Legumes vs Pulses
Legumes are any plants from the Fabaceae or Leguminosae group. A legume comprises a whole plant including the stems, pods, leaves etc. Examples of legumes include bean plants, pea pods etc.
Pulses on the other hand, comprise of the edible seed found from the legumes. In other words, the seed part of a legume plant is the pulse. Examples of pulses consist of: beans, lentils, cowpeas, peas, green grams, pigeon peas, soy beans etc.
Legumes, Beans And Pulses
Legumes are a broad classification, under which pulses fall into. Beans are a type of pulse, which come in different varieties such as fava beans lima beans, black beans, kidney beans etc.
Nutrient Profile
Legumes contain a variety of nutrients including carbohydrates mainly in the form of starch, protein, iron, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. Other nutrients e.g. vitamin B1, B2 and B3 are also found in legumes.
The drying of seeds enhances the protein and fibre content of a pulse although it leads to a decrease in other nutrients e.g. vitamin C .
Soaking legumes in water propels the accessibility of nutrients such as zinc, iron, calcium and enhanced digestibility by destroying anti-nutrients and toxins. Legumes also possess sufficient quantities of vitamin C when they are soaked in water.
Pulses contain roughly 20%-25% of protein with the exception of soy beans that contain higher protein content- approximately 40%. Usually pulses and cereals act as complementary proteins in that the essential nutrients lacking in either are usually found in the other. For example, pulses contain threonine, lysine and tryptophan while they have a low content of cysteine and methionine that are higher in proportion in cereals.