Cowpeas are widely cultivated and grown in the dry seasons, across Asia and other African regions. It has been coined as the poor man’s food since it is mostly available everywhere and affordable. It has been a staple African and Indian food. Cowpeas has its creamy, nutty, and earthy taste that makes them a suitable garnish or extenders to your staple everyday meals. It belongs in the bean family and comes in various colors ranging from red, white, black, and brown. There are various methods on how to cook cowpeas to soothe everyone’s taste and preferences. You can have it boiled, sauteed, and can be a good additional ingredient to porridges, baked bread, stews, or salads. You can even use it in desserts when sweetened or caramelized. Read on to discover some nutritional facts about cowpeas!

Cowpeas have many nutritional properties that make them a great staple in your pantry. Aside from being an economical food these days, the health benefits of cowpeas can truly nourish our bodies.

Cowpeas are great for people with insomnia.

Lack of sleep can ruin your focus and energy levels for the day. Imagine being awake the whole night or finding it hard to get a blissful slumber and you have to get to work the next morning feeling light-headed and slacking off from your daily routines. Insomnia has been a serious sleep disorder that affects thousands of people every day. Taking sleeping aids and other chemical-based sleep-inducing drugs can further worsen the condition in the long run. Food like cowpeas is a rich source of Magnesium and tryptophan that can similarly be found in bananas. Magnesium and tryptophan are excellent sources of sleep-inducing and regulating compounds and enzymes needed by the body to produce serotonin; a natural sleep-activating hormone. Eating cowpeas can give you a natural dose of these elements that can improve your sleep.

Cowpeas are essential to gut health and body detoxification.

There are several benefits that you can get from a healthy digestive function and a normal functioning gut. The food can be digested easily and nutrients are fastly absorbed by the body; regular bowel movements can also contribute to your overall wellness and comfort. Cowpeas are rich in dietary fibers that play an important role in the digestion process. These fibers stimulate the stomach walls to digest or break down food properly and provide a peristaltic movement in the intestinal walls to stimulate the gut from excreting fecal compounds and harmful toxins of the body. Cowpeas’ fiber content can help with weight loss, regulating blood glucose, and detoxification. It has twice the fiber properties of apples and other fruits. 

It helps to manage Insulin in the body.

Insulin has a vital role in regulating blood sugar. People suffering from diabetes need insulin to avoid sudden glucose elevation and other complications brought about by diabetes. The benefits of cowpeas amongst diabetics are that it aids in the metabolic process of carbohydrates to be converted into energy and maintain a normal level of sugar in the blood. Diabetes has been one of the top mortality cases in the world that can result in severe health conditions like blindness, neuropathy, chronic kidney diseases, and even cardiac disease.

Cowpeas are essential for our bone and dental health.

Healthy bones together with strong teeth play an important part in overall health. Strong bones can help us perform chores and rigorous activities, while a healthy set of teeth can contribute to better food mastication and digestion. Calcium, manganese, copper, and phosphorous are the key elements found in cowpeas that help to nourish the bones and teeth. They contain vital nutrients to prevent bone deformities and skeletal diseases like osteoporosis, rickets, and bone mass reduction. These are also essential in the tooth enamel to keep them strong. Lack of calcium, copper, and other bone vitamins can cause acute or chronic bone ailments.

Cowpeas can help regulate blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Hypertension and elevated cholesterol levels in the body can severely affect our health. In fact, hypertension and cardiovascular associated disorders have been identified as one of the top mortality-causing diseases around the world. This condition can be specified as hereditary, because of sedentary lifestyles, and may have been caused by underlying factors or hormonal imbalances. Cowpeas consumption can actually help lower down cholesterol levels distinctly because of its high dietary fiber content and rich protein levels that can significantly lower down bad cholesterol levels and unwanted fat deposits inside the body that can lead to excess weight, stroke, arterial plaques, and even coronary heart disease.

Cowpeas help to achieve youthful skin.

Getting clear and youthful skin can be anyone’s dream. The soft and supple skin texture adds a more youthful complexion and hides the signs of aging. After all, our skin is the largest organ of the body and serves as the first line of defense against microbial factors and germs that can cause illnesses. That’s why having healthy and intact skin is crucial to someone’s immune health and wellness. To achieve that youthful and glowing skin, the consumption of foods rich in antioxidants like ascorbic acid, zinc, and Beta-carotene found in cowpeas must be on your meal plan every day. These potent antioxidants help to delay several signs of skin aging and can help further to strengthen the immune system while fighting harmful free radicals that can cause cellular damage.

Cowpeas can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Heart disease can almost affect anybody at any age. Factor to consider can be genetics, congenital, hereditary, and even because of unhealthy lifestyles that mostly prevail in this generation just like smoking, stress, lack of sleep, and an unbalanced diet that lacks nutritional contents crucial to our heart health. Our heart was coined as the largest muscle in the body, this pumps oxygenated blood supply to nourish all vital organs inside our body. The heart-friendly compounds called flavonoids found in cowpeas are said to be very effective in the prevention of cardiovascular defects and diseases. Cowpeas can also be a great substitute for oats and grains, since these beans are rich in fibers and carbohydrates that can be an excellent source of energy without having to worry about saturated fats and unwanted bloatedness.

Conclusion

Cowpeas are remarkably amazing in meeting our nutritional requirements. It’s a miracle food that stores so many nutrients and vitamins essential to health and immunity. Its flavorful taste and affordability make a significant addition to our everyday culinary choices. The health benefits of cowpeas complement the required balanced diet and nutritional requirements of adults and children too. So start adding and using cowpeas regularly and harness their great wonders from nature.