Chickpeas nutrition facts

Information on Chickpeas

Chickpeas are sometimes known as garbanzo beans and they arelegumes with a delicious taste reminiscent of nut taste and a very high contentof proteins. Chickpeas are among the first legumes cultivated by humans andthey come from the family of fabaceae. Desi and Kabuli are the two basicvarieties of chickpeas.

Desi chickpeas have a darker color and a rougher coatthan Kabuli. Desi can be found in Mexico, Iran and India while Kabuli iscommonly cultivated in Chile, Northern Africa, Southern Europe, Pakistan andAfghanistan. All species of chickpeas are very nutritional and they areimportant ingredients in numerous different kinds of Middle Eastern and Indiandishes.

Chickpeas Nutritional Value

Chickpeas are an excellent source of various different typesof vitamins, essential minerals, dietary fiber, carbohydrates andproteins. A serving of 164 grams ofchickpeas contains 269 calories, small amounts of molybdenum, 45 grams ofcarbohydrates, 1.7 milligrams of manganese, 15 grams of proteins, 2.5milligrams of zinc, 12 grams of dietary fiber, 477 milligrams of potassium, 4grams of fat, 4.7 milligrams of iron, 44.3 International Units of vitamin A,276 milligrams of phosphorus, 2.1 milligrams of vitamin C, 78.7 milligrams ofmagnesium, 0.6 milligrams of vitamin E, 80.4 milligrams of calcium, 0.9milligrams of thiamine, 70.2 milligrams of choline, 282 micrograms of folateand 6.6 micrograms of vitamin K. Different varieties of chickpeas havedifferent content of dietary fiber.

Chickpeas Nutritional Benefits

Chickpeas are very beneficial for the human body because theyprovide it with numerous health benefits. Chickpeas are among the best sourcesof proteins so they could be an important food item for all vegetarians.

Thefibers in chickpeas are very efficient in reducing the risk of cardiovasculardiseases by decreasing the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood andincreasing the levels of good cholesterol in the blood. They can also come invery handy when it comes to increasing the stool bulk, prevention constipationand irritable bowel syndrome.

Chickpeas are of great help when it comes tostabilizing the levels of sugar in the blood as well so they are recommendedfor all those who suffer from insulin resistance and diabetes. They are veryefficient in lowering the levels of homocysteine, controlling hunger,detoxifying the sulfites and numerous other beneficial acts. Chickpeas areactually among the most nutritious types of food and they should be an integralpart of all health oriented individuals.