Nutritional Benefits of Beans

I was recently given the opportunity to organize nutrition month at St. Josephs Hospital here in Edmonton though a dietetic volunteer position. I was allowed to chose any topic I saw fit considering current dietary patterns and problems facing our population. After much thought, I decided to focus on beans. I made this decision because the typical western diet has far too much fat, sugar, and salt, and lacks fibre. A diet high in fat contributes to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation outlines dietary guidelines to reduce heart disease risk here, which encourages both vegetarian diets and high fibre choices. Too much salt can cause hypertension, a main determinate of heart disease. While a diet high in sugar is often blamed for the endemic of diabetes mellitus in North America; the Canadian Diabetes Association outlines the importance of soluble fibre consumption for diabetics here.

Beans are an ideal choice for someone looking to lower their risk of these far too common and often diet related disease. Beans are low in fat, salt free, and high in fibre. In addition, they are extremely inexpensive and produced right here in Canada (view a map of Canadian bean growing regions). For all of these reasons and more, Loblaw chief Galen Weston has referred to beans as "the food of the future" in this video from the Canadian Food Summit.

Fig. 1. Bean buckets (2008) Vilsesogen, [digital image]. Retrieved April 12, 2012 from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vilseskogen/2736507245/.

The most important reason one should include beans as part of a healthy diet is their high fibre content. Most Canadians don’t consume even close to the adequate intake of fibre recommended by Health Canada. When fibre is mentioned people instinctively think bowel regularity. Though this certainly is a benefit of insoluble fibre, the benefits of soluble fibre may have a more significant impact on the average Canadian’s health. Read what the Dietitians of Canada have to say about different kinds of fibre here. The fibre content of beans is mostly soluble, it dissolves in water and has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and regulate blood sugar. Lowering blood cholesterol can decrease chances of heart disease by preventing build-up of cholesterol in coronary arteries. The ability of soluble fibre to aid in blood sugar regulation is valuable for both diabetics and athletes. Beans are a low glycemic index choice, meaning they gradually release glucose into the blood and do not cause spikes in blood sugar levels. This also allows for long term energy for endurance activities and athletes.

Aside from the fibre, beans also contain plenty of iron, folate, and protein. They are virtually fat and sodium free, but be sure to drain and rinse canned beans as it will reduce the sodium content significantly. The protein found in beans is considered “incomplete” simple because it lacks 2 of the 9 essential amino acids. This is easily remedied by consuming beans with whole grains or nuts, which is how they have been traditionally consumed around the world historically. For example: black beans and corn(grain) in central America, soy beans and rice(grain) in Asia, and hummus made of garbanzo beans and tahini(sesame seed paste) in the middle east. This is known as protein complementing and it is possible to get all required protein from plant sources.

Here are a few meal ideas to get started:
-Try adding lentils to tomato sauce served over whole wheat pasta
-Add beans and barley or quinoa to soups to increase fibre and protein
-Include cooked black beans and nuts such as pecans or walnuts to a salad instead of meat
-Spread hummus on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise or other high
calorie spread
Print this cookbook from Pulse Canada that focuses on bean based meals and snacks!

To find out more about how and why to use beans to reduce your risk of disease:
Watch the documentary Forks Over Knives. View the trailer here
Check out the Pulse Canada website
Follow @Pulsecanada or @EatPlantBased on Twitter
Pick up Spilling the Beans cookbook by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan
Visit my Classmate Yuhan Jiang's blog to find out why the animal protein in milk is being questions, replacing cow's milk with soy is yet another bean replacement!

Thanks for reading and eat beans!
Kandice