It's Time to Love Your Legumes Australia

Many of us have a bag or tin of dried beans sitting at the back of the cupboard and it can be difficult to know what to do with them. But thanks to a wave of plant-based trends, coupled with the International Year of Pulses in 2016, the humble pulse, or legumes as they're more commonly known, are now increasingly being seen for the nutritional powerhouses that they truly are. With pulses on the brain, we've been looking at the health benefits they provide and new ways in which to incorporate them into our diet!

But first, what actually is a pulse?

Pulses belong to the wider legume family, which is a group of plants whose fruit or seed is enclosed in a pod. Pulses refer specifically to the dried, mature seeds of these plants and include dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas. The term ‘legume’ includes these dry varieties, as well as fresh peas and beans and is a more commonly used term than pulses.

Many people are most familiar with legumes in the form of the much-loved baked bean, but there are hundreds of varieties of legume out there - some of the most familiar including chickpeas, lentils, peas and beans - like butter beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans and soybeans.

Legumes and pulses come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours and can be eaten in many forms including whole, split, ground into flour, dried, canned, cooked or frozen.

Why are they so good for me?

Legumes are packed with a whole range of essential nutrients, they are...

• An economical source of plant-based protein.
• Higher in protein than most other plant foods.
• Generally low in fat, and virtually free of saturated fats.
• Rich in energy-giving carbohydrates, with a low glycaemic index to help maintain blood glucose control.
• A good source of B-group vitamins including folate, plus iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium.
• Abundant in fibre, including both insoluble and soluble fibre, plus resistant starch - all essential for maintaining good gut health!

There are many studies which show that legumes offer significant health benefits including protection against chronic diseases, assisting with weight management and helping to maintain good gut health.

How much should I be eating?

Pulses like chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans are full of nutrients, inexpensive and important for health and well-being. We recommend aiming for 100g or ½ cup of pulses at least three times a week to maintain good health.

 Download your copy of our latest e-book here for exclusive legume recipes and tips!

So how do I add more legumes into my diet?

  Enjoying legumes as part of a healthy habit is easier than you might think...

·        Use hummus instead of mayonnaise in a sandwich

·        Substitute a mix of kidney beans or red lentils for half the mince in a spaghetti bolognaise or chilli

·        Mix in a handful of black beans or lentils when cooking scrambled eggs

·        Try whizzing a handful of cannellini beans into a fruit smoothie 

·        Use mashed cooked brown lentils in a nutty bliss ball mix

Why not try something new with these legumes…

Chickpeas offer a creamy texture and mild taste and make a great base for soaking up flavours.

Try something new with chickpeas: why not mix up your hummus with additions like sundried tomatoes, beetroot, feta or cooked sweet potato or why not try the latest foodie trend, sweet hummus!

Black beans have a delicious meaty texture and make a great addition to burgers or as a mince substitute in chilli.

Try something new with black beans: use them to add a fudgy texture to brownies or showcase them as the star in your next veggie burger.

Download our latest e-book here to get a delicious brownie recipe where you can use lentils or black beans!

Lupins are slowly making their mark in the world of legumes due to their incredible versatility - they can be eaten fresh, or use lupin flour, flakes and kibble to add extra protein and fibre when baking.

Try something new with lupins: use a mix of lupin flakes and oats for a nutritious homemade muesli or use lupin flour to make these delicious Blueberry and Vanilla Muffins.

Top tips for prepping and storing your legumes

·        Cooking dried legumes (or pulses) in large batches is easy and cost-effective - simply freeze individual portions of cooked legumes for up to three months for ready-to-use convenience.

·        When using canned legumes, rinse contents thoroughly to reduce sodium content by more than 40%.

·        Soaking dried legumes for an hour or two, or overnight if you have time, ensures that they're easier to digest and maximises nutrient bio-availability. Split peas and lentils don't need to be soaked.

·        Store cooked, cooled legumes in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 3 days - this applies whether they're from a can or cooked at home.

With so many varieties to choose from, there are many reasons to love your legumes - their health benefits, versatility and abundance of nutrients being just a few. But however you choose to eat them, know that whenever you do you’re making a significant contribution to your health.

Visit the GLNC website for more information on the nutrition benefits of legumes, handy tips and recipe inspiration or download your copy of our latest e-book here for exclusive recipes and tips!

