| Food and Nutrition Q&A: | |
by Chelsy Leslie, RD, from the December 2003 newsletter
Question: I heard that chana dal (sold in bulk at the Co-op) is a good food for people with diabetes. Is this true? Does it also have health benefits for people without diabetes?
Answer: Chana dal (also known as Bengal gram dal) is a bean that looks just like yellow split peas, but is actually more closely related to garbanzo beans. It is used frequently in Indian cooking but hasn’t yet become popular in the West.
Chana dal can be a good food for people with diabetes because it has a low glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking of foods on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent that they raise blood glucose (or blood sugar) levels after eating. The glycemic index is lower for foods that raise blood glucose levels slowly. These foods can help people with diabetes control their glucose levels.
Foods ranking over 60 are considered high glycemic index foods. Examples of food high on the index include ice cream, croissants, bread, potatoes, dried fruit, and watermelon. Foods that rank as “moderate” on the glycemic index (between 45 and 60) include most types of pasta, bulgur, baked beans, green peas, sweet potatoes, orange juice, blueberries and rice. Low glycemic index foods (ranking under 45) include cruciferous vegetables, high-fiber cereals, unsweetened plain yogurt, grapefruit, apples, tomatoes, and beans. Interestingly, chana dal may actually have a lower glycemic index compared to other beans.
All foods that contain carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels, but a variety of factors effect how quickly this occurs and how high blood glucose levels rise. Some factors include the amount of fiber and fat in the food, how processed the food is, what else is eaten with the food, how the food is cooked, the acidity of the food, and how quickly your body digests the food (which varies from person to person). Fiber slows the rate that a food is digested and absorbed, which is why chana dal and other beans have a low glycemic index. The fiber in chana dal can also help control cholesterol levels and promote a healthy digestive tract.
Some weight loss books such as “The Zone” and “Sugar Busters!” are promoting the glycemic index as a weight loss tool. These books claim that high protein diets combined with low glycemic index foods can produce rapid weight loss. This concept is very controversial. It is important to keep in mind that the glycemic index doesn’t necessarily give an accurate picture about how good a food is for you. For example, a steamed potato has a 50% higher glycemic index rating than a Snickers bar (the fat in chocolate and nuts slows digestion). Of course, this doesn’t mean that replacing potatoes with Snickers bars is a healthy choice.
Interested in trying chana dal? It is smaller, younger, and sweeter than garbanzo beans, but can replace garbanzo beans in almost any recipe. Try making hummus with chana dal. This is one of the healthiest dips you can make. Try it with raw carrots, peppers, cucumbers, or pita bread triangles. Or use it as a sandwich spread with tomatoes, cucumbers and sprouts. Enjoy!
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