Lentils are a food source that combines a high protein content with a wide variety of health benefits. They are a good source of crucial amino acids, including isoleucine and lysine. In addition, sprouted lentils contain the amino acids methionine and cysteine. They also contain a wide variety of minerals and vitamins, as well as fibre. Their proportion of carbohydrates is up to 25 grams per 100 grams. They also contain vitamin B1, folate, molyb-denum, iron, tryptophan, manganese, phosphorous, copper and potassium, as well as a variety of phytochemicals and phenols. Let’s take a specific look at some of their health benefits.
One aspect of your lifestyle that lentils can help with is in maintaining a healthy heart. Of course, lentils on their own aren’t sufficient to foster good health in this respect. Other important tips are to give up smoking, if you are a smoker, be more active, stay or attain a healthy weight, cut down on saturated fat, eat a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, cut down on salt to avoid high blood pressure, and to substitute fish for meat (if you are a meat-eater).
The main dangers you face if you don’t maintain a healthy heart are coronary artery disease, heart failure and heart attack. These have slightly different symptoms. The symptoms of coronary heart disease include angina, shortness of breath, palpitations, tachycardia, dizziness, nausea and sweating. The symptoms of a heart attack include discomfort or pain in the chest, below the breastbone or in the arm (this pain may also spread to the back, jaw, throat or hand), indigestion or heart-burn, sweating, nausea, dizziness, weakness and anxiety, and tachycardia or irregular heartbeats. If you believe you are having a heart attack it is important to seek medical advice as fast as possible. Symptoms of arrhythmia (an abnormal heart rhythm) may also include palpitations, pounding in the chest, dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, discomfort in the chest and fatigue.
Of course, fatigue is not necessarily a symptom of an unhealthy heart, so it is important to consider what other causes it may have and also the consequences of fatigue. Fatigue can lead to chronic sleepiness, headaches, sore muscles, dizziness, delayed responses, poor decision-making, poor hand-to-eye co-ordination, appetite loss, irritability, blurry vision, memory loss, hallucination, poor concentration, low motivation, poor concentration, listlessness, world-weariness, tiredness, boredom, lassitude, difficulty keeping your eyes open, confusion, uncertainty, clumsiness, muscle weakness and many other problems.
So why would you be suffering from fatigue? Well, some of the reasons might be: coeliac disease, which is a food intolerance, on account of which your body has a bad reaction to gluten, which is found in pies, cakes, wheat, beer, bread, bread-sticks, scones, many biscuits, ale, pastry, bread rolls and other types of food; anaemia, which is iron deficiency, a problem that affects around 5 per cent of men and a proportion of women post-menopause and which leads to tiredness, lassitude and a heavy feeling; chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic encephalo-myelitis, or ME), a debilitating illness which can last for months or years and causes muscle pain, aching limbs, inflamed glands, tiredness, muscle pain, migraine, sore throat and a variety of other symptoms; sleep apnoea, in which your throat closes slightly during sleep, interrupting your breathing and waking you up; an underactive thyroid gland, meaning that you have a deficiency of thyroid hormone (thyroxine), which is likely to lead to tiredness, weight gain, aching muscles and lassitude; diabetes, a long-term illness which can be diagnosed with a blood test, and which is caused by an excess of blood sugar, so tends to require changes in diet and lifestyle; glandular fever, which is a viral infection that causes fever, swollen glands and a sore throat in the first instance, but which can leave you feeling tired and weary and weak for months afterwards.