beans

Posted on Diet

Adding beans and pulses can lead a higher diet quality

When People Add One Cup of Beans and/or Chickpeas daily to their diet, diet quality improves.

Diet quality improves when people add one cup of Beans and/or Chickpeas daily. Credit Coalition for the Advancement of Pulses

New research shows an association between more excellent beans and pulse consumption, improved shortfall nutrient intakes, and higher diet quality in American adults.

Researchers assessed the effect of increased bean and pulse consumption in the typical US dietary pattern on shortfall nutrient intakes and diet quality outcomes. According to the findings, nutritional patterns rich in beans and pulses are associated with significantly higher diet quality scores and greater intake of shortfall nutrients, including nutrients of public health concern. Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family.  Pulses grow in pods and come in various shapes, sizes, and colours. They include beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils.  The composite included canned and dried kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, and pinto beans for this study. 

Impact on Shortfall Nutrients

Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001-2018, the analyses modelled the addition of one and two servings of beans (as outlined above) in adults. Results show that greater consumption of beans is associated with significant increases in several shortfall nutrients, including dietary fibre, potassium, magnesium, iron, folate, and choline.

Impact on Diet Quality

Additionally, the addition of 1 and 2 servings of beans daily to the typical US dietary pattern significantly increased overall diet quality, as assessed by USDA’s Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015). In fact, HEI-2015 total scores were 15% greater with an additional serving of beans and 19% higher with two servings of beans relative to the typical US dietary pattern.

This evaluation showed that beans substantially increased daily dietary fibre intake in both younger and older adults.  This is critical since fewer than 1 in 10 US adults meet fibre recommendations to maintain optimal digestive health and prevent chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and certain cancers.  Additionally, the majority of US adults fall short of meeting potassium recommendations.  According to the American Heart Association, “Foods with potassium can help control blood pressure by blunting the effects of sodium, and the more potassium you eat, the more sodium you process out of the body.”

“This research clearly shows that eating beans and pulses is good, but eating more is better.,” states study author Yanni Papanikolaou of Nutritional Strategies Inc.  “Beans and pulses are excellent sources of fibre, folate and potassium and excellent sources of plant protein that also provides iron and zinc like other protein foods.”

Posted on Diet

Broad Beans IN toast could revolutionise the British diet – would you eat this?

Beans IN toast could revolutionise British diet
Beans IN toast could revolutionise British diet


Scientists aim to revolutionise British diets by slipping more UK-grown beans into our daily bread.

Researchers and chefs at the University of Reading aim to encourage British consumers and food producers to switch to bread containing faba beans (commonly known as broad beans), making it healthier and less damaging to the environment.

The £2 million, three-year, publicly-funded ‘Raising the Pulse’ project has officially begun and is announced today (18 January 2023) in the Nutrition Bulletin journal.

Five teams of researchers within the University of Reading, along with members of the public, farmers, industry, and policymakers, are now working together to bring about one of the most significant changes to UK food in generations.

This is by increasing pulses in the UK diet, particularly faba ( fava beans)beans, due to their favourable growing conditions in the UK and the sustainable nutritional enhancement they provide.

Despite being an excellent alternative to the ubiquitous imported soya bean, used currently in bread as an improver, the great majority of faba beans grown in the UK currently go to animal feed.

Researchers are optimising the sustainability and nutritional quality of beans grown here, to encourage farmers to switch some wheat-producing land to faba bean for human consumption.

Faba beans are exceptionally high in easily digested protein, fibre, and iron, nutrients that can be low in UK diets. But most people are not used to cooking and eating faba beans, which poses a significant challenge.

Professor Julie Lovegrove is leading the ‘Raising the Pulse’ research programme. She said: “We had to think laterally: What do most people eat and how can we improve their nutrition without them having to change their diets? The obvious answer is bread!

“96% of people in the UK eat bread, and 90% of that is white bread, which in most cases contains soya. We’ve already performed some experiments and found that faba bean flour can directly replace imported soya flour and some of wheat flour, which is low in nutrients. We can not only grow the faba beans here but also produce and test the faba bean-rich bread, with improved nutritional quality.”

‘Raising the Pulse’ is a multidisciplinary research programme funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council as part of their ‘Transforming UK Food Systems’ initiative.

As well as consulting and working with members of disadvantaged communities, studies will use our novel foods at the University of Reading’s student’s halls of residence and catering outlets.

This links ‘Raising the Pulse’ with Matt Tebbit, who runs the University’s catering service and leads the University’s ‘Menus for Change’ research programme. He said: “Students will be asked to rate products made or enriched with faba bean, such as bread, flat bread, and hummus. They will be asked questions about how full they felt, for how long and their liking of the foods. It is hoped that faba bean will improve satiety, as well as providing enhanced nutritional benefits in products that are enjoyable to eat.”

Before products are tested, the beans must be grown, harvested and milled. ‘Raising the Pulse’ seeks to improve these stages as well. Researchers will be choosing or breeding healthy and high-yielding varieties, working with the soil to improve yield via nitrogen fixing bacteria, mitigating environmental impacts of farming faba beans, planning for the changing climate, and more.

Leave a comment Posted on Cardiovascular disease

7 Superfoods That Improve Heart Health – a guest post by Meighan Sembrano


Superfoods have been around throughout the history, but it was only recently when scientists

Superfoods

Superfoods

realized their true power and beneficial effects on our health. They have the ability to improve our brain power, prevent cancer, and boost our heart health. In this article, we will discuss heart-healthy superfoods that you should introduce into your everyday menu.

