Are Green Peas Healthy?

I think a healthy obsession is, well …healthy. A great thing about this modern world is, if you suddenly get an idea in your head, you can deep dive into that thing and be consumed by it. Can you think of anything topical from the last year-and-a-half that people researched online and became experts in?

Whether you want to learn to knit, fix your lawnmower, research green peas, or cultivate an expertise in infectious diseases …well, my friend, you can join Reddit groups, read articles, read Blogs, follow Twitter accounts by prominent experts in that thing you’re interested in.

For the past 48 hours, I’ve been looking into whether green peas are healthy or not. No. I haven’t joined a green pea Reddit group and haven’t looked (but I bet there is one).

Some recent (healthy) obsessions have been…

• Best fish oil supplements
• Lossless audio ripping from CD
• CD v. vinyl
• AirPods
• Speaker placement in a large room
• Training to be an American Ninja Warrior while pushing 50

Another thing about Blogging is, if you pick a narrow enough topic, like whether green peas are healthy and why …you’ll find readers. Because somewhere, someone is Google’ing “health benefits of green peas” and because such limited research exists on this, they might find my Blog.

In short …yes. Green peas are healthy.

According to WebMD, a 3/4 cup serving of green peas gets you vitamins A, B-1, B-6, C, K-1, fights osteoporosis, increases bone strength, and provides 4 grams of vegetable based protein. Green peas are a starch, like potatoes according to Healthline. Healthline also says that green peas have:

• Fiber: 4 grams
• Protein: 4 grams
• Vitamin A: 34% of the RDI
• Vitamin K: 24% of the RDI
• Vitamin C: 13% of the RDI
• Thiamine: 15% of the RDI
• Folate: 12% of the RDI
• Manganese: 11% of the RDI
• Iron: 7% of the RDI
• Phosphorus: 6% of the RDI

But before you leave a comment and ask to join my Green Pea Fan Club, guess what? There’s some downside to green peas. Green peas contain anti-nutrients (things that inhibit your body from absorbing nutrients from other stuff). Like…

• Phytic acid: May interfere with the absorption of minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc and magnesium
• Lectins: Associated with symptoms such as gas and bloating and may interfere with nutrient absorption

Basically, they might interfere with some other vitamin and mineral absorption and make you feel bloated.

Conclusion …I’m buying a few bags of frozen peas and having them with brown rice for lunch a few days a week (but not when I’m wearing my skinny jeans). Benefits outweigh the negatives and EatThisNotThat says I’ll feel more full and my energy level will be noticeably improved.

Why Did Don Blog About Peas?

Why not? It’s my Blog and it’s about things I’m obsessing over – which is varied and random. Also, I advise people on Blogging and social media, and I want to show how I can get 100 readers on this Blog post and that it doesn’t matter WHAT you Blog about, but that you find an audience.

And the final reason …because I really wanted to know if I should eat green peas. I think I randomly saw an article once that green peas aren’t good for you. That didn’t make sense to me. I like green peas. I like them with a little ghee on them and some garlic salt. Turns out they’re good for me so I’ll buy more (they’re CHEAP at Costco).

Thanks for reading and please share any good (and healthy) green pea recipes.