It is well known that beans are good for us. They can be a very important and nutritious aspect of your healthy diet – this is a commonly known fact by nutritionists and dieticians. So it might not come as surprise when you’re told that beans can actually help you with a number of medical conditions. But perhaps one that you might not expect for them to be useful in is diabetes. However, as it turns munching on more lentils, pulses, legumes and beans can be extremely helpful in lowering blood pressure and your blood sugar levels – this is clearly something that can be very helpful if you’re worried about the prospect of diabetes.
According to a report by a team of Canadian researchers, people who suffer from type 2 diabetes can see a vast improvement in their levels of blood sugar and blood pressure if they are able to add more beans and other legumes into their diet. It’s certainly true that legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans are high in protein and fibre and as such can be very beneficial when it comes to improving the health of your heart. If you’re someone who suffers from diabetes or feels that their diet might lead them to potential get the condition, it may well be worth taking the advice of this study and doing everything you can to get a few more of them into your body.
“Legumes, which we always thought were good for the heart, actually are good for the heart in ways we didn’t expect,” said Dr David Jenkins, who was the lead researcher on the project. He continued that among diabetics “not only did their glucose control become better, but – and this surprised us –it had a significant effect on blood pressure”.
Exactly why the beans and legumes were able to have such a positive effect is not yet known, according to the authors of the study. However, it is highly likely to have something to do with the high levels of protein, fibre and minerals that they contain, which is naturally good for your health anyway and is having a knock-on effect. Indeed, the authors were keen to note that it’s a very good idea to add more legumes into your diet as soon as possible.
“They will do well for you,” Dr Jenkins continued “they will help you keep your blood pressure down and your blood glucose under control, and help you keep your cholesterol down”. Clearly then, it’s a very good thing to be eating plenty of legumes. And the fantastic thing about them is that there are so many ways that you can add more of them to your diet – they are so versatile they can used with almost anything.
We all know the humble baked bean, but maybe you’ve never considered it to be a health food before! Well, now you can. There are, of course, many other options if you are looking for different methods of getting more legumes into your diet. Chickpeas and any derivative of chickpeas such as dips like houmous, are another great way to eat more of them. Equally you could start eating more lentils, this could come in the form of a bake or added to a casserole to add a little extra bite. Lentils are also well known to mix with curry spices, so perhaps you’d like to try this. Overall, legumes should be considered something that is very good to get into your diet especially if you are a sufferer or potential sufferer from diabetes.
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