Blackeye Beans

BLACK EYED BEANS – Nutritional Profile

Any diet that is rich in protein will leave you feeling full very quickly so is a great place to start when you are dieting. Black Eyed Beans are very high in protein so will do just that. The soluble fibre found in plenty in these beans is also great for helping to manage conditions where uptake of carbohydrate by the body, such as Diabetes Type 2, is an issue. The high fibre helps the body to release sugars into the blood stream more gradually causing fewer issues for the body where insulin function is impaired or non-existent.

The beans are a good source of heart supporting nutrients such as folate, magnesium, iron, and potassium that help to lower cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure and further go on to help with combating coronary artery disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Magnesium is also present in Black Eyed Beans and is known to have an active role in the prevention of migraines and along with potassium, which is also present, helps to reduce blood pressure. They are also a good source of folate, potassium, copper and phosphorus.

BLACK EYED BEANS – Health Benefits

The health impact of the soluble fibre in Black Eyed beans should not be underestimated. A diet with the correct amount of dietary fibre will ensure that the digestive tract is functioning at its most efficient level. As well as influencing the amount of food taken before feeling satiated, progress of food through the digestive system will be at the right speed to allow nutrients to be removed and toxins to be ejected from the body.

Soluble fibre collects in the intestine in a gel like form that has been shown to trap cholesterol, stopping it entering the bloodstream where it becomes the source of plaque and cardio-vascular disease. This gel also traps unwanted bile acids which, when combined with food moving through the digestive track at the correct speed will lead to less likelihood of ulceration of the bowel. In addition, these processes trap undesirable LDL cholesterol without impacting levels of desirable HDL cholesterol.

Because beans are singled out for their soluble fibre it is often overlooked that they also provide substantial insoluble fibre, which helps combat constipation, colon cancer, and other conditions that afflict your digestive tract. Black-eye peas contain several types of phytochemicals. They are rich in lignans, which may play a role in preventing osteoporosis, heart disease, and certain cancers. The flavonoids in beans may help reduce heart disease and cancer risk. Phytosterols, also in legumes, help reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Black-eyed peas provide a number of nutrients, are a rich source of fibre and can be used in a number of recipes. For vegetarians, such beans can provide a needed source of iron. No matter how you choose to prepare them, black-eyed peas can be a wonderful supplement to a healthy eating plan.

Black Eyed Beans also contain quantities of copper, important in regulating blood and is thought to play a role in minimising the impact of migraine attacks by keeping blood vessels healthy.

Folates (sold as Folic Acid as a dietary supplement) is important in cell production and in the processes of metabolism used to break down and utilise proteins.

Potassium is an important electrolyte that needs to be present in the body to ensure metabolism processes are happen effectively and to ensure normal electrical activity in the heart.

BLACK EYED BEANS – Product History

Back Eyed Beans are probably one of the world’s most widely know staples after wheat and rice. Their spread is widely documented and is probably thought to originate from West Africa. The black eyed bean (or pea in some parts of the Americas) is widely grown across America, sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia. They were first introduced into America during the 1800s following the American Revolution and became particularly well established in Texas and across the southern states. They are most widely grown and eaten in the Indo-Pakistan area of Asia.

The bean is a staple crop grown across the world in a large number of varieties due to the easy way in which it mutates. However, all mutations can be traced back to the subspecies of cow peas that are grown extensively across areas that are currently India and Pakistan.

The most numerous, a white bean with a black pigmentation in a prominent spot is known as the California Black-eyed bean from which the product gets its generic name.

The crop is robust and commercially successful due, not in part, to it’s resistance to disease and pests. The blossom on the crop produces large volumes of nectar which can makes it attractive to a wide variety of pollinating insects.

As a food source Black Eyed Beans have established a clear cultural identity. Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year festival has a good luck tradition of eating them that was first documented nearly two thousand years ago. More recently, with their adoption in the Southern United States they have been absorbed into local culture with the acceptance of such classic preparations as Pork and beans.

In addition to their prominence in India, Pakistan and the Americas they are sufficiently widely available for well known recipes to exist in Greek, Turkish and Portuguese cuisines and in the east in Vietnamese and Indonesian cooking.