Loving legumes

Good for your health & the environment

Join the cultures around the world that believe eating legumes, specifically black-eyed peas and lentils on New Year's Day, will bring prosperity and good fortune. At Go Grains Health & Nutrition we know that enjoying legumes on any day of the year will bring more than prosperity and good fortune - good health too! Not only are legumes cheap (tick for prosperity), they are versatile, a great source of fibre, contain plenty of vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates for energy and a great non-meat protein alternative. People who eat legumes have a decreased risk of many diseases such as Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Cancer.

Sometimes known as pulses, legumes are the dried edible seeds of legume plants such as lentils, beans and peas. The main legumes available in Australia include: chickpeas, soy beans, navy beans (more commonly known as baked beans), brown lentils, red lentils, cannellini beans, lima beans (butter beans), broad beans (fava beans), red kidney beans, mung beans, peanuts (yes, peanuts are technically a legume), split peas, black-eyed peas, adzuki beans and pinto beans.

Legumes are a very important contributor to a healthy diet, yet so many people are missing out. Research conducted by Go Grains Health & Nutrition in 2009 found that Australians (n=1700) on average are eating only 1/3 of a serve of legumes (1 serve = 1/2 cup cooked, 75g) a day. Painting an even bleaker picture, research from the 2007 National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey found only 4.9-7.3% of children aged 2-16 years ate legumes the day before they were interviewed for the study.

Legumes are inexpensive, easy to prepare and very nutritious - rich in protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals, particularly B vitamins, iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium, and they are also low in fat! You might already be eating legumes without realising it - baked beans, dahl, hummus and falafels are all made with legumes.

One of the most common reasons cited for not eating more legumes is lack of knowledge about how to cook and prepare them. To improve their nutritional value, digestibility and reduce effects of flatulence you should always soak raw, dry legumes before consumption.

• Quick soak - add 3 cups of water to each cup of legumes in a saucepan. Bring to boil and remove from heat. Cover and leave for 1-2 hours. Rinse before cooking.
• Slow soak - soak legumes covered with plenty of water in a cool place for 4-8 hours (overnight is best), then drain and rinse before cooking.
• Cooking - place soaked legumes into a saucepan and cover with fresh water. Bring to boil and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs until tender. Added salt will prolong the cooking time.

If this is all too hard, then pre-cooked (canned) legumes are very convenient. You could drain and rinse them before cooking to remove excess sodium from the water.

Including legumes in your diet can lead to positive changes, especially in terms of dietary fibre which can help you to feel fuller for longer. Regular legume consumption can help reduce the risk of diseases such as CHD, cancer and T2DM by decreasing cholesterol and triglycerides, high antioxidant content and anti inflammatory compounds along with the positive effects of fibre and blood glucose control. If you are not used to eating legumes, introduce small amounts into your meals initially to give your digestive system time to adjust to the higher fibre content (resulting in less production of gas).

Legumes are good for you and the environment. Legume crops have a positive impact on the environment. Legume roots produce their own nitrogen which is taken from the air and converted into a form the plant can use. When the legume crop is harvested, excess organic nitrogen (a great fertiliser) is left behind and can be used by other plants, making legumes great rotation crops.

For recipes containing the goodness of legumes visit the recipe section of the Go Grains website.

Santa should eat more wholegrains

Wholegrains associated with smaller waistlines

If more kids left Santa a wholegrain cookie and a glass of low-fat milk perhaps his waistline would be somewhat trimmer. Recent research from the US in over 400 older adults has found that in those who ate wholegrains there was an association between lower percent body fat mass and lower percent waist fat mass (measured by dual-energy-X-Ray-absorptiometry). The researchers found a dose-dependent response in 60-80 year olds who enjoy wholegrain foods such as wholemeal & mixed grain bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals with greater than 25% wholegrains, brown rice, popcorn, porridge and other grains; ever more reason to eat more wholegrains. The authors state the dietary fibre from predominately wholegrain cereals appears to be more protective against the development of chronic disease compared with fruit or vegetable fibre.

The result of this study add to the growing body of evidence from other epidemiological studies that have shown middle-aged adults who eat more wholegrains have a lower body mass index (BMI) and central obesity, and tend to gain weight less significantly than those who eat mainly refined grains.

With abdominal adiposity a major risk factor for many chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and some cancers, the Australian government recommends Australian women keep their waist circumference under 80cm and men under 94cm to reduce the risk of these chronic health problems.

Like many other studies, the average intake of wholegrains in this study population was low suggesting we should all be eating more wholegrains to help combat growing waistlines and chronic health problems. Switching your breakfast cereal or bread to one containing wholegrains is one of the easiest things you can do to increase your wholegrain intake.

In this study, the association between wholegrain intake and abdominal body fat remained significant after adjustment for refined grain. So the take home message is - you can still include refined grain foods such as pasta, white rice and white bread as part of a healthy and varied diet when you include wholegrains too. Do Santa's waistline a favour and offer wholegrains this Christmas.

Go Grains Health & Nutrition recommends all Australian adults eat a least 48g of wholegrains every day. Click here to visit the wholegrains page of the Go Grain website, where you will find loads of helpful information on wholegrains; including some common examples of wholegrain foods and their approximate wholegrain content, a visual guide of how to reach the 48g daily target for wholegrains and information on the health benefits of choosing wholegrain.

Research proves wholegrain benefits

Cereals & snacks provide antioxidant boost!

Dietitians often recommend green tea, red wine, nuts and fruits (especially berries) for their antioxidant boost! New research has discovered that many wholegrain breakfast cereals, and wholegrain snacks like popcorn and wholegrain crispbreads, have surprisingly large amounts of polyphenols, regarded as great antioxidants.

Researchers investigated the total polyphenol content of around 40 breakfast cereals and 20 snacks and found that wholegrain products have comparable antioxidants per gram to fruits and vegetables. The study revealed higher antioxidant levels than previous studies because the researchers analysed total polyphenol content rather than focusing on free antioxidants, which are not bound to sugar.

Ready to eat, cold breakfast cereals made with oats were found to have the highest antioxidants, followed by corn and wheat. Popcorn was at the top of the snack list, blitzing the competition with as much as five times as many antioxidants as the nearest rival.

Packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre along with polyphenols, scientific studies have found that regular consumption of wholegrain foods can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and even help you to manage your weight. So jump on the wholegrain train!

Source: http://matrix.scranton.edu/news/articles/2009/08/Research-Antioxidents-Snack-Foods.shtml

• Try air popping your own corn kernels and use herbs to replace salt. Garlic powder, chilli powder, basil and oregano work well.
  
• Did you know plain popcorn, without added butter or sugar, contains around 4 times less saturated fat and 5 times more fibre than you average potato crisps? So choose low fat or homemade popcorn next time you feel like a snack.
  
• Popcorn is a wholegrain! One 20g serve of plain popcorn contains around 15g of wholegrains - that's 30% of your daily target intake for wholegrains! (as recommended by Go Grains Health & Nutrition).