Musical Fruit

So what is the deal with legumes? This may seem like a simple little question but I kid you not, I have had an incredibly difficult time getting on the "legumes=bad" team. I don't particularly LOVE legumes. They're alright. I like them in chili or on a salad. They make good dip. But I don't HAVE to eat them. But are they really as bad a the paleo Gestapo would have us believe? Hmmm....that is still up in the air for me.

If I have learned anything from going paleo it is that everything you read and hear is not always true. Some of it may be true but that doesn't always mean the conclusion drawn is true. Most health studies are epidemiological, which means that the conclusions are based on patterns that correlate with the population studied. So if you looked out on a busy street (in New York where people walk...not Greenville where only the dude that swings the Walmart sack around and swats at imaginary bugs walks) and saw that 100% of the people were carrying umbrellas and it was also raining you could conclude (if you were an idiot) that it rains when people carry umbrellas. Now that is a silly example but sometimes the wrong conclusion gets drawn and that is why the incredible edible egg was at one time considered dangerous to our health and red meat led to high cholesterol.

So with that in mind lets talk legumes. It's all about that musical bean that makes us toot. (Well not me because I magically don't toot and if I did it would smell like lavender with just a hint of vanilla.)   When I look at the fiber content of beans such as black beans, or chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) it is pretty high and I'm a fan of fiber because I believe pooping in important. Beans also have protein which is cool but it isn't really that much (8.9 grams for an entire cup of cooked black beans.) Another bummer is that legumes are way more carbs than they are protein. Minerals are also found in beans but here is where things get funky.

Along with the very essential minerals is this antioxidant compound called phytates which are considered anti-nutritents. These little boogers make it near impossible for our bodies to then absorb the minerals found in legumes. Boo. But according to some people including Dr. Weil, it isn't worth worrying about because we get plenty of minerals elsewhere and phytates can be a good thing because they normalize cell growth and can slow cancer cell growth. And by taking the extra step of soaking your legumes you can decrease the phytates by quite a bit.

But there is more. I think, if I understand correctly, lectins are the biggest reason to hate legumes. Lectins are a type of protein that bind to cell membranes. They can cause some serious damage to our gut lining. So the idea is we want good stuff to get through the gut lining but we want to keep the gross stuff contained, right? Well when we eat, our food can sometimes cause damage to the intestinal lining but that is okay because our bodies are made to repair the damage quickly. But the problem arises when lectins get in the way because they slow down this repair which means bad stuff is going where it shouldn't and good stuff isn't getting absorbed.

So now we are all totally convinced legumes are evil because who wants to deal with a leaky gut? Not me. Except here is the wrench...a lot of paleo approved foods contain lectins and phytates. But don't freak out yet...legumes and grains are by far the two food groups that have the most. But I'm not quite sure all of these scary lectins and phytates are so bad that they should be eliminated completely. I'm probably going to be my own experiment soon and try to add a bit of legumes into a meal and see what happens. Because I eat very clean I am confident that by adding something back I will know whether or not it works for me. I won't have to wonder whether or not it was also the grains or the dairy or the sugar.

Sometimes I wonder if people think I'm wishy washy, indecisive, won't pick a side because I won't say legumes are most definitely evil. I have noticed paleo is almost like a religion to some and if you don't adhere to the paleo commandments then you suck. But I have most definitely picked a side. I am on my side. I am on Levi's side, Jack's side, Addie's side. We are going to make health choices according to our individual needs. I did not start this blog to say, "Look at me. This is how I do things. I'm awesome and if you do this exactly the same way you too can be awesome." Heck no! I write this blog to say, "We are trying too. We are making mistakes too. We are learning too. Let's do this together." If you have a better understanding of legumes and why we should run from them please post a comment. I am very eager to understand more.

So back to that really long word...epidemiology. Research is fallible. Studies are imperfect. I love the research. I think it is really useful and gives us understanding into some hard to explain issues. BUT...for me and my family we are going to be our own study. We are going to do do what is best for us despite what the caveman did. I actually think it is kind of ridiculous to base your diet and lifestyle on some hairy dude in the past. Here's what I know is true. When God created man he gave him everything he needed to sustain life and serve God's purpose. I'm going to stick to food God made. I don't care a lick what Encino Man ate. And it just happens that the diet closest to this idea is paleo. I guess you could say we are paleoish.

Now by saying all of this I'm sure Robb Wolf and Dr. Cordain's groupies are going to be coming after me. Bring it on groupies! But let me warn you, I'm all crossfitty now and you add that to this feisty spirit and I am the ULTIMATE WEAPON. Just in case you don't believe me check out the following video of me kicking some spaghetti squash butt!

But real quick...I say the word "shoot" in this video. It doesn't sound like "shoot" but I promise it was "shoot." But seriously Groupies, I'm mean and tough and you do not want to mess with this. You have been warned.

Anybody have any neat tricks for splitting a spaghetti squash easier?