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Why You Need Pulses

  • Writer: Kayla
    Kayla
  • Apr 8, 2020
  • 4 min read

What are pulses?

Pulses are part of the legume family. All pulses are legumes, but not all legumes are pulses. A legume refers to the edible fruit or seed of a plant of the Fabaceae family, whereas a pulse refers to the edible dry seed of a legume plant.


Pulses include:

Lentils, garden peas, chickpeas, fava beans, kidney beans, butter beans, haricots, baked beans.

Soya beans are a legume but strictly not a pulse as its seed is high in oil. Peas in the pod are legumes, but the pea inside the pod is the pulse.


Why pulses are important

When consuming a plant-based diet, legumes such as pulses are an important component of maintaining a balanced and healthy diet. They are an excellent source of protein and fibre, are naturally low in fat and contain zero cholesterol. They also provide an array of micronutrients such as iron and folate.


Protein

Pulses are an excellent source of plant-based protein. When a diet contains a balance of legumes and grains it provides a mixture of all essential amino acids. It is recommended that a sedentary adult consume 0.8 g/kg bodyweight per day of protein. That's about 56 g for an individual who weighs 70 kg. Those who carry out heavy exercise have higher requirements, for example, intake for endurance and strength athletes generally ranges from 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg bodyweight per day.

Current UK protein intakes far exceed recommendations for all age groups, which includes vegans (1).


Fibre

Pulses are a source of insoluble fibre and soluble fibre. Soluble fibre is involved in lowering blood cholesterol levels and controlling blood sugar levels, while insoluble fibre aids in digestion. In addition, a high intake of fibre from pulses and wholegrains reduces the overall risk of certain cancers such as colorectal cancer (4).

According to the British Dietetic Association (BDA) adults should be consuming 30g of fibre a day, which most people do not get. Including pulses in the diet is an excellent way of reaching this guideline. If you come from a low-fibre-diet background, introducing fibre slowly into the diet is essential as the body will react in a rather smelly way (if you know what I mean) to a sudden increase in fibre intake. And remember, an increase in fibre in the diet means a mandatory increase in water intake too.


Iron

Pulses are a great source of plant-based iron known as non-haem Iron. This type of iron isn’t as bioavailable as animal-sourced iron, but by combining pulses with foods high in vitamin C such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, bell peppers etc. this improves iron absorption. The required intake for Iron is highest for females who are menstruating due to blood loss than any other group. The BDA recommends 14.8mg/day for menstruating females and 8.7mg/day for males. On a plant-based diet you should be aiming to get your daily intake up around 20mg/day, especially if you are active.


When the body is not achieving optimum iron status, it adapts by increasing absorption, which is beneficial for those on a plant-based diet. A study included in the BDA's One Blue Dot Toolkit found that after 12 weeks of low iron intake and high phytate intake, absorption of non-haem iron increased by 41% (1).

Bioactive Compounds

Pulses are rich in bioactive compounds such as antioxidants and phytochemicals that may contain anti-cancer properties as well as provide a range of other health benefits. Phytoestrogens which can be found in soya beans for example may prevent cognitive decline, reduce menopausal symptoms and thereby promote bone health (2).


Micronutrients

Pulses are a source of a wide range of micronutrients such as folate, which is a B vitamin necessary to prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy. They are a source of potassium, which is important to support heart health and also plays a role in digestive and muscular functions.

In addition, pulses are a low glycaemic index food making them ideal for diabetics and those managing their weight. Low GI foods help stabilise blood sugar and insulin levels (5).


Bloating

People tend to shy away from legumes such as pulses due to the effect pulses often have on the Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT). Pulses can cause bloating and flatulence. This is because they contain anti-nutrients that can cause some discomfort during digestion, I am very aware of this as I suffer from IBS and beans were always a trigger food for me.

The good news is that these issues can easily be side-stepped. You can reduce the chances of getting GI discomfort by introducing them gradually into the diet and when by soaking pulses overnight before cooking.


The Environment

Pulses also help mitigate climate change by reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers due to the ability of pulses to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The manufacture of fertilisers is energy intensive and is responsible for greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere (3). Furthermore, pulses improve the soil’s carbon sequestration, which means that part of natural CO2 emissions are absorbed by the earth (2).

It is noteworthy that pulses have a very low water footprint compared with other protein sources, and can be grown in very poor soils where other crops cannot be cultivated (6).


Despite the common debate that a plant-based diet is expensive, natural sources of plant-based protein such as beans, peas and lentils are extremely inexpensive and are therefore of major importance as they can improve the diets of people in developing countries as well as developed countries.

Ways to Include pulses in the diet

  • Make curry with lentils or chickpeas

  • Kidney beans work excellently in spicy dishes like fajitas, chilli sincarne, tacos...

  • Prepare soups with lentils, peas or chickpeas

  • Blend chickpeas with tahini to make hummus, or buy commercial hummus and have with crackers, salads, raw vegetables...

  • Make a vegetable casserole and include favourite beans and peas

  • Mix pulses of choice in with your pasta dishes

  • Make a risotto with pulses in it

  • Make your own baked beans on toast

Sources

1. Lewis, J., The BDA Leading on Sustainable Diets.

2. Loke, A., Baranda, L.C., Lezcano, S.C. and Jin, J., 2016. Pulses: nutritious seeds for a sustainable future. Food & Agriculture Organization on the United Nations.

3. Jensen ES, Peoples MB, Boddey RM, Gresshoff PM, Hauggaard-Nielsen H, Alves BJR, Morrison MJ, 2012. Legumes for mitigation of climate change and the provision of feedstock for biofuels and biorefineries. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 32(2), 329-364.

 
 
 

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