Saul Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Dear ALL, Lupini beans recently have come to my attention: Like soy beans, they appear to be a vegan high quality, complete protein (low in methionine); but, unlike soy beans, they are also low in fat (see the attached .html file below). They also have an interesting history: Apparently, they were a snack consumed by the Pharoahs of ancient Egypt, as long as 4,000 years ago. And they are a popular snack in some Middle Eastern countries today. I've begun to enjoy them as a snack, myself. I'd like people's thoughts on this interesting bean. -- Saul lupins.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 Saul, Thanks for bringing them to our attention. I'd never heard of lupin beans. Do you prepare them yourself or buy them already cooked and brined? It appears without careful and extended (something like 7 days!) preparation they can be toxic due to their alkaloids. The commercial variety (e.g. Cento Brand) that come pre-prepared in a jar appear to (not surprisingly) have 175mg sodium per quarter-cup, 30kcal serving of Cento-brand prepared lupin bean. That's not super-high, but 1/4 cup isn't much. Regarding nutrition, comparing 100g of cooked lupin beans vs. 100g one of my favorite legumes, black beans, lupin beans appear to be a lot lower in carbs (10g vs. 24g), and fiber (3g vs 9g), but a lot higher in protein (16g vs. 9g) and fat (3g vs 0.5g). The fat in lupin beans is 40% MUFA, 21% Omega-6, 4% Omega-3, and 12% saturated, which seems like a pretty reasonable distribution, although the saturated fat is a little surprising. Not that much SFA in total though (0.35g / 100g serving). Regarding vitamins and minerals, lupins are higher than BB in some, and lower in others. Overall, I'd say lupin beans are nothing I'd write home about unless you're looking to get more protein/fat and less carbs/fiber in your diet. Are you attracted to them for their taste? When you say you enjoy them as a snack - what form are they? --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 They're also low cal. -- Saul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 They're also low cal. Yes, lupin beans have slightly higher water content than black beans, and therefore slightly fewer calories (119kcal vs. 132kcal for 100g). --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Hi Dean! You're quite right that lupins need extensive preparation, if you prepare them yourself. I buy them in a jar, brined -- a different brand than the one that you found (but similar). They are certainly not my principle protein source -- fish, preferably sashimi. is my main protein source. But, I thought these might be interesting to vegans -- a complete, low methionine, low carb protein source -- which, unlike the other complete, low methionine, low carb bean -- the soy bean -- is much lower in fat. Seems to me like the ideal vegan protein source -- low carb, low fat, complete, low methionine protein source -- no other legume or nut comes close, as best as I can see. (For me, they're just a snack). (P.S.: I also like black beans and garbanzo beans). -- Saul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Saul, Seems to me like the ideal vegan protein source -- low carb, low fat, complete, low methionine protein source -- no other legume or nut comes close, as best as I can see. What makes you think lupin beans are significantly lower in methionine (M) than other beans? Here is a ranking I made of a few beans (and almonds for comparison) per 100kcal in CRONometer, sorted by grams of methionine per 100 kcal serving. All the number except the last column are in grams. The "% Meth" is percentage of protein coming from methionine. Standouts in each category are in red. I've included a screenshot of the table at the bottom in case this looks funky on your screen. Food Carbs Fat Prot Meth % Meth Black beans 17.9 0.4 6.7 0.10 1.5 Lupin beans 8.0 2.5 13.0 0.09 0.7 Chickpeas 16.7 1.6 5.4 0.07 1.3 Lentils 17.3 0.3 7.6 0.07 0.9 Soybeans 5.8 5.2 9.7 0.03 0.3 Almonds 3.7 8.6 3.6 0.03 0.8 Soybeans (edamame) are the clear standout if you want to minimize either methionine per 100 kcal or methionine as a percent of protein. Lupin beans aren't particularly low in fat for a legume, although they are lower than soybeans and (obviously) lower than nuts. As you suggest, if you're looking to get extra protein and fewer carbs, while keeping methionine low, lupin beans would be a good choice, although the fact that it's only really practical to buy them in a jar (and therefore harder to find and expensive relative to other legumes) makes them less of a viable option. Plus, I think there are few of us, even vegans, who have trouble getting enough protein. That's a very common myth about veganism, but really it's hard to keep from getting significantly more than the RDI if you are eating enough calories. --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeta Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Wow, I hadn't heard of lupin beans either! They look excellent: low in many anti-nutrients, for example, though people with peanut allergies might want to be cautious. Zeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Hi ALL! No claim that lupins are the LOWEST in methionine; the point is, that, to be a high quality COMPLETE protein, it should have MORE methionine than typical vegan protein sources -- all other beans and nuts are too LOW in methionine. (Of course, gluten [wheat protein] is on the HIGH side in methionine -- higher even than animal sources. So one can get balanced vegan protein by mixing beans or nuts with wheat gluten.) Lupins are still low in methionine -- much lower than animal sources -- but it seems to me that they're high enough in methionine to rate them as a balanced, single source, vegan protein -- possibly the only such (next best that I know: soy. As Dean points out, however, lower in % methionine than lupins -- so more distant from being balanced. Also,soy is high in fat [mostly healthy fat, but still fat]). Also, Dean -- at least in my supermarket, lupins in saline in a jar are cheap. (But, if you grow them yourself, as Dean notes, you'll have a huge job denaturing them.) BTW, they're tasty, and high fibre, low cal, so a filling snack (which is why I like them). But, whatever you will or won't do with this interesting bean, I think that those of us on the Forums might do well consider it. -- Saul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Thanks Saul! Lupin beans certainly are an interesting and unique legume. Thanks for bringing them to our attention. I'm going to keep my eye out for them in the supermarket and give them a try if I can find them. Somehow I don't think Aldi's is going to carry them, but perhaps the 'fancy' supermarket I sometimes shop at... --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 For more discussion on lupin beans, see this thread. --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Pomerleau Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 I like to live dangerously, so despite a smidgen of concern over their toxicity, I picked up a jar of Cento-brand lupin beans when I noticed them walking down the ethnic food aisle of my grocery store. They have a nice crunch (similar to lightly cooked chickpeas), and tasted quite salty, even after rinsing them. They are pretty expensive for the amount you get in a jar. I added the bulk of the jar to my "starch mix" of cooked barley, oat groats, quinoa, black beans, chickpeas, lentils and sweet potatoes, and don't plan on buying them again. Sorry Saul, they aren't anything to write home about in my book. But thanks for the recommendation to try them! --Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthira Posted June 1, 2016 Report Share Posted June 1, 2016 ...I noticed them walking down the ethnic food aisle of my grocery store... Maybe they're expensive because of their bean-powered ambulatory power -- which I believe is unique in the Lupinus genus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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