Sorry, Kale. Beans Are the New Nutrition Obsession.
Why everyone is excited about beans. (Really.)
By Andrea Petersen, WSJ
Nov. 20, 2024 5:30 am ET
That can of beans in the back of your pantry is becoming the new hero of the American diet.
The humble bean, long a culinary bit player, has become a darling of nutritionists. High in protein and fiber, and low in fat, beans help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Recent research suggests that eating beans frequently can improve gut health, and might lower our risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and colon cancer.
High in iron, potassium and folate, beans are “a nutrient powerhouse,” says Amy Bragagnini, a registered dietitian in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They are inexpensive and keep for a long time. (Yes, they also come with some less-savory side effects—more on that later.)
Beans have, somewhat improbably, cultural cachet, too. On TikTok, an account devoted to “dense bean salads” has more than 2.7 million followers, with recipes that mix beans, bell peppers, tomatoes and sliced chicken, for example. Beanlandia, a new, legume-focused museum and community center in New Orleans, serves as headquarters for an annual bean-themed parade, replete with marchers in suits bedecked with dried beans.
Rancho Gordo, a seller of heirloom bean varieties such as Christmas lima and King City Pink, has an approximately $200-a-year subscription bean club with 26,000 members and a wait list of about 20,000. The founder and chief executive, Steve Sando, whose “Bean Book” cookbook hit bestseller lists this year, gives sommelier-like descriptions of such beans as Eye of the Goat, which he deems “kind of beefy and velvety,” adding it “releases the most divine bean broth.”
Much of the new enthusiasm for beans comes from research showing how they help balance the gut microbiome, which reduces inflammation in the body and potentially cancer risk. Beans contain starches and other components that helpful gut bacteria like to eat, says Carrie Daniel, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Eating beans “keeps the beneficial players happy and functioning in the gut microbiome,” she says.
In a recent study, Daniel and colleagues had participants—people with obesity and a history of colon cancer or precancerous polyps—either eat their normal diet or add beans every day for eight weeks. The subjects who ate beans daily had greater diversity in their gut microbiomes, along with increased good bacteria and a decrease in bad bacteria after two months. Stool and blood samples showed the changes were a result of the beans.
The study, which involved 48 participants, was published in 2023 in the journal eBioMedicine. The researchers bought the beans used in the study with funds from a program created by a bean growers’ group. The bean industry and the USDA Pulse Crop Health Initiative, a government program launched in 2018 to promote the consumption of beans, peas and lentils, has funded other research into beans’ benefits.
Beans star in the latest round of the government’s dietary-advice discussions. Scientists advising the government on dietary guidelines have drafted a proposal to increase the recommended amount of beans, peas and lentils that Americans should eat each week, up from the current guidance of 1.5 cups, or about one can, for adults ages 19 to 59 consuming a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. Most people eat about half that now.
Beans are high in fiber, which most Americans don’t eat enough of. Fiber-rich foods keep us fuller longer and help with weight management, says Jamie Mok, a registered dietitian in Los Angeles and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Nutritional values for selected beans
The protein and fiber in beans also help reduce spikes—and subsequent crashes—in blood sugar, says Bragagnini. This can help our bodies use insulin more effectively and curb sugar cravings, she says.
Not everyone is on board. The scientists advising the government on the dietary guidelines have also drafted a recommendation that Americans limit red meat, and instead eat more plant foods such as beans, peas and lentils.
The notion has met with near-immediate derision from the meat industry.
“We would laugh at the suggestion that beans, peas and lentils are going to replace lean red meat and fill all the nutrient gaps Americans are facing if it weren’t such a dangerous and deceptive idea,” says Ethan Lane, vice president of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a trade group for cattle farmers and ranchers.
How to eat more beans
Add beans to things you already eat, such as salads, soups, eggs and the meat sauce you put on pasta, Mok suggests. Bragagnini recommends snacks including roasted chickpeas and steamed edamame. And when you make chili or burgers, replace some of the meat with beans, she says.
There is, of course, a reason that beans are dubbed the “musical fruit” as the song goes. They can cause gas and bloating, especially if you’re not used to eating them. Dietitians advise people who want to add beans to their diet to start slowly. Begin with a quarter cup, suggests Mok. Drink plenty of water, which can prevent fiber-related constipation, and move around if you feel bloated or gassy, says Daniel.
“The issue with beans is you just have to work your way up, and you have to continue to eat them,” Daniel says. “Your body will acclimate.”
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