Hummus: nutritional facts
Hummus is a nutritional treasure. It’s not only delicious to eat, but also contain lots of vitamins, minerals, amino acids.See Also: Hummus, is it good for your Diet?
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.
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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.
hummus is love.
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!
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.
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 !
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.
[...] 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 [...]
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.
I loved finding your blog! Thanks for all this hummas love and insight!
I’ve certainly found Hummas to be yummy and highly satisfying with pita bread or even better pita chips…and as much as I love that combination – I have often avoided doing it for caloric reasons! Recently I’ve had a desire to eat more raw vegetables and needed something to tempt and motivate me to keep it up – so as I speak I’ve been dipping broccoli, cauliflower and peppers in hummas for additional zip and VOILA! After reading all the information on your site – I now want to explore making it myself! Thanks again and yet another example of the power and magic of the Internet! I didn’t expect to find an entire blog dedicated to this wonderful dish!
not sure you can say all mass produced hummus isn’t that good for you…
love your site
love humus
כל טוב
Shay.
hummus is delicious, but I have come to figure out that it isn’t a very fun food.
[...] a recent posts I already explained how nutritious Hummus is (I’m talking about REAL hummus of course, freshly made from dried chickpeas. Here’s the [...]
Great on bake potatoes!
be brave young humus lovers,wherever you are. tweek it.try hemp oil instead of olive. try stalks of bok choy for scuppin’ it. go southwest, add a pepper, perhaps jalapeno or cayenne. i like homemade cuz you have more choice. chives or parsley or oregano from your garden. maybe freshly foraged ,cleaned and grated dandelion root. go for it.
HUMMUS IS YUMMUS
You should really try the best recipe that will guaranty you to stay away from doctors specialty during the winter .The name of delicious recipe issssssssss.CLAUDIA`S home made ”HUMMUS”.give me a call and I will show you how.(717-6617433).
my recipe…………..chick peas, roasted red peppers, olive oil, garlic, and spicy red sauce……….YUM
Try it instead of mayo with tuna or grated carrot on sandwiches or baked potato – amazing!!
habanero pepper instead of red pepper sauce,
the hotter the better…
[...] http://humus101.com/EN/2007/03/21/hummus-nutrition-facts [...]
Homemade, roasted red bell pepper, some Jalapenos…yummy! I DO NOT like any store bought since making it at home, including cooking the chick peas.
Hummus is so delicious! And another feel good food are figs!
[...] The Hummus Blog Hummus Nutrition Facts Hummus instead of Prozac Tags: babaganouj, babaganoush, hummus [...]
Steam fresh beets (quartered) for 15-20 min (depending on size).
Don’t waste time removing skin (IMHO they taste better but make sure well washed to remove soil/sand etc.). They will stay good in the refrigerator for quite a few days.
Spread cold beets generously with hummus.
As close as I ever get to a religious experience!
Discovered by accident when the refrigerator was suddenly bereft of mayo (thank you wife for having placed a container of hummus in easy reach at this very critical moment xoxoxo).
Now I have found that everything I formally paired with mayo can be dramatically improved with hummus. Serendipity came to my rescue!
I now actually love making my own (O.K. “our own” as I will occasionally let others in the family share the joy) hummus: protein, fiber, good oils, wonderful fragrances of lemon, garlic, cumin, parsley,
Good things can still come late in life.
Are the following found in chickpeas or tahini?
Tryptophan
Phenylalanine
and Tyrosine
I make my hummus without tahini.
norm – both chickpeas and tahini are rich in all three amino acids (and about 15 others), but the amounts of Tryptophan in tahini is much higher.
[...] cheddar and fresh spinach wrap. I didn’t discover hummus until I was in my early 30’s, and now it’s one of my favorite snacks. My kids love it in [...]
my favorite hummus is Cilantro and Jalapeno Hummus from Trader Joe’s
I’m freaking lovin’ this lol. I just got done polishing off a container of (locally made/organic) hummus. Mmmmm.
I like home-made hummus. Some of the commercially-prepared stuff is a little high in fat for my liking. But I like it with that special flat bread. Mmmmm.
I am a Diabetic how much Protein is in Hummus? Can any one break down the carbs ect?
I have recently discoverd houmous it keeps me full for hours I would even say its better than meat and I like my meat!
There are only 8 essential amino acids, not 20!
But I do love hummus so I’m not trying to argue…
I love Hummus, first tasting it about 10 years ago. I recently been diagnosed with Diabetes so thanks for some of yalls info on it. Also i recently started buying a hummus with artichokes and spinach, i love it so much i made an omelet with it and its great!
Comments address amino acids in hummus:
– There are eight amino acids that are referred to as “essential” amino acids. They are called essential as your body does not make these amino acids and must be consumed through food intake.
– These acids are as follows;
— isoleucine
— leucine
— lysine
— methionine
— prenylalaine
— threonine
— tryptophan
— valine
Three of these acids are -not -found in chickpeas but are found in tahini. These are;
— methionine
— threonine
— tryptophan
For a nutritious, well-balanced hummus you need tahini. I only point this out for the vegans who need to be aware of their protein/animo acid intake. I cite Alton Brown’s you tube video as the source and, if you love hummus (as I do) you need to see his hummus video on this web site. Cheers.