peas

Question
Why do most diets say not to eat peas or corn, what do they have in them or what do they do?

Answer
Dear Rhonda,

There had to be low carb diets advising against peas or corn because these are "starchy vegetables" high in carbohydrates.

A low fat diet wouldn't mind including them  into one's eating plan due to their low fat content.

ADA advises including peas in a healthy diet due to high content of lutein (corn also is good for thar,) which is good for your eyes along with kiwis, red grapes, spinach, and yellow squash. Peas also provide sufficient amonts of fiber, protein, iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium, carbohydrates and other B vitamins.

As to corn, the best healthy corn bread is made of 100% "whole grain" corn flour. Corn is rich in folate. Here's what ADA states about folate:

What it does:

   * Folate plays an essential role in making new body cells by helping to produce DNA and RNA, the cell's master plan for cell reproduction
   * Works with vitamin B12 to form hemoglobin in red blood cells
   * Eating plans rich in folate may help protect against heart disease
   * Can help women lessen risk of delivering a baby with neural tube defects, like spina bifida

If you don't get enough:

   * A deficiency affects normal cell division and protein synthesis, especially impairing growth
   * Anemia, caused by malformed blood cells that can't carry as much oxygen, may be the result of folate deficiency
   * Pregnant women who don't get enough folate, especially during the first trimester, have a greater risk of delivering a baby with neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Dietitians recommend all women of child-bearing age consume adequate amounts of folate in their eating

Hope it helps,

Tanya Zilberter, PhD  

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