Transcript Slides - Cooking with Pulses

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015
prepared by Joan M. Panepinto, RN, RD, CDN, CDE
July 2016
This document extracts the five key “Guidelines” from Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015–2020, Eighth Edition [1,
Chapter 1]. The section heading of each of the five brief sections below presents one of the guidelines. Each guideline
is followed by a short quote taken directly from the above referenced document followed by a concise summary of the
valuable role of pulses. Some points may be relevant to multiple guidelines, but for brevity they are placed with the
category of greatest relevance.
1. Follow a healthy eating pattern across the lifespan
“All food and beverage choices matter. Choose a healthy eating pattern at an appropriate calorie
level to help achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, support nutrient adequacy, and reduce
the risk of chronic disease.”
•Pulses are a source of resistant starch which acts as a prebiotic. Once pulses are consumed the resistant starch they
contain is broken down by bacteria in the large intestine to produce short chain fatty acids. One fatty acid of significant
importance is butyrate which is the preferred fuel for the cells that line the colon. Hence pulses promote gastrointestinal
health.
•Consuming pulses produces the “lentil effect”, also known as the “second meal effect”, and this provides for lower spikes
in insulin and improved blood sugar maintenance [2–4]. In other words, pulses not only provide a blood-sugar regulating
benefit at the current meal, but the benefits persist through the next meal. At the same time pulses have a low glycemic
index. As a result pulses play an important role in both the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorder and diabetes.
•The fiber in pulses promotes satiety which may be a part of a healthy weight loss or weight maintenance diet.
•Pulses contain valuable antioxidants.
•Pulses are of great value for Pregnancy and Lactation, Children & Teens, Athletes, mature, aging and elderly adults with
specific dietary needs.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015
2. Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount.
“To meet nutrient needs within calorie limits, choose a variety of
nutrient-dense foods across and within all food groups in
recommended amounts.”
• Pulses are a nutrient dense food source, considered both vegetable and protein choice2.
• Since fiber, iron, potassium and folate are abundant in pulses, incorporating them in the diet multiple times a
week to daily helps support nutritional needs.
• For the pulses referenced in the table2, 12 cup of cooked pulses contains 108 –134 kcal and is a good
source of protein, an excellent source of fiber and a good to excellent source of micronutrients.
• Pulses come in many varieties, and the table2 is just a representative sampling. Consuming many different
pulse types incorporates a broader range of important micronutrients in the diet.
• The variety of pulses and the plethora of regional and ethnic recipes promotes the incorporation of a broader
variety of foods.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015
3. Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake.
“Consume an eating pattern low in added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.
Cut back on foods and beverages higher in these components to amounts that fit
within healthy eating patterns.”
•
•
•
Pulses are low in natural sugars, and there is no reason to add sugar.2
Pulses are not a source of saturated fat.
Dry pulses naturally contain negligible quantities of sodium2. Rinsing canned pulses
removes approximately 30% – 40% of the added sodium.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015
4. Shift to healthier food and beverage choices.
“Choose nutrient-dense foods and beverages across and within all food groups in place of less
healthy choices. Consider cultural and personal preferences to make these shifts easier to
accomplish and maintain.”
The Guidelines [1, Chapter 2] discuss current eating patterns. Included in the findings, about 85% of Americans don’t eat
enough vegetables. While about 42% of Americans don’t consume enough protein, others are consuming too heavily from
the meat, poultry and eggs subgroup. On the other hand, consumption of legumes is typically at 25%–30% of what is
recommended. Small children and the elderly generally conform to better eating patterns than adolescents and adults.
Shifting Foods
People’s tastes tend to evolve slowly, so in order to be successful we should swap an ingredient here and there or replace
an unhealthy snack with a healthy one. When introducing a new entree, focus on individual tastes and preferences. If the
shift is to pulses, then there will be an improvement in quality of diet and nutrition intake [5,6]. The good news is that there
are so many possibilities!
•Look for opportunities to add a vegetable and a protein by adding chickpeas to a salad or serving your entree on a bed of
lentils.
