Beans, beans…good for your heart… the more you eat…the more you…Expel Flatus !?@!?

Well Maybe NOT!

ACTUALLY new research provides additional insight into our ability to adapt to eating beans. As it turns out eating more beans, more often may be better. Folks believe that beans cause gas and bloating. Participants in a bean consumption study said that after the second to fourth week of regularly eating beans their gas was reduced over time.  As far as I’m concerned, gas is a normal bodily function…and the sign of a healthy digestive system. If you have REAL issues with beans and gas…dry beans can be cooked to reduce the amount of gas experienced…or use BeanO.

Beans, beans …good for your heart; good for stabilizing blood sugar; good for relieving constipation; good for improving GI/gut integrity; good for lowering your cholesterol; AND…beans, beans are good for weight management.  They also offer higher antioxidant content than some wines and many vegetables.

I’m told the bean has been around for 10,000 years or so. A lot of people think of the bean as a vegetable or a protein source, it’s actually a fruit.  But let’s talk about the nutrients in beans.  The current guidelines from all the major health authorities encourage more beans because they are an excellent source of fiber, protein, folate, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, and manganese…cholesterol free and fat free!   That’s A Mouth Full…

Beans can be incorporated into a daily meal plan…or at least 4 times a week, with minimum thought and effort. A ½ cup a day of… baby lima, black, black eye, cranberry, garbanzo, great northern, navy, pinto, red kidney …beans can give you ~ 120 calories, 7 ½  grams of protein (equivalent to 1 oz protein), < 1 gram of fat and < 4 milligrams of sodium.

There are 14 edible dry beans grown in the U.S. …so they are also abundant.

To start your journey eating more beans…try your favorite bean on a salad. There’s some evidence that rinsing canned beans reduces sodium content by ~ 40%. I’m not sure I buy it…but it couldn’t hurt.  And using canned beans is easy and convenient. Put beans in soups and stews. I’ve used bean paste (fat-free refried beans) to thicken sauces, and to bind ground turkey to be used for taco meat, burritos, meat loaf and sloppy Joes (made with turkey or Textured Vegetable Protein).  Purchase Hummus for snacking with whole grain crackers. The fat-free refried beans can be spread over whole grain tortillas to make mini pizzas or the spread of a quesadillas.  I’ve even had the bean paste in a breakfast burrito.  So…YES…beans for breakfast.  

Beans, beans…good for your heart…the more you eat… the more money you save!!

One pound of beans can feed a family of 4 (with leftovers), for $2.50 or less…depending on the bean. They are easy to store, with a shelf life greater than most foods.

The other hurdle that people must overcome when eating (dry) beans…with the first being outdated perceptions about gas…is their lack of knowledge about “how to” prepare dry beans.  If this is your issue…let me know. I’ll give you tips on how to prepare beans to keep them healthy and full of flavor.

Beans, Beans….they’re good for EVERYTHING!  

Le Greta