Hummus is a delicious blend of chickpeas and tahini that can be made with garlic, peppers or many other variations. It can be eaten like a dip using pita bread, pita chips or pretzels, or hummus can be added to a sandwich to give you a creamy moist taste without the need for mayonnaise or butter. Nutritionally, hummus has the advantage of having 0 trans fats and provides you with about 20 essential amino acids.
Minerals that are plentiful in hummus include manganese, copper, calcium, iron and zinc. Hummus is not fat free, but the fats that are found in it are the “good” fats with lots of omega-3 fatty acids. Besides these nutritional benefits, hummus is also a good source of vitamins B6, vitamin E and K, folate and thiamine. Calorie wise, hummus is not considered a low calorie food. For about 2 Tbsp. of hummus, there is about 50 calories.
However, for the calories consumed, hummus is satisfying to your hunger for a longer period of time. Eating hummus does not cause a high increase in your blood glucose levels. Compared with traditional dips for chips and snack foods, hummus is an intelligent alternative nutritionally. Interestingly enough, several days ago, I had hummus a couple of times with some pita bread and not only did it keep my hunger away, but I noticed an outstandingly good mood which I attributed to not feeling even a low level of hunger.
Upon reading about hummus, there was an article about the essential amino acids in hummus having a similar effect to antidepressants such as Prozac in diminishing depression, anxiety and compulsive behavior. This would explain the mood improvement after eating a healthy portion of hummus. While we won’t see doctors prescribing hummus for mood disorders, it is still fascinating to see how the foods we eat can have a profound effect on our state of mind.
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2007 at 10:02 pm and is filed under Foods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.