Beans and lentils page

[Kingofturtles]

Can someone explain to me again why these are bad? If I remember correctly, mark does t like them. I am almost done my new book "the great cholesterol myth" (by the two guys who were on oz). They pretty much give you a primal diet except they want you to eat beans and lentils for the following reasons:

More fiber.
One serving a day lowers heart attack risk by 38%.
Highest anti oxidant rating per serving size of any food tested.
Folik acid (anti inflammation)

Obviously I can't site anything, I am just paraphrasing the book here.

[EagleRiverDee]

It's both a combination of them having too much carbs and too many anti-nutrients (like grains), including gluten, according to Mark's book.

I believe there is some controversy around beans, as I've seen several paleo followers say they do eat beans. And Mark said an occasional use of beans is probably fine. It's when your diet is centered around using beans as your protein source (such as with vegans) that it's not a good thing.

That's my understanding, anyway.

[Drumroll]

Beans and Legumes | Mark's Daily Apple

Bam!

Antinutients, doses of fiber not good for the gut (fiber's not bad, but at this level it is), and a heavy carb load are his justifications from what I read.

He says that there are worse foods out there (notably grains), but since you can also do so much better than legumes, he doesn't see any real need to include them.

[Darz]

Soak them in warm water and vinegar overnight and, if you want, sprout them for a couple of days and enjoy.

[Zach]

I doubt they are any worse then nuts and seeds when it comes to anti nutrients. There is no gluten like someone said above. Many varieties contain massive antioxidants and they are high in minerals that may be hard to get elsewhere.

Mainly beans are excluded from a paleo diet because they are a high carb food. If you eat carbs, i see no reason not to eat beans.

Straight from the post above. "In my estimation, legumes fall into the “O.K.” category with wine, chocolate, cheese and other dairy, etc."

[Dirlot]

Beans and lentils are still probably not as nutritious as veg...so I know what I would eat.

[Zach]

Beans and lentils are still probably not as nutritious as veg...so I know what I would eat.

Pound for pound they are probably ten times more nutritious. Why not just eat both? If you like beans of course.

[Neckhammer]

Depends on the variety of bean too. Some are better than others. It just comes down to preperation again. We didn't evolve with them in the diet way back, but more recently implemented methods that made them edible. So if including use those traditional methods.

Beans are a nice filler if your looking for cheap calories, but thats about it. So if your really trying to get your calories up to gain some mass then they may help. Kinda like rice IMO.

[Kingofturtles]

It seems to me that beans and lentils are bad if your more in to the "weight loss" aspect of primal?

[Neckhammer]

It seems to me that beans and lentils are bad if your more in to the "weight loss" aspect of primal?

Likely so. When I was doing the "slow carb" bit ala Ferris, I had them with every meal. They weren't bad, but cutting them made my stomach feel better....far less bloated. Then again I'd still go for beans over grains.....and in most instances even like em better than rice.