We all know much of our food isn't the best for us, but making some simple changes can help positively affect our health. I often tell everyone I am not gluten-free, nor is anyone in my house. However, chickpeas's added health benefits of chickpeas into our diets are substantial. Let me show you a few that I think anyone could benefit from.
Chickpea Flour is also called Garbanzo bean flour, besan, and gram flour. It is rich in Folate, Iron, copper, fiber, phosphorus, manganese, and protein. 1 cup of chickpea flour contains more folate than is needed in your daily diet. It is also twice as much folate as in wheat flour.
1 Cup of Chickpeas can get you half the daily nutritional recommendation of Fiber, Iron, Folate, and beta-carotene.
The fiber in chickpeas is mostly soluble, which means that it has more benefits that can be used to increase good gut and digestive health. Soluble fiber has also been shown to reduce triglycerides and bad cholesterol.
Folate is the natural form of Folic Acid. Did you know that Folic acid is not a natural mineral? They use the term so much that most of us believe it is a natural mineral we need, but what we really need is Folate. Folate helps to make red blood cells.
Beta-carotene is used by the body to make vitamin A and is an Antioxidant. Many people who are lactose intolerant are deficient in vitamin A. It helps to get rid of free radicals in the body, and if you eat more than your body needs, it keeps it till it is needed.
Iron is needed in our bodies to help our red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. It is vital for growth development and helps make some hormones in the body as well.
Some interesting nutrition facts I like about chickpeas that will be helpful and interesting to you are…..
Copper is one mineral, not many people know about, and why we need it. Cooper is good for bone strength, heart health, and immunity and helps your body produce collagen naturally. So, for women especially, this is a great mineral to have in your diet for extra collagen to improve your skin health and strengthen bones. Especially if you are dairy-free and lack calcium to strengthen your bones, increasing copper can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis. It is also thought that copper deficiency may increase the risk of certain neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Lou Gehrig's disease (https://www.verywellhealth.com/copper-benefits-4178854)
It also has 25% fewer Calories than wheat flour. 30% of the carbs in chickpeas are insoluble or resistant starches, which means they act like a fiber and are not digestible. This helps to make them have a lower glycemic Index.
Comparing Wheat flour with a Glycemic Index of 70, Chickpea Flour has a Glycemic Index of 6 to 25 (depending on the variety and processing). Chickpeas contain 8 of the nine essential amino acids. It also has trace minerals in it, which is often lost in many of our foods from the increased processed forms of our foods. Selenium is a trace mineral that is often lacking in our foods, but it is found in chickpeas. Selenium helps detoxify the liver and is thought to help with cancer and tumor reduction.
Chickpeas have historically been thought to increase sperm count, milk production and help reduce kidney stones.
So not only is chickpea flour versatile, as you can see with the large variety of products we make, but it has many wonderful benefits for your health. My husband always teases me about trying to live forever with my obsession with what is good for us. I don’t want to live forever, but in my life, I want to be healthy and active with a sharp mind, and more than that, I want that for my friends and family. So whether you have just added a few chickpeas to your diet for the added health benefits, are lactose intolerant and need to boost your cooper and beta carotene, or are gluten-free, there are so many people can benefit from adding at least 1 cup of chickpeas into your diet once per week.
Try one of our many different chickpea-based products and see how easy it will be to add Chickpeas to your diet!!!
Reference
9 Benefits of Chickpea Flour (And How to Make It) https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/chickpea-flour-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3