Getting healthy and establishing healthy eating habits should be a part of everyone’s daily routine. With today’s options in the supermarket, it’s hard not to try to eat healthier. Superfoods, like hummus, also can manage to make getting healthy and staying healthy an easy, tasty experience.
What is a superfood? Superfoods are different types of nuts, berries, proteins, legumes, and other vegetables and foodstuffs that really pack a punch when it comes to vitamins, minerals, and other disease-fighting agents. For example, if you were to look at your hummus nutritional information, the amount of hummus you would spread on a pita provides a weeks’ dose of beans.
What is hummus? Hummus is a delicious alternative dip or spread for vegetable and bread, traditionally made in the Middle East and North Africa. An easy hummus recipe consists of mixing tahini with mashed chickpeas, and mixing in lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and salt.
If you go the grocery store, you will see that there are many different types of hummus: spicy hummus, garlic hummus dip, hummus with avocado — as many variations as you could possibly want. All the different types of hummus add years to your life, as studies have shown that people who eat legumes often also have reduced risks of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular problems. Additionally, along with eating other fruits and vegetables, consuming healthy foods such as hummus can drastically lower your risk of strokes and death from strokes.
But what specifically is so great about hummus, outside of how great it tastes?
- Hummus keeps you slim. If you turn your container around to look at the hummus nutritional information, you’ll see that this delicious dip is chock full of protein and fiber, 2 very important ingredients in keeping you fuller longer. This is why hummus is associated with good weight management, and studies have shown that people who eat hummus tend to have smaller waistlines, lower blood sugar, and are less likely to be obese.
- Hummus lowers cholesterol. Hummus contains a fair amount of anti-oxidants specifically that fight bad cholesterol. A long term study showed that adults 30-70 experienced a decrease in cholesterol over 3 years simply by adding hummus to their diet.
- Hummus lowers blood sugar. Studies have shown that hummus is a complex carbohydrate that doesn’t spike sugar levels, making it an excellent snack for diabetics. In fact, diabetics who have added hummus to their diet have seen improvements in their glucose tolerances.
- Hummus lowers cancer risks. Again, looking at the hummus nutritional information, you’ll see that hummus has almost 40% of the daily recommended amount of folate in one cup. Folate has been shown to lower the risks of cancer, and the dietary fiber that it contributes also promotes healthy colons by generating good bacteria.