Legumes are a food of high nutritional and basic quality in the Mediterranean diet. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), they are a source rich in proteins and essential amino acids that also provide a significant amount of carbohydrates and micronutrients, as well as quality food fiber. Its low fat content and the interaction of your sterols are effective in maintaining low levels of LDL cholesterol and lowering blood pressure.
They’re a good solution for eating a healthy, balanced, and affordable diet. According to a study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, they should be part of the 25% of healthy protein intake needed daily. However, many people avoid eating them in their canned form for fear of additives and the loss of nutrients, making them less healthy than their fresh counterparts.
Can Canned legumes be harmful to health?
The already cooked canned legumes are a very practical way to consume this dish easily and quickly. Many people believe that these preserves are less healthy than the raw version, as they include additives.
This is mainly attributed to the fact that they contain an additive called ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), which is commonly used to preserve the color of legumes, as it helps prevent oxidation. To determine whether an additive is safe, toxicological studies establish the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), which shows the amount a person can ingest daily over a lifetime without endangering their health.
The maximum dose of EDTA in the legumes meets the acceptable daily intake, so it is safe to consume them. Specifically, the exposure dose is 0.2 mg/kg body weight/day in children and 0.06 mg/kg body weight/day in adults (0.2 mg/kg body weight/day mg/day in higher-insanced adults), while the acceptable daily intake is around 2 mg/kg body weight/day. That is, the exposure would begin to be worrying if it were multiplied by ten, what is usually eaten.
What is the difference between dry and preserved legumes?
There is also a lot of talk about dry legumes having many more nutrients than packaged legumes, but the fact is that there are hardly any differences between the two versions. This is stated by the Report on Legumes, Nutrition and Health of the Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan), which explains that the dry and preserved legumes have a very similar nutritional value. The only difference is the salt content that some preserves may have.
The report also refers to the fat they contain: “Raw legumes provide, on average, only 3 grams of fat per 100 grams, and most of these are unsaturated fatty acids that provide benefits.”