Legumes in vegetarian nutrition

Legumes are one of the most important elements in the vegetarian diet. They play an essential role in the supply of proteins to the organism. Their characteristics and culinary adaptability allow us to combine them in the elaboration of many dishes, greatly enlivening our daily meals.

Next we will make an analysis of the fundamental contributions of legumes for the vegetarian diet, as well as some advice that can be useful to you when consuming them. So that, if you are starting your diet, you can consider incorporating them in the preparation of your food, to get the most out of them.

What are legumes?

Legumes are a family of legumes, these are harvested in order to obtain their seeds. Examples of legumes are beans, chickpeas, soybeans, peas, lentils and others. They are a very important source of protein, so they are considered an essential link in any vegetarian diet.

Some, such as chickpeas or soybeans, are considered as foods of great value in any type of diet, taking into account that soy is a protein that has all the essential amino acids, while chickpeas are essential to combat high cholesterol, triglycerides, among others.

Main contributions of legumes: As we said before, legumes are an essential source of protein for the vegetarian diet. Not only are they an important source of protein, but they also provide considerable amounts of vitamins, are high in iron, calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, among others.

All this makes them a very complete and effective food to complement the nutrient demands of the organism. Their high content of dietary fiber allows us to find in legumes a good solution to combat the high content of cholesterol in the body, which is why the consumption of legumes is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

The high levels of fiber, combined with the low presence of fats in their composition, make legumes an ideal food for diabetics and for controlling body weight. This is because legumes are very useful for satiating hunger, reducing the increase in sugar levels and improving insulin sensitivity.

Tips for the consumption of legumes: Once we have analyzed the numerous benefits that the consumption of legumes brings to our organism, we will proceed to know some useful tips when it comes to incorporate the consumption of these to your diets.

As mentioned above, legumes such as lentils can be high in iron. If you want to get the most out of this element, it would be advis