- Vitamin C – 0.3 mg
- Thiamine – 0.097 mg
- Riboflavin – 0.089 mg
- Niacin – 0.711 mg
- Pantothenic acid – 0.157 mg
- Vitamin B6 – 0.072 mg
- Folic acid – 104 μg
- Vitamin A – 1 μg
- Vitamin K – 2.9 μg
Minerals
- Calcium – 36 mg
- Iron – 1.50 mg
- Magnesium – 43 mg
- Phosphorus – 125 mg
- Potassium – 268 mg
- Sodium – 5 mg
- Zinc – 1.01 mg
Broad beans – can you eat pregnantly?
According to the recommendations of specialists from the Institute of Food and Nutrition, a pregnant woman should consume a minimum of 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. Vitamin B9 is involved in the process of growth and development of new cells and thus can prevent the occurrence of severe malformations in the fetus. 100 g of fresh beans contain as much as 423 micrograms of this valuable vitamin, and therefore covers 106% of the daily requirement for folic acid.
However, if you suffer from gestational diabetes, look for other sources of folic acid. The glycemic index of cooked broad beans is high and amounts to as much as 80 (IG of raw broad beans = 40), therefore broad beans are too much of a burden for the diseased pancreas. For the same reasons, any diabetic should limit their consumption.
Beans – who can it hurt?
Beans are not recommended for people suffering from gout. In these patients, for unknown reasons, the body produces large amounts of uric acid, which accumulates in excess in the body. Uric acid is the final transformation product of purines, which are found, among others in a bob. Some patients may experience complications, including for kidney stones associated with the precipitation of urate deposits.
In addition, broad beans can occasionally cause serious allergic reactions. The occurrence of disease symptoms after eating broad bean usually occurs in people suffering from favism (so-called bean disease ) – a genetically conditioned disease associated with deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD enzyme).
Bob should be avoided by people with digestive problems because it causes bloating and excessive fermentation in the intestines. Bloating and gas are caused by oligosaccharides that are not digested or broken down by intestinal bacteria. However, you can avoid stomach problems by properly cooking grains.
How to cook broad beans?
For cooking, choose only those beans that are intensely green, without spots, with a pleasant, fresh smell and a nice, smooth skin. Then rinse the beans thoroughly under a stream of cold water. Put the broad beans into a pot, pour water (there should be 2 times more than broad beans) and add 1 flat spoonful of sugar. Bring to a boil and season with a pinch of salt (you can also add a few sprigs of dill or crushed garlic). Beans should be cooked undercover, on high heat until tender. Young grains are usually cooked for about 15 minutes, older ones a little longer (up to 30 minutes).
How to cook broad beans so as not to cause bloating?
Pour the beans into hot water and let stand for an hour. Then pour out the water and cook the beans again in new water, adding a pinch of salt at the end of cooking.