Increasing Legume Intake Among Australians

by Courtney Rose-Davis, APD, PhD Candidate

These days, we’re seeing more and more research suggesting that legumes possess significant health benefits, different to that of other food groups. Studies suggest that consuming legumes 4 times per week, compared to only once, reduces risk of coronary heart disease [1,2]. When legumes are added to our diet, levels of total and LDL cholesterol are lowered [3]. Legumes, including chickpeas, lentils, kidney, fava and black beans, amongst others, are a key feature of the Mediterranean diet, which is predominantly eaten by people living coastally in Southern Europe [4]. This balanced diet has been proven to lower our risk of heart disease and diabetes. Although just one part of this dietary pattern, legumes provide important nutrients including protein, fibre and other minerals, especially as the Mediterranean diet is low in meat. In terms of health benefits, one study showed that the Mediterranean diet would only be 90% as effective if legumes were excluded [5]. 

In Australia the story is very different, where adults eat very few legumes. Data from the most recent National Nutrition Survey suggests legume intake is only 20 g/week for males, and 16 g/week for females [6]. The health benefits of following a Mediterranean diet with legumes could be enormous; however this previously hadn’t been well studied. So we conducted a research trial where older Australians (aged >64 years) were asked to follow a Mediterranean diet for 6 months. Around 80 participants were asked to consume at least 3 servings of legumes per week, at a serving size of 75 g or half a cup (225 g/week). Three servings of legumes were provided to participants as canned legumes, to make this easier for them. The participants had their diets analysed before they commenced the study and median legume intake was 0 grams/week, meaning at least half the study participants were eating no legumes at all. The average intake however was 140g/week, which was quite high compared with national data, however still less than half the amount needed to provide health benefits.

Surprisingly, over the course of the study, legume intake increased to an average of 340g/week, with the median increasing from 0 to 231 g/week. Anecdotally, participants said they found legumes not only tasty, but versatile and useful when making filling lunches and salads. Recipes and instructions to incorporate legumes were provided, such as making legume patties and dips, adding legumes to soups, casseroles and salads and even replacing some meat with legumes.

It’s difficult to say with certainty which of these factors contributed to the legume increase, however, it appears that with some instruction and encouragement, older Australians could greatly increase their intake and enjoy legumes more often. The easy provision of legumes might have played a large role, although participants clearly went and bought their own on top of our provisions suggesting that participants genuinely enjoyed this part of their diet. It's most likely that several factors contributed, including providing them for free, provision of innovative recipes, additional suggestions on how to incorporate them in their daily diet, but most importantly - the enjoyment factor. Legume intake likely promoted the intake of other healthful dietary components too, like olive oil and vegetables, as these are often consumed together.

The potential health benefits of such a change are exciting! Legumes on their own have been associated with considerable health benefits, and even more so when being consumed as part of the Mediterranean diet. Our encouraging results suggest that given the right resources, such as recipe inspiration and handy tips, most people can become a legume fan. Here are our easy tips to help you enjoy legumes more frequently:

- If using canned legumes, make sure you rinse them well before using – this can help reduce the sodium content by up to 40%.

- If using dried legumes, soak and cook in large batches and freeze in individual portions for quick and easy additions to midweek meals.

- Use lentils or black beans as a substitute for mincemeat – mix into patties, meatballs, spaghetti bolognaise and taco mince.

- Add to salads for a filling protein and fibre hit.

- Add to soups and casseroles to bulk out.

- Mix in with pasta dishes - this works especially well with lentils and chickpeas.

- Make nachos with kidney beans or black beans.

- Add mixed legumes to tomato, onion and canned fish and drizzle with olive oil  and lemon juice for a delicious, Mediterranean salad.

 References

1.         Bazzano, L.A.; He, J.; Ogden, L.; Loria, C.M.; Vupputuri, S.; Myers, L.; Whelton, P.K. Legume consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women. Arch. Intern. Med. 2001, 161, 2573-2578. DOI:

2.         Afshin, A.; Micha, R.; Khatibzadeh, S.; Mozaffarian, D. Consumption of nuts and legumes and risk of incident ischemic heart disease, stroke, and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2014, 100, 278-288. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.076901.

3.         Bazzano, L.; Thompson, A.; Tees, M.; Nguyen, C.; Winham, D. Non-soy legume consumption lowers choletserol levels: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutr. Metab. Cardiovasc. Dis. 2011, 21, 94-103. DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2009.08.012.

4.         Trichopoulou, A.; Lagiou, P. Healthy traditional Mediterranean diet: An expression of culture, history, and lifestyle. Nutr. Rev. 1997, 55, 383-389. DOI: none.

5.         Trichopoulou, A.; Bamia, C.; Trichopoulos, D. Anatomy of health effects of Mediterranean diet: Greek EPIC prospective cohort study. BMJ 2009, 338, 26-29. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.b2337.

6.         Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12 - Australia. Table 5.1 Mean daily food intake (grams). Statistics, A.B.o., Ed. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra, ACT, Australia.