Why You Should Add Legumes in Your Diet

Legumes such as beans and lentils are chock full of protein. If you are a vegetarian, legumes are your best source of this essential nutrient. Of course, everyone should eat legumes as they offer tons of health benefits.

Legumes are also packed with carbohydrates and they also come with a high dose of soluble fiber, magnesium, folate, potassium and iron. These nutrients found in legumes give much love to the heart since they help lower your levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and also lower blood pressure. Legumes can protect you from serious health conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease and osteoporosis.

If you are trying to lose excess weight or you want to maintain your healthy weight, beans are a great addition to your meals. The soluble fiber found in legumes give you that feeling of being full for a longer time. Because legumes are high in folate, regular consumption can improve mood and memory. If you suffer from frequent migraine headaches, including legumes in your diet can help prevent migraine attacks. This is because legumes are high in magnesium.

There are certain legumes that have zinc or vitamin B6. For those who want healthy and beautiful skin and hair, these legumes should be in their regular diet. Zinc helps in the growth and repair of tissues which in turn help promote healthy skin and hair. Zinc also helps fight macular degeneration so if you want to keep your eyes healthy, make sure that you eat legumes like lentils, garbanzo beans, soybeans, kidney beans and black-eyed peas. To keep your memory sharp, have some dry beans as they are packed with Vitamin B6.

Kidney beans are packed with nutrients that keep the heart healthy. Another reason why you should have kidney beans included in your meals is the fact that they help keep the skin and hair healthy. They are loaded with Vitamin C and you probably already know that Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants keep the skin and hair protected from free radicals. Vitamin C also produces collagen, a protein that is a part of the connective tissue. Collagen is what gives the skin its firmness, suppleness and elasticity. Collagen also plays an important role in skin cell renewal therefore helping the skin maintain its youthfulness.

Legumes do have tons of health benefits and adding them in your diet is highly advisable. However if you suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS, it would be best to limit eating them. People with Irritable Bowel Syndrome experience discomfort after eating beans and other legumes as they tend to be especially sensitive to the fiber in legumes. But if you do not suffer from IBS, it is highly advisable to add legumes in your meals.

So are you eating enough beans?

Share this post to your friends via email, Facebook or Twitter!

Keep asking your friends to like our Facebook page and we’ll keep posting more health and beauty tips!