I am sure that our earliest childhood memory is that of our mothers shoving dals down our throats while we fantasized about junk food. Personally, dal is the only left over dish after every meal in my house! But just as I have insisted before, I insist again – our traditions were built on strong foundations that were designed for us to live in harmony with nature and our own bodies. Here is a snapshot of all the goodness a bowl of dal has to offer:
Get more iron: Beans and Lentils are good sources of iron, which is required for the production of hemoglobin in the blood. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia. Combine iron-rich legumes with good sources of Vitamin C (such as oranges, lemon, tomatoes, guava etc) to increases your body's ability to absorb the iron. One cup of beans and lentils provide 30 to 37 percent of the daily value (DV) for iron.
Maintain your weight by reducing food cravings: A research published in 2008 found that people who consumed beans regularly had a 22 percent reduced risk of obesity as compared with people who hadn't regularly eaten beans. The research also found that bean-eaters had a greater probability of having a smaller waist size. According to researchers, the soluble fiber in beans slows down the rate of digestion and this allows the feeling of being full to stay for a longer period of time.
Get More Protein: Legumes are considered as good-quality sources of proteins. When combined with a whole grain such as brown rice, legumes provide protein comparable to that of meat or dairy foods without the high calories or saturated fat found in these foods. One cup of cooked lentils provides around 35 percent of the daily protein requirement, and one cup of cooked beans provides around 30 percent of the daily requirement.
Prevent Birth Defects: A woman who is trying to conceive should consider including sources of folate in her diet. Folate prevents birth defects, and you can get more than 80 percent of your daily folate requirement from one cup of cooked lentils! Beans also contain significant amounts of folate. For example, one cup of cooked kidney beans provides 57 percent of the daily folate requirement.
Bring Down the Risk of Cancer: Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health examined a dietary data of 90,360 women who fell in the age group of 26 to 46 years. The data revealed that the women who ate beans and lentils for at least twice a week had a 25 percent lower risk of suffering from breast cancer than those who ate legumes just once a month. Legumes fight obesity and this way it prevents the development of obesity related cancers. Refined carbs fuel the cancer cells with sugar and when these foods are replaced with legumes, the body would develop the immunity to fight cancer.
Lowers the risk of heart disease: Beans and lentils, being high in soluble fiber, can help lower total cholesterol as well as LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Soluble fibers binds to bile acids (necessary for fat digestion) made by the liver from cholesterol and carry it to intestine for defecation. As a result, the liver must use additional body stores of cholesterol to manufacture new bile acids. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who eat the most fiber, 21 grams per day, had 12 percent less coronary heart disease and 11 percent less cardiovascular disease compared to those eating the least, 5 grams daily.
Now that we are all “grown up” and “independent” we totally have the choice of not choosing dal as part of our meals. But if we did that who is losing out in the end?
Get more iron: Beans and Lentils are good sources of iron, which is required for the production of hemoglobin in the blood. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia. Combine iron-rich legumes with good sources of Vitamin C (such as oranges, lemon, tomatoes, guava etc) to increases your body's ability to absorb the iron. One cup of beans and lentils provide 30 to 37 percent of the daily value (DV) for iron.
Maintain your weight by reducing food cravings: A research published in 2008 found that people who consumed beans regularly had a 22 percent reduced risk of obesity as compared with people who hadn't regularly eaten beans. The research also found that bean-eaters had a greater probability of having a smaller waist size. According to researchers, the soluble fiber in beans slows down the rate of digestion and this allows the feeling of being full to stay for a longer period of time.
Get More Protein: Legumes are considered as good-quality sources of proteins. When combined with a whole grain such as brown rice, legumes provide protein comparable to that of meat or dairy foods without the high calories or saturated fat found in these foods. One cup of cooked lentils provides around 35 percent of the daily protein requirement, and one cup of cooked beans provides around 30 percent of the daily requirement.
Prevent Birth Defects: A woman who is trying to conceive should consider including sources of folate in her diet. Folate prevents birth defects, and you can get more than 80 percent of your daily folate requirement from one cup of cooked lentils! Beans also contain significant amounts of folate. For example, one cup of cooked kidney beans provides 57 percent of the daily folate requirement.
Bring Down the Risk of Cancer: Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health examined a dietary data of 90,360 women who fell in the age group of 26 to 46 years. The data revealed that the women who ate beans and lentils for at least twice a week had a 25 percent lower risk of suffering from breast cancer than those who ate legumes just once a month. Legumes fight obesity and this way it prevents the development of obesity related cancers. Refined carbs fuel the cancer cells with sugar and when these foods are replaced with legumes, the body would develop the immunity to fight cancer.
Lowers the risk of heart disease: Beans and lentils, being high in soluble fiber, can help lower total cholesterol as well as LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Soluble fibers binds to bile acids (necessary for fat digestion) made by the liver from cholesterol and carry it to intestine for defecation. As a result, the liver must use additional body stores of cholesterol to manufacture new bile acids. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who eat the most fiber, 21 grams per day, had 12 percent less coronary heart disease and 11 percent less cardiovascular disease compared to those eating the least, 5 grams daily.
Now that we are all “grown up” and “independent” we totally have the choice of not choosing dal as part of our meals. But if we did that who is losing out in the end?
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