Explain the importance, composition and nutritive value of pulses in human diet.

 

Pulses are edible fruits or seeds of pod-bearing plants belonging to the family of the leguminous. The major pulses which find important place in our dietaries are red gram dhal, bengal gram, black gram dhal, green gram dhal and masoor dhal. Some are used as whole grams. Cow pea, rajmah and dry peas also belong to leguminous family.

Pulses are the “poor man’s meat”. Pulses can play an important role in bridging the protein gap. An alternate name for pulses is “legumes”. The term gram is commonly used for dry legume seeds with husk, while split decorticated grains are called “dhal”.

Importance of Pulses:

Pulses are an important source of protein, especially for vegetarians or for people who do not get enough protein by eating meat, fish or dairy. 

Furthermore, pulses are a healthy choice for meat-eaters, helping cut off excess fat from diets, and contain zero cholesterol. 

They are also a good source of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, especially iron and zinc.  

In terms of gram-for-gram nutritional value, pulses are also far cheaper than meats or other sources of protein, offering an economical alternative. 

Pulse crops such as lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas are an important source of plant-based proteins and amino acids for humans and animals. They also provide other important nutrients; • Pulses play as part of sustainable food production aimed towards food security and nutrition. They are part of a healthy diet to address all forms of malnutrition • Pulses are thought to have positive effects on the prevention of non- communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, coronary conditions and cancer • Pulses are recommended in many dietary guidelines such as Health Canada’s Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide, the MyPlate system of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Eatwell Plate of the Food Standards Agency in the UK and Nutrition Australia’s Healthy Living Pyramid • Pulses are an important part of vegetarian diets and are often used as meat replacement.

Composition of Pulses:

Pulses have the same calorific value as that of cereals. However, the protein content and health benefits of pulses are double as that found in cereals.

– The fat content  is about 2 grams of fat for 100 grams of pulses.
– The whole pulses are a significant source of Vitamin B complex.
-The amount of iron present in pulses is high. It has about 10.
– Pulses have about 60 grams of carbs for every 100 grams of pulses.
-the amount of calcium present in pulses is about 100 to 200 mg for every 100 grams of pulses.
-pulses have zinc
-copper present
-some pulses also have magnesium

 

Nutritive Value of Pulses:

i. Energy: Pulses give 340 calories per 100g which is almost similar to cereal calorie value.

ii. Protein: In a vegetarian diet, pulses are important sources of protein. They give about 20-25 percent protein. The proteins of pulses are of low quality since they are deficient in methionine and tryptophan. Pulses are rich in lysine. The most effective combination to achieve maximum supplementary effect is 5 parts of cereal proteins and one part of pulse protein. In terms of grains 8 parts of cereals and 1 part of pulses. This combination gives a protein quality equivalent to animal protein.

iii. Carbohydrates: Pulses contain 55 to 60 percent starch. Soluble sugars, fibre and unavailable carbohydrates are also present.

iv. Lipids: Pulses contain 1.5 per cent lipids on moisture free basis. They contain high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Along with cereals, they meet the requirements of essential fatty acids for an adult. Apart from linoleic acid, most legume seed oils contain high proportion of linolenic acid. They undergo oxidative rancidity during storage resulting in loss of protein solubility, off flavour development and loss of nutritive quality. Oleic, stearic and palmitic acids are also present.

v. Minerals: Pulses are important sources of calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus; 80 per cent of phosphorus is present as phytate phosphorus. Phytin complexes with proteins and minerals and renders them biologically unavailable to human beings and animals. Processing such as cooking, soaking, germination and fermentation can reduce or eliminate appreciable amounts of phytin.

vi. Vitamins:Legume seeds are excellent source of B complex vitamins particularly thiamine, folic acid and pantothenic acid. Like cereals they do not contain any vitamin A or C but germinated legumes contain some vitamin C.

Conclusion:

India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, yet it is also the largest importer of pulses. The issue with India is that it is more vegetarian than any other society in the world and pulses are also the most economic source of protein for Indians. Consequently, our dietary dependence on pulses as the main source of protein is enormous.