Hummus: nutritional facts

Hummus is a nutritional treasure. It’s not only delicious to eat, but also contain lots of vitamins, minerals, amino acids.

Also read: Hummus - is it good for you?

It’s hard to be decisive when talking about hummus in general. There are different kinds of hummus, in which the exact quantities of each ingredient vary. So it’s a little hard to be precise, but I can tell you: hummus is certainly good for you!

By the way: we are talking solely about homemade - or at list handmade - hummus (recipe). Industrial packaged hummus is not that healthy.

So what does hummus contain?

First of all, about 60-70% water. And though Tahini, the second most important ingredient, is basically a faty extract (of sesame seeds), only 10% of the final “product” is fat. And we’re talking about good fat, with lots of Omega 3 in it (200-300mg in an average serving of about 1 cup). The rest is mostly Carbohydrates and protein.

Overall, hummus contain up to 200 calories for 100g, and a large hummus portion may contain up to 300 grams. True, not really dietary in the regular sense. On the other hand, it makes you really satiated, without increasing glucose levels in your blood that much (Gthe lycemic Index, GI, is 10-15). So for most people hummus is a healthy, calorie-worthy choice.

Hummus also contains lots of crucial nutrients, most of which come from the tahini BTW. It has a high content of important minerals like Manganese, Copper and Sodium, and also some Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Zinc. It is relatively reach in Vitamin C and B6 and also contain vitamin E, K, Folate and Thiamin.

Hummus also contain about 20 essential Amino Acids, including large dosages of Tryptophan,
Phenylalanine and Tyrosine, a threesome that makes it, surprisingly, a potential substitute for Prozac and the such. Omega 3 too was found to be effective in treatment for minor mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

So what am I saying? If you love hummus you can eat a lot of eat, and not feel bad about it. You are going to be healthier and happyier.

Disclaimer: I’m no expert, not in the acasemic sense. Only a guy who LOVES hummus and reads a lot.

March 21, 2007 | Filed Under Health & Diet, chickpeas, Hummus | Tags: , , ,

Comments

8 Responses to “Hummus: nutritional facts”

  1. Barak UNITED STATES on April 13th, 2007 1:21 am

    Shooky, this blog is a great resource for humus-lovers! Your humus-as-anti-depressant theory sounds like my own theory about Japanese red-bean cakes, which always make me feel slightly euphoric. I attribute the cheer to some combination of amino acids. Maybe if you ease up on the prepared-humus-is-crap attitude, you can get Sabra or Two Brothers to fund a research grant, and then you’ll be able to spend all your time on humus.

  2. lara UNITED STATES on October 10th, 2007 4:06 am

    hummus is love.

  3. David on December 24th, 2007 9:30 pm

    HUMMUS IS A WONDERFUL FOOD! WE LIVE ON IT (WITH WARM WHEAT PITA OFF THE GRILL) ALMOST EVERYDAY AS A SNACK - IT DOES WONDERS FOR THE APPETITE AND HELPS SHED WEIGHT OVERALL. WE BUY THE GARLIC WITH EXTRA VIRGIN OIL BRAND. YUM, I GOING TO HEAT A PITA AND DIP IN HUMMUS RIGHT NOW!

  4. Janet UNITED STATES on December 26th, 2007 9:24 pm

    Hummus is also an excellent source of protein, especially when eaten with pita or other breadstuff. It is the tastiest, most satisfying food. I eat it for supper about 4 nights a week with sliced turnips or sliced kohlrabi, carrots, sweet peppers, celery, little tomatoes or tomato wedges, or any other veg you like for dipping. All in all a lovely food.

  5. Allison on March 5th, 2008 10:36 pm

    Just wanted to say that myself and my entire office are hummus eaters- we eat it everyday at 3 00 and we have a case of it from Tribe Hummus whomakes the best hummus in the world ! We love it on Mazoh and on Wasa bread . The Zesty Lemon is our favorite and it also helps our digestive systems we go regualry everyday - in addition we are all women and all are in a sales department so it helps when we get depressed!! We love hummus !

  6. shooky ISRAEL on March 6th, 2008 2:26 am

    Allisson - I suspect you never tried REAL hummus. Packages hummus like Tribe’s is not as tasty, nor is it healthy as much as freshly made hummus.

  7. The Hummus Diet: cause it works make! » The Hummus Blog on March 16th, 2008 12:32 am

    […] should come as no surprise to you if you know a bit about hummus. I already discussed the nutritional virtues of hummus in prior posts so I won’t go into too much details this time, but the fact is that hummus is […]

  8. Shiro UNITED STATES on April 15th, 2008 9:02 pm

    Ever tried shiro? its an Eritrean/Ethiopian dish also made from chickpeas. Powdered chickpeas spiced with few other spices like pepper, onion, tomato, and olive oil…added to bioled water. My favoret ‘hummus’ you can call it, and I eat endless amounts of it.

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