Pulses are dry, clean and healthy seeds from the legume family. About 13,000 species belong to this family, of which approximately 200 are used in food. Among them the most consumed are beans, peas, broad beans, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans and peanuts.

Their culinary use dates back to ancient times. Already in the book of Genesis they are mentioned for the first time in the story of Daniel, when being a prisoner waiting for a ransom to be paid for him, he preferred to be offered vegetables and water every day to the food of the King himself. And, according to the story, this per diem expenses strengthened him and gave him more health than the rest of the prisoners who opted for the royal menu. This was the first experiment on the benefits of a per diem expenses with legumes.

The good reputation of this food is based, fundamentally, on its protein content (between 20 and 30%). In fact, it is already mentioned in Don Quixote that pulses are "the meat of the poor". Some legumes have even more protein than a steak - in particular soybeans - but their quality is not as good as meat proteins, since they have limited amounts of some amino acids. For this reason, legumes can complement but not replace meat consumption.

In their composition have a great weight carbohydrates (between 50 and 65%) and fiber, which can range between 1 and 10%. In general, they have a low fat content (except for soybeans and peanuts, which is why these pulses are used to make oils or butter) and are rich in vitamins from group B and minerals, including iron. However, this essential mineral, which is found in legumes in a concentration comparable to that of meat or liver, is found in legumes in its non-heme form, which conditions its absorption by our body.

To solve this problem, traditional cuisine offers recipes that incorporate vegetables rich in vitamin C and pork meat to legumes. Traditional dishes such as lentils with rice are very nutritious because rice and legumes have complementary proteins, and onions, green peppers, carrots and cabbage - rich in vitamin C - significantly increase iron absorption, as do meat products.

Legumes are also functional foods

Interest in legumes has soared in recent years due to their functional ingredients: saponins, different types of polyphenols and fiber, components that can play an important role in the reduction of hypercholesterolemia, in the control of diabetes, hypertension and even contribute to weight reduction in a weight loss per diem expenses , contrary to what had always been thought due to their high carbohydrate content. This is because the carbohydrates in legumes have a low glycemic index and are very satiating, thanks to their high fiber content.

In the particular case of chickpeas, some research has shown that they can be particularly useful for lowering cholesterol levels. This was made clear by a work developed by researcher Marian Zulet at the University of Navarra.

However, although pulses have been a fundamental ingredient in the Mediterranean per diem expenses , their consumption has declined in recent years. Perhaps for this reason, and because of their great nutritional qualities and the ease with which they are produced and preserved, the World Health Organization has declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses.

This ancestral food, which represents almost the preferred protein source in the per diem expenses of many populations in Africa or Latin America, can be presented in various forms for consumption: from flours to purees, peeled legumes and in isolated form, such as tofu, which is nothing more than soy protein precipitated with calcium. This diversity facilitates their transport, as well as the fact that to eat them it is enough to cook them with water.

As a whole, the high nutritional value of legumes, the quality of their proteins and functional ingredients make them a food of great interest in the field of research in Nutrition. In fact, the CIBERobn (research center Biomedical network, Physiopalogy of Obesity and Nutrition), to which I belong as researcher, has open different lines of work with this food as protagonist. A protagonist to which I already dedicated my doctoral thesis thirty years ago and that cannot be missing in a balanced, varied and healthy per diem expenses .