Legumes are a food group rich in B vitamins, contain different beneficial minerals (calcium, potassium and magnesium) and sizeable amounts of fibre and are regarded as a low-glycemic index food, which means that blood glucose levels increase only slowly after consumption.
Due to these unique nutritional qualities, eating legumes regularly can help improve human health.
In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) declared 2016 as the international year of legumes to raise people's awareness of their nutritional benefits.
To increase the general level of knowledge in this area, researchers from Rovira i Virgili University in Spain evaluated the association between the consumption of the different sub-types of non-soy legumes and the risk of type 2 diabetes among individuals at high cardiovascular risk.
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They also evaluated the effect of replacing other protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods with legumes on the development of the disease.
After 4 years of follow-up, the results showed that compared to individuals with a lower consumption of total legumes (12.73 grammes per day, about 1.5 servings per week of 60 grammes of raw legumes), individuals with a higher consumption (28.75 grammes per day, equivalent to 3.35 servings per week) had a 35 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Of the different subtypes of legume, lentils in particular were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
The researchers also found that the effect of replacing half a serving per day of foods rich in protein or carbohydrates, including eggs, bread, rice and baked potato, for half a serving per day of legumes was also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes incidence.
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