2022.11.15 Plant Based Treasure Valley
Beans, Pastas and Lentil Sprouts, August 12, 2022 (Nutritionfacts.org) https://nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-bean-pastas-and-lentil-sprouts/
Do the benefits of beans, lentils and chickpeas remain even when they are powdered?
● There are bean pastas on the market that are made from bean powders, instead of wheat powder.
● In terms of blood sugar control, there are “no differences in blood sugar responses were observed between whole beans, pureed beans and bean powders”.
● In one study, when people were given powdered chickpeas/lentils/peas, no cholesterol benefits were observed, BUT the people were only given 100 grams/day (which is the equivalent of less than a half can of beans).
● It is thought that the powdering process may have altered the properties of the fiber.
● Another study gave participants 15 grams/day of powdered beans (which is about 15
beans/day) and also showed no cholesterol effect.
● A systematic review of all the randomized, controlled regular bean studies, showed that
benefits were found at up around 130 grams/day. That is the equivalent of at least one
full serving.
● Dr Greger states that sprouting is a cheap, effective and simple tool for improving the
nutritional quality of certain legumes.
● Dr Greger talks about lentil sprouts and that they are one of the healthiest snacks, along
with kale chips and nori sheets.
● Is there a way to boost their nutritional quality even higher?
● Yes! As a response to environmental stresses, “plants modify their metabolism,” and we
may be able to take advantage of that to modify the composition and activity of plant foods. For example, plants are subjected to free radicals too, which can damage their DNA just like it damages our DNA. So, “to reduce excess free radicals,...plants can ramp up their “antioxidant defense system,” which we can then take advantage of when we eat them.
● For instance, as a germination technique for chickpeas, if you irradiate them with gamma rays you can boost their antioxidant defenses. We won’t do that, but we can elicit the “nutritional and antioxidant potential” of lentil sprouts “with temperature stress” instead.
● For example, what if you took your sprouts when they were two days old and put them in the fridge for an hour. Then you take them out and let them continue to germinate normally. Would that one hour of cold stress make them more nutritious? Or, instead of putting them in the fridge, what if you lived in Phoenix, and then took them outside for an hour?
● Here’s what happens to a measure of the antioxidant power of lentil sprouts germinated the whole time at room temperature–a slow rise with time. But just that one hour in the fridge on day two, and days later significantly more antioxidant build-up. Same thing for an hour at 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
● What about storing them in your fridge? Sprouts are usually consumed fresh; however, to keep them fresh we usually stick them in the fridge. But, there hadn’t been any studies about the effect of fridge storage on the nutritional quality of sprouts... until now.
● On days three through six, you can see the phenolic phytonutrient content of sprouted peas decline, but keep them in the fridge and they go up instead. The same thing with mung bean sprouts, which are your typical bean sprouts.
● Lentils showed no significant difference. We should still keep them in the fridge to prevent them from spoiling, but the best way to ensure maximum nutrition is to store them at body temperature, by eating them.