One of the Western Nigerian soups known as Gbegiri soup is a highly nutritious and delicious meal.
Its primary ingredient is beans, served traditionally with amala and accompanied by ewedu soup. Amala is a starch made from yam flour which is commonly eaten by the Yoruba people in Western Nigeria. Gbegiri soup is consumed and enjoyed worldwide.
However, beans,being one of the major components, are high in natural antioxidants. The color of the bean coat appears to affect the antioxidant capacity because this correlates with the total phenolic content of the bean. Colored beans (red, brown, or black) possess greater antioxidant activity than white beans. Aside from being an antioxidant beans have other health benefits which are;
Nutrients
Beans contain a variety of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients while providing a moderate amount of calories. Beans provide protein, fiber, folate, iron, potassium and magnesium while containing little or no total fat, trans-fat, sodium and cholesterol. Because of their high concentration of health-promoting nutrients, consuming more beans could improve overall health and also decrease the risk of developing certain diseases, including heart disease, obesity and many types of cancers.
Improves fiber
Nutritionists recommend that adults consume 25 to 38 grams of dietary fiber per day. Dietary fiber intake contributes to feelings of fullness or satiety and helps maintain the functioning of the digestive system. Beans are a rich source of soluble and insoluble fiber. On average, beans provide 7 or more grams of total dietary fiber per ½-cup serving. The consumption of fiber also has been associated with decreasing total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and decreasing the risk of developing coronary heart disease, metabolic syndrome, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and some gastrointestinal diseases.
Rich in folate
Vitamin B folate is found prominently in beans. Folate or folic acid, is essential for the production of red blood cells in the human body and development of an embryo’s nervous system during the early stages of pregnancy. Adequate intake of folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of neural tube defects significantly in newborns. Synthetic folic acid is better absorbed in the body than naturally occurring folate. Some folate can be lost from dry beans and other legumes during the soaking and cooking process or can be reduced when the vitamin interacts with other food components. some researchers suggest using the slow-soak method and a cooking method that prepares the beans in 150 minutes or less.
People with celiac disease should consume a gluten-free diet, a protein found in many grain products. They must eliminate these products from their diet, which increases the risk of deficiencies in several B vitamins and other nutrients that typically are found in grains. Beans are a naturally gluten-free food, and they provide many of the same vitamins and minerals often found in enriched grain products, including thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, and fiber. This meal may be particularly beneficial to those following gluten-free diets because of the beans content and can be combined with other gluten-free flour.
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