| "Does Hazel Stuff Her Turkey With Beans?" |  |
© By Lena Sanchez
My brother had recently moved close to our parents with his east
coast wife and she had already noticed a trend in my parents
eating habits. As everyone was preparing for Thanksgiving my
sister-in-law posed the question, "Does Hazel stuff her turkey
with beans?"
That question got a good laugh, but I can remember growing up
that there was not a day that beans (legumes) did not appear on
our table in one form or another. There was always a pot of beans
simmering on the stove. My mother combined corn bread in one
fashion or another with those beans, making it even more
healthful. My family has no history of diabetes, cancer,
hypertension or heart disease and I think that beans could have
contributed to that fact. Old age has taken the past ancestors.
Studies are backing up my long held grown up belief about beans.
Several studies have presented the fact that legumes (beans,
peas & peanuts) decrease the risk of heart disease and colon
cancer while lowering total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol
levels.
Archives of Internal Medicine November 26, 2001;161:2573-2578
wrote that, "Men and women who ate legumes at least four
times a week had a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease
over 19 years than those who consumed legumes once weekly."
Gut May 1999;44:709-714 carried the statement that a protein
found in beans may prevent or slow the progression of colon
cancer.
Those studies and more confirm my belief that, those from my
family and others who eat beans daily to several times a week
also had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol, and were
less likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, colon
cancer and diabetes.
My 87 year old father contributes his bean eating history to the
fact that he has no aches or pains and is capable of walking an
unlimited number of miles on any given day. Now I'm not
going so far to totally agree with him, but who knows?
Right?
I don't believe it would be too far fetched to believe that
growing up we seldom ever had a cold and never had the flu
due to our daily eating of beans. Could also have also had
something to do with the wide-open spaces and clean air
and hard work on the farm. Now that most of us have grown
up and left the farm atmosphere and the bean eating habit
things are starting to go awry in a lot of my siblings, nieces,
nephews and cousins.
You will find a person or two who is blaming bean eating
on possible diabetes, but I simply cannot buy that fact.
Three generations past and present of my family - well over
200 people - who have been constant bean eaters have
no history of diabetes and I think it would surely have
shown up in that large a group, but it hasn't. Now the new
generation have left those past habits and will find old age
a bit difficult for them, I fear.
Go cook up a pot of beans, put on a pan of cornbread
have a green salad with it and enjoy your healthy life!
Lena
*** Lena Sanchez Author of "Handbook Of Herbs
To Health & Other Secrets," "Antibiotic Alternatives To
Preventing Mega Bacteria," & "Dangers & Secrets Doctors
Refuse To Tell You." Found online at
http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com and
Editor of "Natural Environmental Health Facts & Your
Home Business Coach" ezine subscribe at
http://www.envirodocs.com/newsletter.htm
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