Green, brown, coral, puy, sprouted … The lenses are as varied as tasty and filled with nutritious qualities! Zoom on a small but bewildered legume.
The lens comes from a vegetable plant from the Fabaceae family, Originally from Türkiye and Greece. This plant about thirty centimeters in height flowers in small bouquets of white flowers. Its seeds are contained in two in small short pods. There is a very wide variety of lenses around the world, and the most widespread in Europe is the green lens.
The lens, just like chickpea, white bean or red is a driving vegetable, which belongs to the family of starchy foods in nutrition. However, their nutritional composition is much more interesting than pasta or rice, which also belong to the family of starchy foods. Much richer in protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins, pulses are super-fuels! And the lenses are not to be outdone, with the added bonus: antioxidants in large numbers, iron abundant, Magnesium, selenium and potassium with shovel, and finally group B vitamins (B2, B3 and B9) in significant quantities.
His health benefits are like this nutritional wealth:
- Their soluble fibers make them effective in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.
- Their low glycemic index makes it a precious ally against diabetes and make them very satisfying.
- Very rich in protein, they are a food of choice for vegans and vegetarians.
- Its antioxidants make it possible to combat cellular aging and prevent certain cancers.
According to a New York study, regular consumption of pulses would reduce the risk of declaring breast, prostate or colon cancer by 32%.
The coral lens is more digestible.
The coral lens significantly has the same nutritional assets that the other varieties of lenses but has the advantage of being digestiblebecause it does not have an external membrane likely to cause intestinal disorders (flatulence). Without an external envelope, it therefore disintegrates when cooked and lends itself better to preparations such as purees, soups or Indian Dahl.
Beluga lenses are named after caviar, of which they have the beautiful black color. Their little healthier? Of the anthocyan Responsible for their dark color, powerful antioxidants that are also found in certain bays (blackberries, blueberries).
Soak your dry lenses in water for 12 hours, drain them and place them in a covered but not airtight container. After 4 days, they will start germinating to become tasty and fresh little shoots to taste in salad. They thus retain all the nutritional qualities of uncnished lenses, but have the precious advantage of not requiring cooking, responsible for the alteration of certain vitamins and minerals. Another size asset: sprouted lenses, like all sprouted seeds, are living foods, which is not the case with vegetables or usually consumed fruits that have been picked or cut. They are thus much more rich in nutrients (vitamins in particular) since they are growing.
Unlike a popular belief, cans do not alter the nutritional qualities of the food they contain. Thus, the lenses in boxes keep exactly the same nutritive value as dry lenses. Only their taste and texture can suffer from this conservation mode (they can also be more salty).
Dry lenses title 332 calories per 100g. Cooked, they gain their weight in water and their energy value 3 times is only to 125 calories per 100g, Either just as much as pasta or rice.
| Nutrients | Cooked green lens: content for 100 g | Dry vegetables: average food |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 10.1 g | 7.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15.2 g | 12.4 g |
| – including sugars | 0.19 g | 1.2 g |
| – including starch | 15.1 g | 10.8 g |
| Dietary fiber | 8.45 g | 6 g |
| Lipids | 0.58 g | 1.4 g |
| – including cholesterol | 0.0 mg | 0.2 mg |
| – including saturated fatty acids | 0.093 g | 0.2 g |
| – including monounsaturated fatty acids | 0.13 g | 0.2 g |
| – including polyunsaturated fatty acids | 0.18 g | 0.61 g |
| Water | 64.8 g | 72 g |
Avoid lenses in the event of a gout crisis
Their richness in fiber, protein and their low glycemic index make lenses a very interesting food in the context of a diet. Extremely satisfying and relatively not very calorie, they allow to hold to the following meal without cravings. Their low glycemic index helps maintain stable blood blood sugar and avoid insulin peaks, responsible for storage of fats and weight gain.
Lentils are likely to increase the level of uric acid in the blood. They are therefore contraindicated in the event of gastric ulcer, hyperuricemia, gout attacks or colitis.
