Lupin beans are not nearly as popular as they should be. That is a pity. I am sure the beans are happy enough when they are not being eaten, but I think humanity and a variety of other beasts would be substantially happier if they did, in fact, eat them.
My fascination with them came when I noticed that there is something peculiar going on with lupini. According to the BRAMi brand, they contain no carbs except fibre. One would expect such claims from an overpriced luxury brand that targets gullible people who believe in fairy tales, but the story is a little more fuzzy and a little more interesting this time.
There are some other brands, that are substantially more credible and significantly cheaper, and that do not make any ridiculous claims, but still state in their nutrition facts label that their beans contain no carbohydrate except for fibre, or only a negligible trace amount.
However, the USDA claims something quite different, and that discrepancy is intriguing. In fact, it prompted me to finally create my first post for this blog here.
And then there was Cedar. The Cedar lupini I talked about, came from Portugal, according to the label anyway. However, I recently noticed at my local Loblaws that the Cedar brand also has lupini from Spain. And there is something fascinating about them.
So, let's put the basic nutrition facts in a table, normalised to 100 g. This assumes, based on a number of jars and cans that I have weighed, that 125 ml is the equivalent of 85 grammes. This is not a precise number, but it is 'precise enough' for this purpose.
Now, this is interesting. No net carbohydrates in one jar, and 10.6 g net carbohydrates per 100 grammes in another jar from the same company. Really? Who knows, it may all be true, but isn't this at least a good reason to be sceptical and cautious when companies make grandiose claims that just happen to be what the latest fad dictates?
However, we are dealing here with a company that makes no claims whatsoever about these beans. So, we have to wonder.
That said, lupini really are a wonderful snack, and I appreciate them even more when working through another allnighter.
*****
Please note that I make no health claims and no nutritional claims. There are enough alternologists and quacks on the Internet already and I have no intention of joining them.
I sincerely encourage you to talk to an actual medical doctor or registered dietitian before making any health- or nutrition-related decisions.
If I made any mistakes in this post, please *do* feel free to point them out to me.
My fascination with them came when I noticed that there is something peculiar going on with lupini. According to the BRAMi brand, they contain no carbs except fibre. One would expect such claims from an overpriced luxury brand that targets gullible people who believe in fairy tales, but the story is a little more fuzzy and a little more interesting this time.
There are some other brands, that are substantially more credible and significantly cheaper, and that do not make any ridiculous claims, but still state in their nutrition facts label that their beans contain no carbohydrate except for fibre, or only a negligible trace amount.
However, the USDA claims something quite different, and that discrepancy is intriguing. In fact, it prompted me to finally create my first post for this blog here.
And then there was Cedar. The Cedar lupini I talked about, came from Portugal, according to the label anyway. However, I recently noticed at my local Loblaws that the Cedar brand also has lupini from Spain. And there is something fascinating about them.
 |  |
 |  |
| Cedar Portugal | Cedar Spain | |
| Energy: | 21/15*100=140 kcal | 130/85*100=152.9 kcal |
| Fat: | 1/15*100=6.7 g | 2.5/85*100=2.9 g |
| Total Carbohydrate: | 1/15*100=6.7 g | 13/85*100=15.3 g |
| Fibre: | 1/15*100=6.7 g | 4/85*100=4.7 g |
| Net carbohydrate: | (1-1)/15*100=0 g | (13-4)/85*100=10.6 g |
| Protein: | 2/15*100=13.3 g | 12/85*100=14.1 g |
Now, this is interesting. No net carbohydrates in one jar, and 10.6 g net carbohydrates per 100 grammes in another jar from the same company. Really? Who knows, it may all be true, but isn't this at least a good reason to be sceptical and cautious when companies make grandiose claims that just happen to be what the latest fad dictates?
However, we are dealing here with a company that makes no claims whatsoever about these beans. So, we have to wonder.
That said, lupini really are a wonderful snack, and I appreciate them even more when working through another allnighter.
*****
Please note that I make no health claims and no nutritional claims. There are enough alternologists and quacks on the Internet already and I have no intention of joining them.
I sincerely encourage you to talk to an actual medical doctor or registered dietitian before making any health- or nutrition-related decisions.
If I made any mistakes in this post, please *do* feel free to point them out to me.
Why do you think this happens? Does seem like nutritional info is all that much regulated. I buy macadamia nuts at Costco that states a 28g portion contains 24g fat, 4g carbs, 2g protein. Fairly certain that’s not physically possible?
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