Health Benefits Of Hummus

Hummus has exploded in popularity (at least in the United States) over the last few
years. It’s a relatively simple dish to make, you can make it taste like anything, and it’s
actually not all that bad for you. Did you know that hummus can actually be healthy?
Here are some of the benefits of hummus.

1. Hummus can help keep your regular

Thanks to its high fiber content, one of the benefits of hummus is that it can keep your
digestive tract regular. It’s an effective and tasty way to get more fiber into your diet and
fiber itself has other health benefits like helping to prevent heart disease.

2. It can help improve your bone, muscle, skin, and blood health

Hummus has a high amount of protein. Protein is an essential building block in bone,
muscle, skin, and blood health. You can get this from meat but vegetarians are usually
looking for all sorts of ways to get protein. Hummus is a good one.

3. Hummus can help lower your cholesterol

Hummus is made from chickpeas which are better known as garbanzo beans. Beans in
general have nutrients in them that can help lower your cholesterol. Of course, if
avoiding heart disease is a high priority, you may want to make your own at home
because grocery store brands tend to be high in sodium!

4. It can also help prevent cancer

Another common health benefit of beans in general are their cancer preventing
properties. Beans have three compounds, saponins, protease inhibitors, and phytic acid
that have shown in tests to guard cells from the kind of damage that can cause cancer.

5. It can help you lose weight

Hummus is traditionally made with sesame seed butter (called tahini) which contains a
fair amount of monounsaturated fats. These have their own set of health benefits but
among them is the ability to help promote weight loss and reduce belly fat. This is
because monounsaturated fat is a popular substitute for trans fats and polyunsaturated
fats which cause weight gain and increases in belly fat.
6. It can help your bones grow stronger

Both chickpeas and tahini also contain calcium which, as we all know, helps contribute
to good bone health. This is especially important for women who are reaching their
golden years as their bones need calcium to avoid osteoporosis.

7. It can help alleviate anemia