Around the world, indigenous diets have several things in common: a strong emphasis on fresh produce at all meals, little or no room for ultra- processed items, and lots of beans, or legumes. For example, many traditional foods derived from soybeans are consumed in the Far East; red beans are an important part of the ancient cuisine of the Southwest U.S., and Central and South America; white beans are eaten throughout the centuries in the Italian peninsula; and chickpeas (and sometimes fava beans) are the major legume of choice throughout the Middle East. We’ll discuss why these nourishing foodstuffs confer significant advantages for individuals whose regular diets include them.
This lecture is a part of Health Cooking: Tradition Meets Wellness.