Are canned legumes harmful? Here the health risks

They are convenient, but you should not overdo with them: here’s why canned legumes can be dangerous.

Legumes are a very important source of many nutrients, such as fibers, proteins and vitamins. For this reason, every balanced and varied diet should include them. However, the fact that they need a lot of time to cook often let people forget about them.

Someone avoids this problem by buying precooked canned legumes. Are these products dangerous for our health?

Canned legumes, nutritional values

As we already mentioned, legumes are rich in fundamental substances for our health. They contain proteins, vitamins and mineral salts, other than being full of fibers.

Compared with dried ones, canned legumes keep their nutritional values unaltered. The only difference is in their protein content: the manufacturing process of canned pulses reduces their amount of proteins.

Therefore, it is fundamental to balance the macronutrients in the right way, especially for people following a vegan or vegetarian diet. Legumes are an important source of vegetal proteins, so it would be better to eat them fresh or dried.

Last thing about canned legumes: compared with dried ones, they have less calories. However, after having cooked dried pulses, they also lose a high amount of calories.

Are canned legumes harmful?

So far, it seems that this product is not harmful for our health. However, we should also consider other elements. First of all, the presence of food additives, which can be dangerous. Moreover, this kind of food is often rich in salt, which can cause hypertension and cardiovascular problems.

Moreover, some brands also add sugar, in order to make their product less bitter. In this case, it is also important not to overcome the recommended daily amount of sugars, in order to avoid problems such as obesity and diabetes.

Finally, pay attention to the packaging. Some cans can release toxic substances which contaminate your legumes.

How to choose canned legumes

With some precautions, you can safely eat canned legumes. First of all, read the label carefully, and buy those products which contain less additives and salt. If you can, choose organic packages.

Another question a lot of people ask is: do I need to wash canned legumes? Yes, it would be better to rinse them with water before eating them, in order to remove some of their additives and salt.

Photo source:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-beans-in-brown-sacks-1537169/, https://pxhere.com/it/photo/916502