Nutrition for a new year

Nutrition for a new year

By Lisa Justice

Special to the Enterprise

As the New Year approaches, many of us are preparing for traditional festivities like staying up late to catch the first few seconds of the first day of 2012 or showering our fellow partiers with confetti.  And some of us are thinking about special foods to prepare in celebration.

One traditional New Year’s dish is black-eyed peas.  Black-eyed peas are believed to be a lucky thing to eat at the beginning of the year.  Tradition holds that these pale legumes with black, ocular shaped spots resemble coins or money when cooked.  But scientifically speaking, can eating black-eyed peas really be lucky?

Let’s take a look at the nutrition of black-eyed peas and see what they really have to offer those who eat them.

Black-eyed peas, like other beans, are a great source of the protein our bodies need.  But unlike many sources of protein, black-eyed peas don’t have any fat or cholesterol, so they are a great way to get what we need without adding extra amounts of things we don’t need as much of.

Proteins are like the building blocks of our bodies.  When our cells repair and replace themselves, proteins are the construction materials they use.  So when you get a cut and your skin has to make more skin cells to heal it, they need lots of protein. 

Black-eyed peas also have several minerals that are helpful to our bodies such as potassium, zinc and iron.

Potassium is kind of like the ignition in your car.  It gets everything started.  It helps transmit nerve impulses, contract muscles and release energy from the foods you eat so your body can use it.  Without potassium, your body wouldn’t be able to get much done.

Zinc is especially important this time of year when there are so many cold and flu viruses going around.  Zinc helps your body build immune cells that fight infections like viruses and bacteria and help you get well when you’re sick.

Iron is a key part of red blood cells that carry oxygen from your lungs to all the other parts of your body.  So black-eyed peas help build cells, heal wounds, contract muscles, fend off sickness, and transport oxygen all through your body.

As yet there is no scientific evidence that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s will help you become wealthy in 2012, but they can provide you with a wide variety of nutrients that will help keep your body strong and healthy.  And that in and of itself is pretty lucky.

*Explorit’s coming events:

• Explorit’s newest Exhibition, “Forces of Nature” is open the first full weekend of every month from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.  This exhibition welcomes the public back to our 3141 5th Street Nature Center and will feature some of the best of Explorit’s past exhibits.

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Explorit Science Center is located at 3141 5th St. and is open to the public every first Saturday and Sunday of the month.  For more information call (530) 756-0191 or visit http://www.explorit.org, or “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/explorit.fb.