Lentils
Why lentils are anti-inflammatory
Lentils are anti-inflammatory, mainly because of a starch that the body digests slowly. They are a small dried legume that cooks in about twenty minutes without soaking, and a cooked cup has around 18 grams of protein plus a good amount of fibre.
That slow starch is the main reason lentils sit near the bottom of the inflammation scale. Lentils raise blood sugar gradually, and the effect carries into the next meal: people who eat lentils at lunch have a smaller rise in blood sugar after dinner. Repeated sharp rises and falls in blood sugar are linked to low-level inflammation, so a steadier pattern is one way lentils help.
There is direct evidence for lentils themselves. In one study, adults who ate lentils every day for twelve weeks ended with lower fasting cholesterol, and the markers of inflammation measured after their meals came down.
Lentils also change what else is on the plate. A cup can replace the meat in a meal, and red meat scores 7 on the same scale, largely because of its saturated fat. Lentils supply similar protein with fibre instead of that fat.
Products with lentil in the name are often a different food. Tinned lentil soup is mostly water and can be high in salt, and lentil crisps are fried and salted like other crisps. Dried lentils in a bag are the cheapest form: brown and green lentils keep their shape in salads, and red lentils break down into soups. Expect some wind during the first weeks; it usually passes as your gut adjusts.
Lentils on the AIP diet
Lentils go out on day one of the Autoimmune Protocol elimination phase, along with every other legume. The protocol treats the proteins in a legume seed, and the tough fibre around them, as too much work for a gut that is already reacting. They also sit near the back of the reintroduction queue, behind eggs, nuts and seeds. Roast squash fills the same place on the plate until then.
Benefits
- Raise blood sugar slowly, and the steadiness carries into your next meal
- A cup cooked has around 18 grams of protein, enough to replace the meat
- Cook in twenty minutes straight from the bag, with no soaking the night before
- Cost less per serving than almost any other source of protein
Watch out for
- Expect some wind while your gut gets used to them, then it passes
- Tinned lentil soup is usually salty, so read the label before you buy
- Lentil crisps and snack packs are fried, which makes them another food
- They count as the starch of the meal, so they go instead of the rice
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Frequently asked
Are lentils anti-inflammatory?
Yes. Two things about them pull the same way. A bowl of lentils barely moves your blood sugar, and steady blood sugar is one of the levers on the slow kind of inflammation that builds over years. On top of that, a cup cooked has around 18 grams of protein, so it can take the place of the meat that would otherwise fill that slot.
Do lentils have to be soaked before cooking?
No, and that is what sets them apart from beans. Rinse them, cover them with water and simmer. Red lentils are soft in about fifteen minutes, brown and green ones in twenty to thirty. Soaking speeds it up a little and can make them easier on the stomach, but nothing goes wrong if you skip it.
Which lentils are best, red, green or brown?
It depends on what you are cooking, not on health. Red lentils lose their skins in the mill, so they fall apart and thicken a soup. Green and brown lentils keep their skins and hold their shape, which is what you want in a salad or a stew. The skin also carries most of the plant pigments, so the darker ones edge it.
Are lentils allowed on the AIP diet?
Not in the elimination phase. The Autoimmune Protocol takes out all legumes at the start, lentils included, and brings them back late, after eggs, nuts and seeds. If you are following it, roast squash or mashed sweet potato gives a meal the same weight while you wait.
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