Legume consumption and cancer risk

Broad beans. Source: Public domain.

Legumes are nutritional powerhouses. Not only are they packed with quality protein, they also contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, starch, and phyto-nutrients. Most contain only a little fat.

So it is for good reason that doctors and health professionals are increasingly recommending replacing animal protein with legumes like beans, lentils, and peas – high legume consumption is associated with a lower risk for heart disease. But what about legume consumption and cancer risk? According to the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo in Legume intake and the risk of cancer: a multisite case-control study in Uruguay:

CONCLUSION:

Higher intake of legumes was associated with a decreased risk of several cancers including those of the upper aerodigestive tract, stomach, colorectum, and kidney, but not lung, breast, prostate or bladder. Further investigations of these associations in prospective cohort studies are warranted.

Very interesting. It looks like legumes have a protective effect on the parts of the body they come in direct contact with. So you’re doing a lot of good for yourself if legumes are your preferred protein source.

Trader Joe’s 17 Bean & Barley Mix

Trader Joe’s 17 Bean Mix is terrific for making a hearty winter soup. It has baby lima beans, black turtle beans, blackeye peas, dark red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, great northern beans, green lentils, green split peas, large lima beans, light red kidney beans, navy beans, pink white beans, yellow split peas, and pearl barley(if I am missing something, let me know). I’m used to eating just one type of bean or lentil in a meal, so this was an interesting change last night.

It has 13g of protein per serving, but I made and ate about 3 servings. I soaked the bean mix overnight, then cooked them in vegetable broth, along with kale, olive oil, black pepper, red pepper, and garlic powder for about 50 minutes. I had a little bread on the side. It was a very filling meal, full of so many different textures and subtle tastes, due to all the different types of legumes.

It was delicious, but the only problem was that the smaller lentils and beans cook a lot faster than the larger ones. So the lentils have to be turned to mush just to ensure the kidney beans are soft and cooked enough. This is the reason I usually prefer cooking just one type of legume.

Other than that, you can’t go wrong making soups or stews from this. It’s a great, high protein meal to come home to after joggling for several miles in the cold.