Legumes include beans, lentils and peas, including green split peas. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services recommend that healthy adults on a 2,000-calorie
diet eat about 3 cups of legumes per week. You can use green split peas
as a side dish or in soups, and eating them may provide health benefits.
Blood Sugar Control
People who regularly eat legumes may have a lower risk for diabetes,
a disease that occurs when your body can no longer regulate blood sugar
levels properly. Legumes may help prevent or manage diabetes because
they have low glycemic index, which means they do not cause rapid spikes
in your blood sugar. Green split peas have 16.1 g of dietary fiber per
serving. Soluble fiber, such as that in legumes, slows down sugar
absorption so it does not get into your bloodstream as quickly. If you
have high blood sugar, continue to work with your doctor to control it
and prevent complications of diabetes.
Heart Health
Eating
green split peas may improve your heart health. The fiber from split
peas may lower your total and bad LDL cholesterol, thus reducing your
risk for heart disease.
High blood pressure increases your risk for coronary heart disease, and
green split peas may help you maintain a healthy blood pressure. The
2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
recommend increasing your potassium intake and reducing your sodium, and
1 cup of split peas has about 710 mg of potassium and only 4 mg of
sodium. If you have risk factors for heart disease, talk to your doctor
about the best way to treat them.
Weight Control
To
lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. Green split
peas may be able to help you lose weight or avoid gaining weight because
they are low in calories and they may help you eat less. A 1-cup
serving of cooked green split peas has only about 232 calories. A
high-fiber diet
may promote weight control. Many high-fiber foods, including green
split peas, take a long time to chew, so you feel full before you have
eaten very many calories. Split peas are good sources of protein, with
about 16 g per cup. The Harvard School of Public Health states that
high-protein diets may promote weight control by slowing down digestion
and making you less hungry at the next meal.
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