Lentil soup was originally a staple of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean diets, but is now served in the kitchens and restaurants of many regions. A traditional lentil soup recipe includes lentils, which are small legumes; tomatoes; bacon or ham; onions; celery; and herbs and spices. Different recipes will yield different nutritional profiles. Information provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, provides a typical baseline.
Serving Size and Calories
According to the USDA, a 1 cup serving of lentil soup with ham contains139 calories. Twenty-five of those calories come from fat. Of the remainder, 34 come from protein and 80 from carbohydrates.
Fat
One cup, or 248 g, of lentil soup has 2.8 g of total fat. Of these, 1.1 g are unhealthy saturated fats. According to Harvard nutritionist Walter Willett in "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy," saturated fats reduce cardiovascular health by stimulating your body to produce artery-blocking LDL cholesterol. Lentil soup's remaining 1.7 g are unsaturated fats, which are healthy fats.
Carbohydrates
A serving of lentil soup carries 20.2 g of carbohydrates. Nearly all of these are complex carbohydrates. According to Willett, complex carbohydrates deliver energy in a slow, steady stream. This causes less stress on your pancreas and leaves you feeling full for longer over the course of the day.
Protein
A serving of lentil soup delivers 9.3 g of protein. If the soup is made with ham, a portion of these proteins are complete proteins, carrying all of the amino acids your body needs but can't produce for itself. Vegetarian lentil soup will deliver only incomplete proteins. According to Willett, most plant sources of protein must be eaten in combination with complementary foods for you to take in a complete protein.
Vitamins
One cup of lentil soup contains 12 percent of the USDA's recommended daily allowance of folate and thiamine, and 11 percent of your vitamin B6. It contains smaller but still significant levels of vitamins A, C, B1, B2 and B12.
Minerals
A serving of lentil soup has between 15 and 20 percent of your daily requirement of iron, phosphorus and manganese, as well as 10 percent of the necessary potassium. It contains smaller, but significant, levels of calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper. This comes at the cost of 1,319 mg of sodium, over half of your daily allowance.
References
- "USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference"; USDA; 2009
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett M.D.; 2007
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