•Replace meat with pulses such as making vegetarian chili or increasing the ratio of beans to meat in non-vegetarian chili.
•Top homemade falafel patties with hummus and a tomato slice and eat with a side salad as a tasty new lunch option. They
are made from widely available and inexpensive chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour. Easy and quick to make!
•Hummus, store bought or homemade, may replace high-fat, high-sodium veggie and chip dips. It can be used as a
condiment in sandwiches. (Hummus is made from chickpeas.)
•Black-bean vegetable burritos on a whole-grain wrap may replace high-sodium, high-fat ham and cheese sandwiches.
•Homemade cold bean (with or without meat) chili over a green salad with avocado may replace high-fat, high-sodium taco
bowls or salads which are topped with cheese and processed meats.
•Homemade vegetable lentil soup may replace high-sodium, low-fiber canned noodle soups.
•Use white (cannellini) beans in a smoothie to add fiber and protein without an adverse flavor – good with vanilla. Use black
beans with cocoa powder for a chocolate smoothie. Blend with unsweetened almond milk and a ripe banana.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015
Shifting Behaviors
Changing ones diet is predicated on changing ones behavior and mindset. Provide tools and build on small,
successful steps.
• Eat more meals as a family. Consider proper eating for the children, and look for ways to make the same
healthy foods appeal to everyone.
• Introducing one new pulse recipe every week or so is a great goal. Encourage family members, especially
the children, to help choose, prepare and test a new recipe. This helps achieve buy-in, especially with
children.
• When you find a favorite recipe, be certain to use it as a prepared dish for your next pot-luck or party.
Sharing and enjoying food is an essential part of permanently changing eating behaviors.
• Eating foods from other ethnicities can be fun, and the varieties of spices and flavors makes healthy eating
exciting.
• Consider opportunities for exploring other ethnic, and global cuisines that include pulses. Websites and
social media ( Facebook and Pinterest in particular) are a seemingly endless resource for recipes. Make it a
social event rather than simply food preparation.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015
5. Support healthy eating patterns for all.
“Everyone has a role in helping to create and support healthy eating patterns in multiple
settings nationwide, from home to school to work to communities.”
[An eating pattern] “represents the totality of what individuals habitually eat and drink, and these
dietary components act synergistically in relation to health. As a result, the eating pattern may be
more predictive of overall health status and disease risk than individual foods or nutrients.”
Three templates of particular eating patterns are presented in the Guidelines and are
listed here.
The Guidelines discuss diets ranging from 1,000 to 2,200 calories at 200 calorie
intervals. For brevity only the 2,000 calorie diet is discussed here, and of course the
expectations will be modified for the other cases.
Healthy U.S.-Style Eating Pattern [1, Appendix 3]
This pattern requires 2.5 cups of vegetables and 5.5 ounces of protein per day.
It is expected that at least 1.5 cups per week of those vegetables are beans and peas.
While the norm in the Healthy U.S. Eating Pattern is that these protein sources are not pulses, a substitution requires that
1 ounce of protein should be replaced with 1 cup of pulses.
Healthy Mediterranean-Style Eating Pattern [1, Appendix 4]
This pattern requires 2.5 cups of vegetables and 6.5 ounces of protein per day.
It is expected that at least 1.5 cups per week of those vegetables are beans and peas.
While the norm in the Healthy Mediterranean Eating Pattern is that these protein sources are not pulses, a substitution
requires that 1 ounce of protein should be replaced with 0.25 cup of pulses.
Healthy Vegetarian Eating Pattern [1, Appendix 5]
This pattern requires 2.5 cups of vegetables and 6.5 ounces of protein per day.
It is expected that at least 3 cups of beans and peas are consumed per week with half of that total
applied towards vegetables and the other half applied towards protein.
A substitution requires that 1 ounce of protein should be replaced with 1 cup of pulses.
“In the USDA Food Guide at the reference 2,000 calorie level, the
following weekly amounts are recommended:
Vegetable Category
Cups per week recommended
Dark green vegetables
1½
Orange vegetables
5½
Legume (dry beans)
1½
Starchy vegetables
5
Other vegetables
4