Pulses like beans, lentils and peas are great for your health, especially if you have a heart condition.
Even if you’re not sure what pulses are, there’s a good chance you have eaten them – think of the humble baked bean.
All tinned or dried beans, peas and lentils are pulses. They’re great to add to your diet, because they are high in protein and fibre, low in fat and cheap to buy. That means they can save you money, help you manage your weight and lower your risk of bowel cancer. And they’re good for the environment too. They don’t need much water or fertiliser, and they even improve the soil for other crops.
Pulses are part of the legume family – the main difference between pulses and legumes is that pulses are dried before they are eaten (so fresh peas are legumes; dried peas are pulses). The exception is peanuts and soya beans, which are classed as legumes, and are higher in fat and lower in carbohydrate than other legumes.
Replacing half or even all the meat you eat with pulses is a great way to eat less unhealthy saturated fat, manage your weight and keep your digestive system healthy. You will also feel better and reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
If you’re thinking of doing ‘Veganuary’ this coming January, pulses will help you to get a balanced diet – and even if you’re not, they have a lot to offer all of us.
They can do a similar job to meat in providing the protein your body needs to repair itself. For example, one portion of pulses (three heaped tablespoons) provides up to 9g of protein – about a sixth of what you need in a day. One tin of kidney beans contains as much protein as a portion of beef mince, and almost no fat and no salt (unless it’s been added – check the label).
Pulses are one of the highest fibre foods – just one portion of pulses provides about a third of the fibre you need for the entire day. That means they can help lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. Their mix of protein and fibre means they are digested slowly, making you feel fuller for longer.
Eating a variety of plant-based foods and pulses can give you all the protein you need
You might have heard that the protein in beans and lentils isn’t a ‘complete protein’, but as long as you eat a variety of plant-based foods such as wholegrains and nuts, you’ll get all the protein you need.
What’s more, pulses are one of the few foods to be classed as both a vegetable and a protein. Three heaped tablespoons count as one of your 5-a-day, and will provide the potassium, zinc, B-vitamins and antioxidants you need to keep healthy. But they can only count as one of your five, because they don’t contain the same mixture of nutrients as other fruit and vegetables.
That doesn’t mean you need to stick to one portion. As long as you’re also getting plenty of fruit and vegetables, and some wholegrains and dairy alternatives, you can include pulses in your meals and snacks throughout the day.
There's a growing range of pulse-based snacks, such as lentil crisps or roasted chickpeas. They might contain more fibre and protein than other snacks like crisps, but that doesn't mean they're good for you. Many are high in salt or fat. Check the labels - watch out for red and amber traffic lights on your food labels.
Nut-eaters saw a 42 percent lower chance of cancer recurrence than patients who did not eat nuts after completion of their cancer treatment.
Eating certain kinds of tree nuts, such as almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts and cashews, has been linked to a dramatically lower risk of colon cancer recurrence, researchers said Wednesday.
The observational study involved 826 patients who had undergone treatment for stage III colon cancer, typically including surgery and chemotherapy.
Such patients -- whose cancer has not spread elsewhere in the body -- have a 70 percent chance of surviving three years after treatment.
Some 19 percent of patients consumed two or more ounces of all types of nuts per week.
These nut-eaters saw a 42 percent lower chance of cancer recurrence -- and a 57 percent lower chance of death than patients who did not eat nuts after completion of their cancer treatment, said the report, released ahead of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, held in Chicago next month.
When researchers looked only at tree nut consumption, the chance of recurrence was 46 percent lower and the chance of death was 53 percent lower for those who ate at least two ounces per week, compared to people who did not eat nuts.
Peanuts and peanut butter -- the most commonly consumed nuts in the United States -- did not appear to have any significant effect.
"Numerous studies in the fields of heart disease and diabetes have shown the benefits of nut consumption, and we felt that it was important to determine if these benefits could also apply to colorectal cancer patients," said lead study author Temidayo Fadelu, a clinical fellow in medicine at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
"Patients with advanced disease who benefit from chemotherapy frequently ask what else they can do to reduce their chances of recurrence or death, and our study is an important contribution to the idea that modifying diet and physical activity can be beneficial."
Eating nuts should not be considered a substitute for standard chemotherapy and other treatments for colon cancer, experts said.
"Rather, patients with colon cancer should be optimistic, and they should eat a healthy diet, including tree nuts, which may not only keep them healthier, but may also further decrease the chances of the cancer coming back," said ASCO president Daniel Hayes.
Researchers cautioned that the study was observational nature and did not prove cause and effect.
A separate study discussed Wednesday ahead of the Chicago cancer conference involved 992 people whose colon cancer had not spread. It showed that following a Mediterranean diet and exercising reduced their risk of dying prematurely by 42 percent and also cut their chances of seeing their colon cancer return.
