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Does Hazel Stuff Her Turkey With Beans?
© By Lena Sanchez
My brother had recently moved close to
our parents with his east coast wife and
she had already noticed a trend in my parents
eating habits. As everyone was preparing
for Thanksgiving my sister-in-law posed
the question, "Does Hazel stuff her
turkey with beans?"
That question got a good laugh, but I can
remember growing up that there was not a
day that beans (legumes) did not appear
on our table in one form or another. There
was always a pot of beans simmering on the
stove. My mother combined corn bread in
one fashion or another with those beans,
making it even more healthful. My family
has no history of diabetes, cancer, hypertension
or heart disease and I think that beans
could have contributed to that fact. Old
age has taken the past ancestors.
Studies are backing up my long held grown
up belief about beans. Several studies have
presented the fact that legumes (beans,
peas & peanuts) decrease the risk of
heart disease and colon cancer while lowering
total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol
levels.
Archives of Internal Medicine November
26, 2001;161:2573-2578 wrote that, "Men
and women who ate legumes at least four
times a week had a 22% lower risk of coronary
heart disease over 19 years than those who
consumed legumes once weekly."
Gut May 1999;44:709-714 carried the statement
that a protein found in beans may prevent
or slow the progression of colon cancer.
Those studies and more confirm my belief
that, those from my family and others who
eat beans daily to several times a week
also had lower blood pressure and total
cholesterol, and were less likely to be
diagnosed with high blood pressure, colon
cancer and diabetes.
My 87 year old father contributes his bean
eating history to the fact that he has no
aches or pains and is capable of walking
an unlimited number of miles on any given
day. Now I'm not going so far to totally
agree with him, but who knows? Right?
I don't believe it would be too far fetched
to believe that growing up we seldom ever
had a cold and never had the flu due to
our daily eating of beans. Could also have
also had something to do with the wide-open
spaces and clean air and hard work on the
farm. Now that most of us have grown up
and left the farm atmosphere and the bean
eating habit things are starting to go awry
in a lot of my siblings, nieces, nephews
and cousins.
You will find a person or two who is blaming
bean eating on possible diabetes, but I
simply cannot buy that fact. Three generations
past and present of my family - well over
200 people - who have been constant bean
eaters have no history of diabetes and I
think it would surely have shown up in that
large a group, but it hasn't. Now the new
generation have left those past habits and
will find old age a bit difficult for them,
I fear.
Go cook up a pot of beans, put on a pan
of cornbread have a green salad with it
and enjoy your healthy life! Lena
*** Lena Sanchez Author of "Handbook
Of Herbs To Health & Other Secrets,"
"Antibiotic Alternatives To Preventing
Mega Bacteria," & "Dangers
& Secrets Doctors Refuse To Tell You."
Found online at http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com
and Editor of "Natural Environmental
Health Facts & Your Home Business Coach"
ezine subscribe at http://www.envirodocs.com/newsletter.htm
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