A Kind of Beans High in Protein And Potassium, Perfect to Eat in Spring!

Peas are rich in protein, dietary fiber, carotene, mineral potassium, folic acid and other nutrients. If you eat a handful of peas every day, what benefits will it have to your body?

1. Protect cardiovascular system

Peas are rich in the mineral potassium, folic acid, and dietary fiber, all of which are beneficial to cardiovascular health. Sufficient potassium intake in the diet helps stabilize blood pressure; folic acid supplementation can prevent homocystinemia that is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; the rich dietary fiber in peas can reduce the body's reabsorption to bile acids to lower blood cholesterol levels. And some studies have mentioned that pea protein can not only enhance the body's immunity, but also improve cardiovascular diseases, enhance satiety and reduce blood lipids.

2. Stabilize blood sugar

The rich protein and dietary fiber in peas can delay the rise in blood sugar after a meal. Eating it with rice can avoid the spike in blood sugar after a meal. Moreover, pea starch contains high amylose content, small starch granule diameter, and contains 39.2% slowly digestible starch and 7.07% resistant starch, so blood sugar rises relatively slowly after eating peas. Vitro studies have also found that pea starch has a lower digestibility than corn starch and rice starch, causing a relatively slow increase in glucose.

3. Relieve constipation

Peas are rich in soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber. The soluble dietary fiber content is 50.93% and the insoluble dietary fiber content is 45.14%. They can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and are very helpful in preventing constipation and improving intestinal health. If you are often constipated, try adding some peas to your diet.

4. Prevent hyperuricemia

Although the purine content of peas is not low at 86mg/100g, it is negatively correlated with blood uric acid levels and hyperuricemia. A study of 6,329 elderly subjects collected information on non-soy legume consumption and serum uric acid levels. The results showed that people who completed the intake of 3 or more servings of non-soy leguminous foods per week are less likely to develop hyperuricemia compared with those who do not meet that intake. That is, the higher the intake of non-soy legumes (lentils, peas, etc.), the lower the serum uric acid levels and the prevalence of hyperuricemia.

Tricks for preserving peas

If peas are improperly stored after being picked, not only will their nutrients be lost and they will easily deteriorate, but the pods will also turn yellow, shrink, and become lignified, resulting in poor texture and taste. They will also be susceptible to microbial infection and brown spot disease. If you buy a small amount of peas and only need to store them for a short time, put them directly in the refrigerator. They can be stored for 3 to 5 days and be eaten as soon as possible. If you buy a lot, you need to freeze it and eat it within 8 months. However, there are certain things to be careful about when freezing peas. You cannot put them in plastic bags and freeze them directly!

Some studies have compared two processing methods of frozen peas. The first is to clean the peas and put them in fresh-keeping bags; the second is to clean the peas and then blanch them in 85°C hot water for 10 seconds. Take them out immediately, put them in an ice water bath for 2 to 3 minutes to cool down, drain the water and put them into a fresh-keeping bag. After processing, these two parts of peas can be placed in the refrigerator at -18°C and frozen for 56 days.

The results showed that: in comparison, the blanching and freezing treatment can better maintain the quality of peas, and the changes in nutritional content are also slower. This is because blanching treatment inactivates peroxidase (POD) activity and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, and also slows down the rise of malondialdehyde. Among them, POD and PPO are the main enzymes that cause browning of fruits and vegetables. Increased malondialdehyde content will promote fruit senescence. Spring peas are fresh and tender, and their green appearance adds a sense of spring to the table! It's in season right now, arranging a handful of peas every day, that's really good!