We dispel some myths related to the consumption of legumes and vegetables, and we provide some tricks to cook and savor these delicious foods.
-Can the fiber in legumes cause damage to the body?The excessive intake of fiber has collateral effects, such as gastric discomfort, bloating or flatulence, which are usually mitigated when the body adapts to this diet. It also creates a deficit of micronutrients and is harmful for people with irritable bowel syndrome, a disorder that affects up to 22% of the Spanish population due to increased intestinal gas transit.
-Do legumes get fat?Not by themselves. What does make you fat are the “tropezones” that usually accompany stews: chorizo, bacon, blood sausage, ear …
-Do legumes give you an allergy?Lupine has proteins with a very high allergic capacity, even in small doses. In fact, it has caused serious allergies in several European countries because this legume is widely used in the food industry – buns, soups, pasta – due to its high protein content – up to 40% – and fat -18% -. Chickpea and lentils can also cause allergies, mainly in children, and especially soybeans.
-Why do doctors insist that women consume more legumes?In menopause, women lose their estrogens and then diseases such as osteoporosis -decalcification of bones-, atheromas -fat plaques on the arterial walls- and certain tumors appear, apart from mood disorders. This is not the case in Asia, where the intake of 60 grams a day of soy protein, rich in plant estrogens (isoflavones), increases the follicular phase, lengthens the time of the rule, eliminates hot flashes, vaginal dryness and cardiovascular damage , calcifies the bones and prevents breast cancer. The flavones and flavons of vegetables also act like this.
– Why shouldn’t vegetables and tubers be stored together?Green leafy vegetables retain their high respiration rate after being harvested and secrete ethylene, a gas that gives off flavor to root vegetables and tubers, which are low respiration and therefore keep for several weeks.
-Can dried legumes be eaten raw?No. They should always be eaten cooked, in order to eliminate their natural toxins and so that we can digest starch, a carbohydrate.
-Is there any trick to prevent flatulence caused by legumes?During cooking, by breaking the boil for a few minutes, removing the pan from the heat or pouring in cold water, the oligosaccharides that generate gas and cause flatulence and aerophagia are reduced. These are also avoided by cooking legumes with cumin, savory, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, cloves, anise or fennel.
-In which cases should you not eat legumes?Its consumption should be moderate if you suffer from gout attacks, since this type of food has a moderate content of purines, which are transformed into uric acid.
-What is Favism?It is an anemia produced by the ingestion of beans or inhalation of pollen in people with a hereditary deficit of an enzyme that intervenes in the metabolism of carbohydrates. It causes paleness, tiredness, nausea and fever.
-Is it true that legumes are poorly digested?No. A healthy individual digests them naturally. The belief is given by the gases and the dilation produced by the fermentation of indigestible sugars.
-Are there toxic vegetables?When raw, cassava, aubergine, and potato are toxic. The latter may contain solanine, a toxic alkaloid, especially if it is not ripe.
-How do you combat the fetid smell that cauliflower gives off when cooked?To attenuate it, you just have to add a whole potato or apple to the cooking water.
