12/03/2016

Beans101Cheap,NutritiousandSuperHealthy

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Beans101Cheap,NutritiousandSuper
Healthy
ByKrisGunnars,BSc|
March,2016
|
21
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Like

28

Beanshavealotgoingforthem.
Forstarters,theyreinexpensive,simpletoprepareandagreatadditiontomanydishes.
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Theyrealsoadeliciouswaytoloaduponfiberandplantbasedprotein.
Infact,beanscancountasbothaproteinandavegetablesourceinyourdiet.
Yetwhilebeanshavemanyhealthbenefits,theymaycauseissuesforsomepeople.
Readontofindoutmoreaboutthenutrientcontentandhealtheffectsofbeans.

WhatAreBeans?
BeansareseedsfromplantsinthePhaseolusgenus.Theyareatypeoflegume(1).
TheyarenativetoCentralandSouthAmerica,andhavebeengrownthereforthousandsofyears.
Today,beansareanimportantfoodsourceforpeopleallovertheworld.
TypesofbeansthatarepopularintheUSincludeblack,kidney,navy,favaandpintobeans(2).
Thisiswhatafewtypesofbeanslooklike:

Thenutritionalprofilediffersfromonebeantoanother.However,asanexample,acup(171gram)of
boiledpintobeanswillprovide(3):
Protein:15grams.
Fat:1gram.
Carbs:45grams.
Fiber:15grams.
Iron:20%oftheRDI.
Calcium:8%oftheRDI.
Magnesium:21%oftheRDI.
Phosphorous:25%oftheRDI.
Potassium:21%oftheRDI.
Folate:74%oftheRDI.
DecentamountsofBvitamins(B1,B6),vitaminE,vitaminK,zinc,copper,manganeseand
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selenium.
Thisiscomingwithonly245calories,makingpintobeansoneofthemostnutrientdensefoodson
earth.
Manyothertypesofbeansarejustasimpressiveinthenutrientdepartment.
Takenoteofthehighproteincontentofbeans,whichisrareamongplantfoods.Forthisreason,they
areconsideredtobeanimportantproteinsourceonavegetariandiet.

BottomLine:Beanscomeinmanyvarieties.Theyarehighinproteinandfiber,butlow
infatandcalories.Theyarealsoexceptionallyhighinawidevarietyofvitaminsand
minerals.

BeansCanHelpYouLoseWeight

Beansmaybeamongthemostweightlossfriendlyfoodsyoucaneat.
Theyarehighinbothproteinandfiber,butlowincalories.Proteinandfiberaretwoofthemost
powerfulnutrientsforweightloss(4,5).
Onestudyfoundthatpeopleonahighfiberdietwithbeanshadreducedfeelingsofhunger.Theyalso
lost3pounds(1.4kg)in4weeks(6).
Anotherstudyfoundbeanconsumptiontobeassociatedwithimprovednutrition,alowerbodyweight
andreducedbellyfat(7).
BottomLine:Beansareveryhighinbothproteinandfiber,butlowincalories.Eating
morebeanscanhelpyouloseweight.
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BeansCanPromoteHeartHealth

Heartdiseaseisaleadingcauseofdeathworldwide.
Interestingly,eatingbeansandotherlegumesregularlymayhelpreducethisrisk(8).
Areviewof26studiesfoundthatadietrichinbeansandotherlegumescanlowerLDLcholesterol
significantly,whichisanimportantriskfactorforheartdisease(9).
Eatingbeansmayalsoleadtoimprovementsinotherheartdiseaseriskfactors.Theyhavebeenlinked
tolowerbloodpressure,higherHDL(good)cholesterollevelsandreducedinflammation(10,11).

BottomLine:BeansmayhelpreduceyourriskofheartdiseasebyloweringLDL
cholesterol,bloodpressureandinflammation.

BeansCanHelpFightType2Diabetes

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Thereisalsoevidencethatbeansareagoodfoodchoicefordiabetics.
Beansarehighinfiber,averagingaround5to8gramsperserving.Theyalsohaveaverylow
glycemicindex(12).
Foodslowontheglycemicindexraisebloodsugarslowly,whichisimportantfordiabetes
management.
AdietrichinbeanscanthereforelowerbloodsugarandHbA1clevels,whichmeasurebloodsugar
controlovertime(13).
Inonestudy,bloodsugar,insulinandtriglyceridelevelsalldecreasedsignificantlywhendiabeticsate
beansasasubstituteforredmeat(14).
Areviewof41controlledtrialsalsofoundthatbeansandotherlegumescanlowerfastingblood
sugar,insulinlevelsandHbA1c(15).
BottomLine:Studiesshowthatbeanscanleadtomajorimprovementsinpeoplewith
type2diabetes.Thisislargelyduetothehighfibercontentandlowglycemicindex.

SomeBeansContainDangerousToxins

Althoughbeansareahealthyfoodoverall,somedocontaintoxins.Favabeans,forexample,have
toxinsthataffectpeoplewholackanenzymecalledG6PD.
Forthesepeople,eatingfavabeanscancauseaconditioncalledfavism.Favismcancauseanemia,
throughthedestructionofredbloodcells(16,17,18).
Otherbeansespeciallyredkidneybeanscontainatoxiclectincalledphytohemagglutinin,
whichispresentinraworundercookedbeans.Itcancausenausea,vomitingandstomachpain(19).
Youcanavoidphytohaemagglutininbythoroughlycookingbeansbeforeeating(19).
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Herearesomemoretipsonneutralizingharmfulsubstancesinplantfoodslikebeansandlegumes:
HowtoReduceAntinutrientsinFoods.
BottomLine:Certainbeanscanbetoxiciftheyareundercookedoreatenbypeoplewho
lackcertainenzymes.Makesuretocookbeansthoroughly.

BeansCanCauseFlatulenceforSomePeople

Forsomepeople,beanscancauseflatulence,stomachpainorbloating.
Thereason,isthatbeanscontainlittlesugarscalledoligosaccharides,whichcancausedigestive
problems(20).
However,usingproductslikeBeano,soakingbeansorthoroughlyboilingdrybeanscanallreducethe
oligosaccharidelevelsbyupto75%(20).
Onestudyfoundthatconsumerperceptionofbeansandflatulencemaybeexaggerated.Onlyaround
halfofpeoplewhoeatbeansexperiencesymptoms(21).
BottomLine:Whilebeansmaycauseflatulenceforsomepeople,thereareseveral
methodsthathelptopreventthisproblem.

BeansAreIncrediblyHealthyandNutritious
Attheendoftheday,beansareprettyclosetobeingtheperfectfood.
Theyarehighlynutritious,incrediblyhealthyandcontainatleastalittlebitofalmosteverynutrient
thatthebodyneeds.
Althoughbeansmaycausedigestiveproblemsforsomepeople,mostofthesecanbeavoidedwiththe
rightcookingandpreparationmethods.
Anotherimportantfactisthatbeansareverycheapcomparedtomostothernutritious,wholefoods.
Thismakesbeansoneofthemostnutrientdensefoodsonearth,bothpercalorieandperdollar.
Like 28peoplelikethis.Bethefirstofyourfriends.

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