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5 Reasons Why We Should Eat More Beans

Why should we eat beans? There are so many reasons!

For Longevity

Beans and other legumes (lentils, peas, etc.) are the most important dietary predictor of longevity in people of different ethnicities. Among 785 older adults in several countries, each 20-gram increase in daily legume intake resulted in a 7 to 8 percent lower risk of dying during the study period. No other food groups consistently predicted survival. Similarly, legumes are a dietary staple in the “Blue Zones,” areas of the world known for longevity.

To Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Eating legumes four times a week or more, compared to less than once a week, confers a 22 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease. Research also shows that legumes lower blood pressure and that a single serving of beans a day can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol by 5 percent!

To Protect Against Diabetes

Eating legumes helps prevent type 2 diabetes, and it improves blood sugar control in people who already have diabetes.

For Weight Management

Legume-based meals have been shown to be more satiating than animal-based meals, probably due to the combination of fiber, protein, and slowly digested carbohydrate. Regular legume eaters have healthier body weights than those who do not eat these foods regularly, and legumes can help people lose excess weight.

For Essential Nutrients

Legumes are rich in protein, fiber, iron, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients. What about lectins? Well, most of these are destroyed by cooking, and those that remain may have important anticancer benefits.

Plus, beans are delicious, versatile, and inexpensive!

What about gas and bloating? If you’re not used to eating legumes, start slow, and try lentils, split peas, and smaller beans first. Your body will adjust gradually. Also try rinsing canned beans well, cooking them thoroughly, sprouting beans before cooking, soaking beans longer or doing double soaks, adding a strip of kombu seaweed, and eating fermented legumes such as tempeh.

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About the Author

Headshot of Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DIPABLM

About the Author

Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DipABLM

Dr. Michelle McMacken is a board-certified internal medicine physician, executive director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals, and an assistant professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine. An honors graduate of Yale University and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, she has more than 14 years of experience practicing primary care, directing a medical weight-loss program, and teaching doctors-in-training. An enthusiastic supporter of plant-based nutrition, she is committed to educating patients, medical students, and doctors about the power of healthy eating and lifestyle modification. Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn All opinions expressed by McMacken are her own and do not necessarily represent those of her hospital affiliations; neither she nor her affiliated hospitals have a financial relationship with Forks Over Knives.
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