Healing Fruits And Vegetables Pt 2

Part Two

With all the talk of how fruits and vegetables can heal, you cannot ever really eat too many of either. Legumes do not always receive the attention that they so richly deserve.

Legumes are a part of the vegetable family and they include such foods as peas, beans, soybeans and lentils. Legumes are a must for healthy meals because they are rich in both fiber as well as folate. Legumes are translated into a complete protein when they are combines with any variety of whole grains such as barley, oats, wheat and rice.

In case you did not already know, legumes are full of phytochemicals, lignans, isoflavones, phytosterols and saponins. Legumes are believed to help to prevent the onset of colon cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer.

One type of legume is soybeans and soybeans are rich in substances that destroy vitamin B-1, vitamin D and beta-carotene. Both peas as well as beans combine a compound that is anti-vitamin D in nature.

Due to these things it is recommended that the consumption of legumes is balanced as sufficiently as possible with the consumption of yellow vegetables, dark green vegetables, fresh fruits and whole grain cereals in order to make sure an individual receives an adequate amount of beta-carotene and vitamin B-12.

Recent findings from a study at the University of Illinois showed that the phytochemical saponins that are found in plentiful supply in navy beans, soybeans and garbanzo beans help to greatly decrease the risk of colon cancer developing.

Research studies looking at women in China and Japan have noted that these women eat a great deal of isoflavones which are found in chickpeas, soybeans and a number of other kinds of legumes and as ac result they suffer from less cases of osteoporosis and heart disease and also suffer less symptoms of menopause than do women who live in the western world who do not consume as many legumes on a consistent basis.   

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It is believed that the high soluble fiber found in legumes helps to lower levels of LDL or "bad cholesterol." It is well documented by medical studies that soybeans, kidney beans, lima beans, navy beans and a selection of other legumes can aid in lowering cholesterol as long as they are eaten on a more or less regular basis.

It is believed that legumes are helpful because they are high in fiber but also because they contain a substance called pectin. In one study conducted by Doctor James W. Anderson of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, the male participants were instructed to eat one and a half cps of cooked beans on a daily basis. In only three weeks it was shown that the men's cholesterol levels had decreased by 20 percent.

If eating and/or cooking with legumes is unfamiliar to you then go to the library and find a cookbook to help you learn. Another option is to check over the Internet for some advice on cooking as well as some recipes that you could add legumes to. Think health but also variety when you prepare healthy meals for yourself and your loved ones!