Why not legumes?

Although legumes are never invited to a 30 Day Challenge or more recently named the Whole30, there is some controversy as to whether, beans, peas, lentils and peanuts are really that bad.
Scientifically speaking, they don’t really sound that appealing to me, although I would understand if you were a vegetarian that you might want to eat them often.
Beans make you fart – right? This is common knowledge and one of the obvious effects of our first 30 day challenge was that all flatulence ended. Amazing right?
Some people can tolerate legumes more than others and the only way to find out, if legumes are tolerable for you, is try some beans or hummus after your 30 Days and see what your body does. Personally, I bloat and don’t feel very good.
Anyone who is interested in weight-loss, should really stay away from legumes, as they have a high carb content.

Basically, legumes are similar to grains, due to their Phytic acid and lectin content. That means they stop healthy proteins from being digested and stick around in your intestines causing problems such as

Weight gain
Metabolic imbalance
And insulin resistance

You can see more about this in my blog entry about grains. https://www.crossing-bridges.com.au/day-six-why-we-should-lose-the-grains/
Given, cooking or soaking beans and peas eradicates the phytic acid. Never eat the little devils raw – very nasty.

I generally, apply the Pareto 80/20 rule with most things in life – no point in getting anal, I say.
A girl needs to have a glass of wine and some chocolate occasionally and perhaps even some hummus. But you have to know that the worst legumes are soy beans and peanuts, and their oils. This stuff, I stay away from all the time.

Peanuts
Almost all peanuts have aflotoxins, it is produced by a nasty mould that is considered to be an unavoidable toxin in the peanut industry. It is evident even in organic peanuts, peanut butters, raw, cooked, etc. Aflotoxins are linked to cancer and Hepatitis B and peanut lectins are heat resistant.
Personally, I have always felt sick after eating peanut butter (lucky, I didn’t grow up in the States – Vegemite all the way for me! ) and after eating meals my dad cooked, as he was a peanut oil lover.

Soy
Now, this brings me to Soy – it has all of the above plus the weird man boob making – phytoestrogen. This stuff goes into your body and acts like estrogen, creates hormonal imbalances and can give men a feminine look eg. Fat on hips or man breasts.
In women it is linked to breast cancer, thyroid dysfunction, fertility impairment and menstrual problems. Soy also has trypsin inhibitors that effect protein digestion in a negative manner.

Soya bean and peanut oils release free radicals, simply said, making you look old, fat and skanky….

Most people will argue that Asians eat loads of soya products, look young and live long. This maybe so, but they also have an overall healthier diet than westerners, eating large amounts of fermented foods, green vegetables and usually a gluten free diet.

Like all foods, test it for yourself. Give them up for about a month and then reintroduce them and see what happens. Our bodies can tell us everything we need to know – we just have to listen.