Beans, Lentils, and the Paleo Diet

As we continue to explore the foods our ancestors relied on during our evolutionary history, and what foods work best for us today, we come to legumes such as beans and lentils.  These are controversial foods within the Paleolithic diet community, while the broader nutrition community tends to view legumes as healthy.

Beans and lentils have a lot going for them.  They're one of the few foods that are simultaneously rich in protein and fiber, making them highly satiating and potentially good for the critters in our colon.  They're also relatively nutritious, delivering a hefty dose of vitamins and minerals.  The minerals are partially bound by the anti-nutrient phytic acid, but simply soaking and cooking beans and lentils typically degrades 30-70 percent of it, making the minerals more available for absorption (Food Phytates. Reddy and Sathe. 2002).  Omitting the soaking step greatly reduces the degradation of phytic acid (Food Phytates. Reddy and Sathe. 2002).

The only tangible downside to beans I can think of, from a nutritional standpoint, is that some people have a hard time with the large quantity of fermentable fiber they provide, particularly people who are sensitive to FODMAPs.  Thorough soaking prior to cooking can increase the digestibility of the "musical fruit" by activating the sprouting program and leaching out tannins and indigestible saccharides.  I soak all beans and lentils for 12-24 hours.

The canonical Paleolithic diet approach excludes legumes because they were supposedly not part of our ancestral dietary pattern.  I'm going to argue here that there is good evidence of widespread legume consumption by hunter-gatherers and archaic humans, and that beans and lentils are therefore an "ancestral" food that falls within the Paleo diet rubric.  Many species of edible legumes are common around the globe, including in Africa, and the high calorie and protein content of legume seeds would have made them prime targets for exploitation by ancestral humans after the development of cooking.  Below, I've compiled a few examples of legume consumption by hunter-gatherers and extinct archaic humans.  I didn't have to look very hard to find these, and there are probably many other examples available.  If you know of any, please share them in the comments.

To be clear, I would eat beans and lentils even if they weren't part of ancestral hunter-gatherer diets, because they're inexpensive, nutritious, I like the taste, and they were safely consumed by many traditional agricultural populations probably including my own ancestors.

Extensive "bean" consumption by the !Kung San of the Kalahari desert

Read more »

a food sensitivity test.

since august bella has been getting these wicked stomach aches about once a week. then she poops and all is better. i really don't think it is from constipation. she goes daily. it's quick and easy. i have been thinking there is something more. i decided to do an IgG food sensitivity test to see if there is anything she could be reacting too. this is not an anaphylactic allergy test (that is an IgE test), this, rather shows a delayed reaction to a specific food 24-48 hours after it is consumed. it can result in numerous symptoms such as; digestive complaints, headaches, congestion, and joint pain.

so here are a few pages from her test. 

 dairy panel- no issues. see how all the bars are in the 0 range. can't get much better than that!

 ouch. eggs. anything in the IV or higher category you want to avoid completely.

bye bye scrambled eggs, french toast and the most beloved of breads, challah.

 grain/gluten products and nuts; safe

I have taken her off most gluten and dairy over the last few weeks and she has not had a stomach ache but that being said she also has not had any eggs. i'm going to put the dairy and wheat back in and keep her off the eggs for awhile and see how it goes.