Don’t be an open-mouthed idiot

To be good citizens who make a substantial contribution to the sustainable, eco-friendly development of our country for the common good of all, we need to be healthy in addition to being creative, imaginative and enterprising. Essentially, to be healthy we need to be conscious that more than eating well, we need to eat wisely. Just tasty food often stops at the tongue. That is why we need to be more concerned about nutrition than taste.   

Though taste is often more attractive and appetizing, highly qualified nutritionists say that a good breakfast is important for a healthy life. They say that for Sri Lankans, pulses such as gram, cowpea and green gram are ideal for breakfast. Unfortunately, because of a mad rush involved in the exam-oriented education system, children are given money and thereby trained to buy buns or fish buns. In international and other schools, at the short interval, the richer children use their mobile phones to order hamburgers or pizzas, which are tasty but contain substances that could cause non-communicable diseases later in life. This leads to a situation where the other children also feel they should be at that level and often force their parents to allow them that luxury though ultimately it causes illnesses like diabetes or blood pressure. That is why, though it may take more time, parents should prepare some pulses and encourage their children to eat gram, cowpea or green gram before going to school. The parents should also find the time to educate the children on why it is good to eat pulses rather than the tastier and more expensive burgers.   

On February 10, the United Nations marks the World Pulses Day and in this era when the government is trying to encourage families to eat nourishing locally-produced food items we and our children need to be educated by what this day teaches us.   

According to the UN, pulses which are also known as legumes, are the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for food. Dried beans, lentils and peas are the most commonly known and consumed types of pulses in the world while in Sri Lanka gram, cowpea and green gram are freely available. Sri Lankan village children may be eating pulses more often but among most city children, the breakfast is largely starch or something oily.   

According to the UN, staple dishes and cuisines from across the world feature pulses, from gram in the Mediterranean to a traditional full English breakfast including baked navy beans and Indian dhal. Pulses do not include crops that are harvested green as they are classified as vegetable crops. Also excluded are those crops used mainly for oil extraction. These include soybean and groundnuts. Also excluded are leguminous crops that are used exclusively for sowing purposes.   

Why are pulses important crops? The UN says that pulses have nutritional value, food security and environmental benefits. Pulses are low in fat and rich in soluble fibre. This can lower cholesterol and help in the control of blood sugar. In Sri Lanka, it is not only unhealthy but horrifying to learn that more than ten percent of schoolchildren are suffering from diabetes because they are eating too much starch or sugar. If not properly managed, diabetes could lead to serious heart problems or even death.   

According to the UN, for farmers, pulses are an important crop because they can both sell them and consume them. This helps farmers maintain household food security and creates economic stability. In pulses, the nitrogen-fixing properties improve soil fertility. This increases and extends the productivity of the farmland. By using pulses for inter-cropping and cover crops, farmers can also promote farm biodiversity and soil biodiversity, while keeping harmful pests and diseases at bay.   

There are many reasons why we should opt for pulses. They are naturally low in fat and contain no cholesterol. This can contribute to reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Pulses are also low in sodium. Sodium chloride or salt is a contributor to hypertension and can be avoided by consuming food with lower sodium levels such as pulses. Top nutritionists say pulses are a good source of iron. Iron deficiency is considered one of the most prevalent forms of malnutrition and is one of the most common types of anaemia. Nutritionists say that to help optimize the absorption of iron in our bodies from pulses, we should combine them with food containing vitamin C.   

Let us start eating wisely and educate our children on the value of pulses.