National Eat Beans Day!

Today we are celebrating the numerous health benefits of beans! Beans are also known as legumes which are seeds, pods, or other edible parts of a plant used as food. While some of you out there might be thinking “Oh, I’m not a fan of beans”, it is probably because you’ve only tried a few different kinds. There are actually over 13,000 species of beans to try and are only second to grains in providing the world’s population with calories and protein!

While many people have the misconception that beans cause unpleasant gas, if prepared correctly, this side effect is virtually removed. Legumes are rich in fiber, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, as well as isoflavones. Each of these nutrients provides unique health advantages that are broken down and simplified below:

Fiber- Beans can contain between 3-19 grams of fiber per ½ cup serving depending on which type you choose. The fiber content of beans helps to lower bad cholesterol, lower spikes in blood glucose, increase satiety, decrease risk of cancer and help to regulate the digestive tract.

Protein- Try and replace some of your animal protein with beans. Not only is this a lot more inexpensive, beans do not have any saturated fat, the kind of fat which leads to heart disease.

Antioxidants- Richly colored dried beans offer a high degree of antioxidant protection. In fact, small red kidney beans have a higher amount than blueberries! Antioxidants help to destroy free radicals in your body, thus reducing your risk of cancer.

Vitamins & Minerals- Beans contain large amounts of thiamin, folate, vitamin B6 and niacin which can provide you and your fat burning efforts with plenty of health benefits to promote wellness. Other essential nutrients include calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and manganese.

Isoflavones- While there is a high amount of isoflavones in soy beans, many other beans have these compounds as well. While research is still being done on studying the health benefits of these compounds, they may ease symptoms of menopause, reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers such as breast cancer and improve bone and prostate health.

You can either purchase beans dried or canned. While dried beans are less expensive than canned, they take longer to cook. If you buy dried beans, soak them overnight so they become tender; drain the water in which they were soaking and rinse.  Cover with fresh water and cook (this will get rid of the gas problem!).  When buying canned beans, always remember to rinse and soak them before use because they are usually loaded with sodium.  If possible, find low-sodium canned beans. Whether it be tossing some black beans into a taco, or on top of your salad, making fresh hummus from garbanzo beans, or creating your own soup with a variety of different beans such as navy, pinto, kidney, lentils and lima beans, you are on your way to a more healthy lifestyle!

Now that you know the benefits of eating beans, go out and discover the many different varieties and experiment with adding them to your favorite dishes.

How will you prepare your beans today?

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