by: Charles Van Order
True Fairy Tales
We all know the story of Jack and the bean stalk. Jack trades in his cow for some magic beans and then suddenly great things happen. Well, this is no fairy tale. There is a magic bean that is not only super cheap, but that can also help you get balance of your blood sugar. As you may already be aware, blood sugar is a major key to weight loss and reduced risk of certain diseases and this is where the great things start to happen.
Easy To Prepare
A great thing about this lovely food is that it is easy to cook, can easily be added to soups, salads, and main dishes. With only minutes to prepare it, there is no excuse why you can’t cook and add this to your dishes every day of the week. Also, by adding this to your rice dishes, not only will you be able to use less rice but it will significantly lower your glycemic load.
What It Is
The magic bean is called the Lentil! This lovely legume is high in soluble fiber and of course a low glycemic load (key to maintaining your blood sugar), the fiber in them delays digestion. This in return creates a slow, steady release of sugar and insulin into the bloodstream. The reason why this is way better for your body is simple. When you eat quickly digested , low-fiber foods; white pasta, white bread, sugary cookies, etc. create sudden sugar spikes. As we know from our rye bread article sugar spikes, not only be unhealthy in increasing our diabetes risk but also increases our appetites even though our bodies do not require nourishment.
Lowers More Then Blood Sugar
This bountiful bean is not only wonderful in helping us to keep our blood sugar levels lower, BUT, because of all the high soluble fiber, up to 18 gram per cup (cooked), it also helps us in lowering our cholesterol levels. With all this in mind, it is completely understandable why it is a major staple in the Mediterranean diet. There it is known widely for protecting the heart.
Even More Benefits for Woman
The latest scientific studies have now found that woman who included lentils or beans in their diets at least twice a week had a decrease, as much as 25 percent, of developing breast cancer compared to woman who ate them less than once a month. Lentils are also rich in B vitamins. As previous reported on in our B Vitamin article, this can lower your chances of dementia as well.
So please let me know by leaving a comment below; after reading this article are you more willing to try adding lentils into your diet or have you already been using these little miracles of nature?
great article Chaz.. look forward to the articles on here