Nutrition Facts About Garbanzo Beans

Tap to Read ➤ Leena Palande

You might be surprised to know that garbanzo beans have been in use since 7,500 years in the Middle East. Here are the information on nutritional value of these beans in detail. Read on to know how legumes can help improve your health.

Peas, beans, lentils, lupins, and peanuts are all common grain legumes. Seeds of legumes grow in pods. If you check the eating habits of people in different parts of the world, you will find that garbanzo beans are one of the most popular beans.

These beans are also known as chickpeas, or Indian peas, or Bengal gram. They belong to the family Fabaceae , and subfamily Faboideae .

Beans, one of the earliest cultivated vegetables, are available as fresh, dried, and canned products all over the world. Garbanzo beans are available throughout the year, and they have a delicious nut like taste and buttery texture.

They are an invariable part of spicy but tasty Middle Eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafels, and curries. These beans come in various colors such as beige, black, green, red, and brown.

Nutrition Facts

One cup, or about 165 g of the beans (mature seeds, boiled, cooked, without salt) contain: Calories: 270 kcal Total carbohydrate: 45 g Dietary fiber: 12.5 g Sugar: 8g Protein: 14.5 g Saturated fat: 0.4 g Monounsaturated fat: 1.0 g Polyunsaturated fat: 1.9 g Total fat: 4.2 g

Total Omega-3 fatty acids: 70.5 mg Total Omega-6 fatty acids: 1825 mg Vitamin A: 44.3 IU Vitamin C: 2.1 mg Vitamin E: 0.6 mg Vitamin K: 6.6 mcg Thiamine: 0.2 mg Niacin: 0.9 mg Riboflavin: 0.1 mg Vitamin B6: 0.2 mg Folate: 282 mcg Pantothenic acid: 0.5 mg Choline: 70.2 mg

Calcium: 80.4 mg Magnesium: 78.7 mg Phosphorus: 276 mg Potassium: 477 mg Iron: 4.7 mg Sodium: 11.5 mg Copper: 0.6 mg Zinc: 2.5 mg Selenium: 6.1 mcg Manganese: 1.7 mg Cholesterol: 0.0 mg Water: 98.7 g Ash: 1.5 g

You must have noticed that the beans are rich in calories. They are packed with proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, various vitamins, and minerals. They are low in sugar, sodium, and fat. They do not contain cholesterol. The nutritional value of canned garbanzo beans is almost the same as that of homemade beans.

Health Benefits

Provide Dietary Fiber

Like most other beans, these beans are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. The soluble and insoluble dietary fiber help improve your digestive health.

Detoxify Sulfites

The beans are rich in the trace mineral, molybdenum, an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Sulfites are a type of preservative that are commonly present in foods like delicatessen salads and salad bars.

If you are sensitive to sulfites, you may experience rapid heartbeat, headache, or disorientation. Reaction to sulfites occurs if your molybdenum stores are insufficient to detoxify them.

Lower Risk of Heart Diseases

These beans help reduce the risk of heart diseases and heart attack as they help lower both total and LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Improve Overall Health

The significant quantities of folate and magnesium help lower the risk of heart diseases. Just one cup of cooked chickpeas provides 70.5% of the daily value (DV) for folate. Magnesium helps lessen resistance, and improves the flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients throughout the body.

Stabilize Blood Sugar

As mentioned earlier, the soluble fibers help stabilize blood sugar levels. The beans are good for diabetic patients as they are rich in dietary fiber, and help prevent blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal.

Help Maintain Energy Levels

Manganese helps in energy production and in antioxidant defenses. Garbanzos promote slow burning of complex carbohydrates. They are capable of increasing your energy by replenishing your iron stores. The high protein content helps boost your energy levels. Pregnant and lactating women need more iron and protein, which they can easily obtain from these beans.

Lower Menopause Symptoms

Garbanzos contain flavonoids, which work as the female hormone estrogen, and help relieve menopause symptoms like hot flashes.

Low in fat

Low fat legumes are good substitutes for meat or animal products which are known to be high fat food products. If you consume these beans, combining with whole grains like rice, they provide fat-free high quality protein.

Researchers studied the data related to higher consumption of dairy products in Northern Europe, higher consumption of meat in the U.S., higher consumption of vegetables, legumes, fish, and wine in Southern Europe, and higher consumption of cereals, soy products, and fish in Japan.

When they compared and analyzed the data in relation to the risk of death from heart disease, it was noticed that legumes were associated with a whopping 82% reduction in the risk! So, incorporate legumes in your diet and enjoy the health benefits.