  • Blueberries

Blueberries and berries, in general, belong to the group of the healthiest foods you can eat. Blueberries are both extremely delicious and rich in antioxidants that reduce the buildup of LDL (bad) cholesterol in artery walls. Otherwise, LDL cholesterol would keep building up and cause various cardiovascular diseases. The reason blueberries are included in first place of our list is because, studies that were conducted at the USDA Human Nutrition Center revealed that blueberries rank as #1 in best antioxidant activity when compared to other fresh fruits and vegetables.

Also, the recent study revealed that women who ate more than three servings of blueberries per week had a 32% lower risk of getting the heart attack. It is recommended to eat one cup of blueberries a day.

  • Beans

Beans are one of the most underrated superfoods. However, black, kidney, and pinto beans have a high level of soluble fibers that are beneficial for our heart health. Also, beans aid in lowering high cholesterol levels and they don’t contain saturated fats. After all, high cholesterol is the leading cause of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, another great benefit of beans for your heart health is the face it acts as an appetite suppressor. When you eat beans you feel full for a longer period, you don’t eat as much and manage to maintain your weight. Gaining weight and even obesity are a great threat to your heart health.

  • Spinach

Spinach and other green leafy vegetables are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that protect your body from cardiovascular diseases. Most people don’t know that spinach is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids too, which is another reason you should include it into your diet after all Popeye ate all that spinach for nothing. Moreover, Spinach is rich in folate that helps reduce the blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. High level of this amino acid is an emerging risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.

  • Salmon
Meighan Sembrano

Meighan Sembrano

When we’re talking about heart health, it is impossible to leave out glorious salmon. This fish is the best source of Omega 3 fatty acids that are essential for our body. Omega 3 fatty acids reduce the risk of developing various cardiovascular diseases by lowering levels of triglycerides (blood fats that are associated with diabetes and heart diseases). Additionally, some researchers showed that Omega 3 fatty acids prevent blood clots by making preventing platelets clump together and stick to artery walls.

American Heart Association recommends eating two 3 to 6 or servings of salmon at least two times a week.

Video: Also Watch: Benefits of omega 3 fatty acids.

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  • Dark chocolate

This is great news for all chocoholics out there. Naturally, this doesn’t mean you should buy a regular chocolate bar you eat every day. Instead, you should opt for a dark alternative. Various studies showed that dark chocolate can, indeed, benefit our heart health due to its flavonoids that reduce inflammation and improve blood circulation. British Medical Journal published findings of the study that showed that consumption of dark chocolate reduces heart attack (and even stroke) for people that are high at risk of getting cardiovascular disease.

Dark chocolate is defined as chocolate that contains at least 60 to 70% of cocoa. It is recommended to eat a square or two a day.

  • Nuts

Walnuts, pecans, cashews and other nuts are good sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. Also, nuts prevent dangerous heart rhythms, reduce the risk of blood clots, lower LDL cholesterol in the blood and prevent various cardiovascular diseases. To improve your heart health and avoid gaining weight in the abdominal area, you should an ounce of nuts a day as a replacement to usual sugary snacks.

  • Oatmeal

A half-cup of oatmeal a day contains about 130 calories while providing our body with 5 grams of heart-healthy fiber that lowers cholesterol and keeps our maintains our healthy body weight. Also, oatmeal makes you feel full which means you won’t be tempted to eat unhealthy foods or snacks. Moreover, oatmeal and whole grains lower the risk of diabetes that is, actually, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It’s important to eat whole grains, instead of refined ones if you want to get all these healthy benefits from the food.

Conclusion

With the introduction of superfoods from this article into your diet, you will lower the risk of getting various cardiovascular diseases. The best thing of all, these foods are just as delicious as they are healthy.

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Author bio:

 

Meighan Sembrano is an author at Consumer Health Digest. She has a keen interest in writing. She has contributed many beauty related articles in many popular websites. She has done her Mass Communication degree. She now lives in Washington DC. She is a social worker who spends her free time searching about life, healthy, beauty and lifestyle fitness related articles. She is fond of travelling and trekking. To know more about her, follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Leave a comment Posted on Patient Talk

Flatulence – Three natural ways of fighting flatulence.


Lots of us suffer from flatulence. (My grandmother called it “passing the wind” but that is another

The Fighting Temeraire

The Fighting Temeraire

matter).  Indeed it has been the source of schoolboy jokes for generations and listening to my children I assume it always will be.

Flatulence can be caused by diet or by swallowing too much air.  It is also a symptom of a number of medical conditions; these include Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) (see our previous blog on IBS https://patienttalk.org/?p=962), Celiac disease (have a look at our blog on Celiac we ran earlier this year https://patienttalk.org/?p=349), gastroenteritis and our old friend constipation.

So what can help get rid of flatulence without resorting to medications?

Well there seem to be three major options:-

a)      Yoghurt.  I’ve taken to making my own yoghurt over the last few months.  I was making some this morning which in fact gave me the inspiration for this blog.  Natural yoghurt with a live culture is considered a great way of preventing flatulence.  It does so by restoring the balance of microorganisms in the human gut.   Charcoal tablets.  I have to say these sound worse than flatulence and I’ve never tried them.  That being said they come highly recommended.  According to experts charcoal tablets absorb some of the toxins associated with flatulence.  You should consult a medical professional before you use charcoal tablets as they aren’t right for everyone.  It has also been suggested that they can help with weight loss.  And apparently we have been using charcoal for the last 3,500 years but I do wonder who thought of it first.

b)      Diet.  Some foods are associated with flatulence so it is worth reducing their presence in your diet.  They include sprouts, prunes, beans and lentils, cabbage, onions and apples.

That being said what works for you?  I’d be really keen to hear your suggestions.  Also can you suggest other flatulence causing foods to eliminate from our diets? Feel free to use the comments box below.

Thanks in advance.