World Pulses Day 2025: From Farm To Table, Pulses Unite Us On This Day
World Pulses Day celebrates the journey of pulses from farm to table, highlighting their role in nutrition, sustainability, and food security while uniting communities through protein rich foods.
{By: Dr. Payel Kumar Roy}
World Pulses Day 2025: Pulses like beans, lentils and peas are great for the health, especially if one have a unhealthy heart condition. Pulses are part of the legume family – the main difference between pulses and legumes is that pulses are dried before they are eaten. The exception is peanuts and soya beans, which are classed as legumes, and are higher in fat and lower in carbohydrate than other legumes.
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Why One Should Add Pulses To The Diet?
Replacing half or even all the meat one would like to have with pulses is a great way to eat less unhealthy saturated fat, manage the weight and keep one's digestive system healthy. While consuming pulses one can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Pulses are one of the highest fibre foods. Just one portion of pulses provides about a third of the fibre one needs for the entire day. It means tat they can help to lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. The protein and fibre are digested slowly, making one feel fuller for a longer time
Can One Get Enough Protein From Pulses?
Pulses are one of the few foods to be classed as both a vegetable and a protein. Three heaped tablespoons count as one of 5-a-day, and will provide the potassium, zinc, B-vitamins and antioxidants as needed to keep one healthy.
Pulses like chickpeas, mung beans, split peas, and urad dal can help with weight loss because they are high in protein and fiber. They also have a low glycemic index, which can help to feel full and eat less. Thus helps in weight loss .
The protein in pulses stimulates hormones that make one feel full. The fiber in pulses increases the amount of time it takes to chew, which slows down how quickly the stomach empties and reduces the amount of food
Benefits Of Having Pulses
- It helps to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.
- Pulses can help to lower LDL, cholesterol levels.
- Pulses can help to reduce inflammation.
- They can help maintain healthy blood glucose levels.
- Pulses are good for gut health too.
- They help to keep one's intestines moving smoothly
- The presence of plant-based protein in it can help to feel full in a fast manner.
- It has complex carbohydrates whic are good for overall health.
- Pulses also contain vitamins and minerals.
- They include calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and folic acid
- Pulses have phytochemicals in them, including polyphenols, which are rich in antioxidants.
- As pulses are an excellent source of dietary fibre, which is essential for maintaining a healthy gut.
- The fibre in pulses helps to regulate the bowel movements, prevent constipation, and maintain a healthy gut microbiome too
The Prebiotic Properties
Pulses contain prebiotic compounds that can nourish the friendly bacteria in the gut. A dysbiotic intestinal microbiome has been linked to chronic diseases such as obesity, which may suggest that interventions needed to target the microbiome which may be useful in treating obesity and its complications.
Appetite dysregulation and chronic systemic low-grade inflammation, such as that observed in obesity, are possibly linked with the intestinal microbiome and are potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of obesity via the microbiome where pulses can play a very crucial role
The author, Dr. Payel Kumar Roy, is the Chief Dietician & Critical Care Nutritionist of Techno India DAMA Multispeciality Hospital.
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