Dried Beans One of Nature's Healthiest Foods
By Pamela99
Variety of Beans
Dry Beans- a Healthy Food
There are many reasons to eat dried beans as they - are one of nature’s healthiest foods. They are a great source of protein, vitamin B, potassium, iron and fiber with complex -carbohydrates, little fat and no cholesterol. Protein builds and repairs muscle; carbohydrates give you energy to get through the day. In addition, dried beans are rich in fiber and the typical American diet does not include enough fiber. They are an incomplete protein, so look for other protein sources to complete a meal.
The National and international expert bodies such as, the World Health Organization, the National Research Council, the World Cancer Relief fund, the National Heart and Lung, and Blood Institute and the U. S.Surgeon General have all reviewed many scientific studies with he conclusion that eating beans can enhance your health and may reduce your risk of getting heart disease and certain cancers. There are other studies that show beans can be useful in managing diabetes and may reduce the risk of hypertension, plus they may help you lose weight. Beans are thought to prevent reduce cholesterol as they have no saturated fat. Another good thing about eating enough beans in your diet is high fiber foods help keep you regular.
Great Reasons to Eat Beans
To be successful in adding more fiber to your diet, do so gradually,making small changes rather than fast ones. Allow about 3-4 weeks for your body to adjust to the higher intake of beans. Another method to help with the higher intake is to soak the beans in hot water before cooking, then drain that water and refill with fresh water. This will help reduce the gas forming sugars found in beans without losing any large amount of nutrients
There are many other practical reasons to eat beans including:
- They are inexpensive.
- They are easy to store long term. Store them in a tight container in a dark cool place, like your pantry.
- Beans can easily fit into a busy lifestyle as bean meals can be prepared in about 30 minutes. Bean dishes can also freeze easily and use your microwave to heat them up.
- The mild flavor of beans lets you season them in a variety of ways and you can spice them up as much as you can tolerate. Some common spices used with beans are garlic, onion, peppers, tomatoes, oregano, cumin, parsley, bay leaves, coriander and thyme to add zest to your recipes
Best Way to Cook Dry Beans
Healthy Bean Variety
Facts About Beans
The USDA recommends that adults should eat more than three cups of beans each week for maximum health benefits. This is about three times higher than the average American consumption. The new bean dietary guideline lists more than a dozen types of beans (both dry packaged and canned). These recommended beans are; black eyed peas, great Northern beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, cranberry beans, red beans,Lima and baby Lima beans, garbanzo beans and navy beans. Many vegetarian recipes use dried beans as one of the main ingredients. Bean soups are also very popular.
In the United States the top growing bean states are North Dakota,Michigan, Nebraska,Minnesota, Idaho,Colorado, California,Washington, Wyoming and Texas.Many beans are grown on organic farms also as the demand increases.
Healthy Recipes...Easy Black Beans, Frijoles Negros
In conclusion, you can’t go wrong eating beans. They are so healthy and there are multiple recipes that can be utilized. Furthermore, they are inexpensive, easy to store with a long shelf life and packed with nutrition.
Eat Your Beans
Have you learned anything from this hub that would make you want to eat more beans?
See results without votingThe copyright to this article is owned by Pamela Oglesby. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Pamela....This is a very informative hub...I need more of these in my diet! Also need more recipes to cook up this Summer as well! Thank you for the video also.....Best, GPAGE
I sing when I eat beans.
Tom, I am fond of beans also, almost any kind. My husband like the limas but I like pintos and black beans. Thanks for your comment.
GPAGE, Glad you enjoyed the hub. I appreciate your comments.
Jim, I guess singing for beans is okay! Why not? Thanks for sharing.
Dearest Pam...
Wonderful hub! I love beans. Beans are part of our diet in South America. From lentils,split peas, garbanzo beans, black eyed peas, white, red and black beans; we have a variety of dishes prepared with them. Especially stews and soups! Pretty neat info! Rated up and useful!
Warmest regards and infinite heavenly blessings,
Al
I think I used that same video on my hub! lol
Habee, I thought it was a good video and didn't remember seeing it before but the first contest day was today so I haven't had a chance to read everyone's hub yet. Thanks for stopping by.
Mystique, It sound like you are on a healthy diet and could post some wonderful recipes for us. Thanks so much for your comment. Blessings to you also.
I love beans. Thanks for the hub
Pamela
OK here we go again; in the most Republican bodies Protein would definitely be present in an abundance because it builds and repairs muscle (Republicans are strong on defense); carbohydrates are also Republican based chemicals giving us energy to get through the work day (a concept foreign in Democratic Bodies, work that is).
Democrats mainly consist of saturated fat. This increases as they progress through life basicically sitting on their couches; only getting up to go to the mail box and gather their Government Cupons in order to go to the store and buy more foods loaded in Saturated Fats to munch on while they sit throughout the day watching their Wide Screen TV’s provided by Obama’s redistribution plan.
Hello, I'm glad you like beans and the hub. Thanks for your comment.
Patriot, I can always count on you for a bit of a different slant on things. I think you may have outdone yourself on this one. Thanks for your prolific comments and a good laugh.
Very good, Pamela. I already eat lots of beans, for all the reasons you said above, & also because I like them. And I thought I knew lots about them, but you provided me with more information. Thank you.
Ken, Thank you so much for your comments. Glad to hear you eat your beans. I didn't realize how healthy they were until I researched this hub.
Enjoyed the hub - so important for fiber and protein. Inexpensive too - which i s never a bad thing!
Billy, I fully agree with your comment. Thanks for stopping by.
Great hub and we can't get enough protein and fiber as we move into our twilight years - oh that just sounds delightful!
Akirchner, That is so true. Thanks for your comment.
By the way, all beans are not the same. I have checked protein content of several kinds of beans, and I was surprised to see that protein content fluctuates between 4% and 15%!
This was really great information. Thank you for sharing.
I love beans but have been told to stop eating them as they aggravate gout, which I suffer from.
Useful and interesting information anyway. Thank you.
Love and peace
Tony
Ted, Thanks you for your comment. I knew the protein and some other nutrients varied with beans but I didn't know it was ever as low as 4%. It is always best to read labels.
Nancy, Thank you for your comment.
Tony, Thanks for your comment and good luck with your gout problem.
I agree that it is very important to read the labels as I thought beans were a good source of protein and they are, yet incomplete, so more should added to the meal. Good, votedup/rated!
PS: If you are submitting this to the contest, it may be wise to correct some words running together. Hope you don't get mad at my pointing it out; because I think all who enter really work hard and it's something that I don't think I could do unless the topic was of utopia interest to me. Peace.
Support Med, Thank you so much for your comment and telling me about the words running together. This has been happening to me. They are fine when I post it and I accidentally discover that the words are running together sometime later. I have corrected several hubs and wonder if anyone else has this problem. I appreciate your letting me know.
You know you food Pamela. This is another great write and helpful. I am often "bean-powered". God bless!
Micky, Beans are good fuel. Thanks for your comment.
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Tom Whitworth 24 months ago
I just love beans.