1. Packed with nutrients and vitamins
Besan has a wealth of essential elements.
Chickpea flour weighs 92 grams or one cup, and it includes (1Reliable Source):
356 calories
20 grams of protein
Six grams of fat
53 grams of carbohydrates
Ten grams of fiber
Thiamine: thirty percent of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI)
101% of the RDI is folate.
25% of the RDI is iron.
29% of the RDI is phosphorus.
38% of the RDI is magnesium.
42% of the RDI is copper.
At 74% of the RDI, manganese
Chickpea flour has somewhat more folate per cup (92 grams) than is necessary for an average day. Pregnancy-related spinal cord abnormalities can be avoided in part by taking this vitamin (2Trusted Source).
More than 16,000 women participated in an observational study, and the babies of those women who ate flour fortified with extra folate and other vitamins had 68% fewer spinal cord abnormalities than the babies of those who ate ordinary flour (3Trusted Source).
Additionally, the blood folate levels of the women who consumed fortified flour were 26% higher than those of the control group (3Trusted Source).
Naturally, chickpea flour has almost twice as much folate as wheat flour that has been fortified (1 Reliable Source).
In addition, it’s a great source of copper, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and manganese.
2. May lessen the development of toxic substances in processed meals.
Polyphenols, which are advantageous antioxidants, can be found in chickpeas (4Trusted Source).
Free radicals are unstable chemicals found in your body that antioxidants combat. It is believed that free radicals play a role in the onset of many diseases (5Trusted Source).
It has been demonstrated that plant polyphenols in particular can reduce the number of free radicals in meals and partially undo the harm they can do to your body (4Trusted Source).
Furthermore, research is being done to see whether chickpea flour can lower the amount of acrylamide in processed meals.
An unstable consequence of food processing is acrylamide. High concentrations of it are present in snacks made with flour and potatoes (6Trusted Source).
It is a chemical that may cause cancer and has been connected to issues with hormone and enzyme activity, nerve and muscle function, and reproduction (7Trusted Source).
Besan yielded one of the lowest quantities of acrylamide when heated in a study evaluating many types of flours.
Additionally, researchers discovered that utilizing chickpea batter on potato chips reduced the production of acrylamide in comparison to potato chips treated with cranberry and oregano antioxidants (9).
Lastly, a different study found that acrylamide levels in shortbread cookies with a mixture of wheat and chickpea flour were 86% lower than those in cookies made only of wheat flour (10).
3. More protein than other types of flour
Compared to other flours, such as white and whole-wheat flour, chickpea flour has more protein.
20 grams of protein are contained in a 1-cup (92-gram) serving of chickpea flour, compared to 13 grams in white flour and 16 grams in whole-wheat flour.
Protein is necessary for your body to grow muscle and heal from wounds and illnesses. It’s crucial for controlling weight as well.
Meals high in protein make you feel filled for longer periods of time and need your body to burn more calories in order to digest.
Thus, you may reduce your calorie intake without necessarily adjusting your portion sizes by using chickpea flour in place of wheat flour.
This substance may be carcinogenic and has been linked to problems with nerve and muscle function, hormone and enzyme activity, and reproduction (7Trusted Source).
When chickpea flour was heated, it produced one of the lowest amounts of acrylamide in a study analyzing several flour types (8Trusted Source).
https://youtu.be/bb_ecRNA_Og?si=bMtVUhEZANYGC8_U
Furthermore, when chickpea batter was added to potato chips, the amount of acrylamide produced was likewise lower than when the potato chips were treated with antioxidants such oregano and cranberries (9).