Dry lentils are easy to store, and after cooking them, you can use them for soups, as a side dish or in salads. Remember to count the nutrients from other ingredients that you use to prepare your lentils so that your nutritional totals are accurate. The healthiest way to eat lentils is in moderation as part of an overall balanced diet.
Nutritional Overview
Each 100 g portion of dry lentils has 353 calories and 60 g of carbohydrates, including 2 g of sugars and 30 g of dietary fiber, which might lower cholesterol levels, reduce the risk for constipation and stabilize blood sugar levels. Lentils provide only 1 g of total fat per serving, less than 1 g of cholesterol-raising saturated fat and no cholesterol, so they can be healthy alternatives to high-fat, high-cholesterol fatty meats, such as steak. Lentils are nearly sodium-free.
Protein and Fat
Lentils provide 26 g of protein per 100 g. Their protein content is so high that lentils count toward your daily recommended servings for protein foods, which includes meat and beans, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Protein is a filling nutrient, and lentils might help you control your weight because protein slows down emptying from your stomach so that you feel less hungry, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Minerals
Each 100 g portion of dry lentils provides 7.5 mg of iron, or 42 percent of the daily value. Iron is an essential part of hemoglobin in healthy red blood cells, and children and women of child-bearing age need to be especially careful to get enough, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Lentils are high in potassium, which supports a healthy blood pressure, as well as magnesium, zinc and copper.
Vitamins
Lentils are excellent natural sources of folate, with 479 micrograms, or 120 percent of the daily value. Folate is an essential B vitamin for heart health because it helps control homocysteine levels in your blood, and pregnant women or women who might become pregnant need to be sure to get adequate folate because it reduces the risk for neural tube birth defects, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Lentils also provide thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and vitamin B-6.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Percent Daily Value: What Does it Mean?; Katherine Zeratsky; May 2010
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010; January 2010
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Legumes and Legume Products
- Harvard School of Public Health: Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center; Legumes; Jane Higdon; December 2005
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center; Folic Acid; Jane Higdon; April 2002
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