Key Points
\nEating beans daily can improve your overall health by supporting digestion, heart health, and weight management.Beans are packed with fiber and protein, which keep you full, aid digestion, and stabilize blood sugar levels.To avoid digestive discomfort, gradually increase your bean intake and drink plenty of water to help fiber work effectively.<\/p>\n
Whether you buy them canned<\/a> or cook them from dried<\/a>, no pantry is complete without beans. They’re gamechangers for plant-based recipes<\/a>, and they can elevate your favorite meat dishes, too. Most importantly, beans are extremely healthy, thanks to their high content of essential nutrients. It might even be worth eating them daily (or almost daily). Why, exactly? We asked dietitians to explain how eating beans daily can affect your body and whether it’s a good idea for everyone.\n<\/p>\n Jessica Zinn, MS, RD, CDN, CDCES, registered dietitian<\/a> at Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital What Happens When You Eat Beans <\/p>\n Registered dietitians explain the four main effects of eating beans.\n<\/p>\n Improved Digestion <\/p>\n With beans in your daily rotation, you’ll have no problem creating gut health recipes<\/a>. “Beans are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber, which both aid in digestion,” says Jessica Zinn, MS, RD, CDN, CDCES, registered dietitian at Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital. Soluble fiber helps nutrient absorption by slowing down digestion, while insoluble fiber adds bulk to stool. This can help prevent constipation and support bowel regularity, Zinn says. What’s more, the fiber in beans feeds beneficial gut bacteria. “As they digest the fiber, they produce compounds that support the GI tract and overall health,” says Stephanie Mitchell Urich, MS, RDN, LD, registered dietitian and clinical instructor at the School of Health Sciences, Missouri State University.\n<\/p>\n Increased Fullness <\/p>\n If you want to make your meals more filling, add beans. According to Zinn, they’re excellent for satiety because they contain both fiber and protein<\/a>. “The combination of fiber and protein is the key to staying full and satisfied, and beans have them both in one,” says Zinn. Essentially, fiber slows gastric emptying, keeping you fuller for longer. Meanwhile, protein stimulates satiety hormones, according to Zinn. Additionally, the combination of fiber and protein helps stabilize blood glucose, which also supports meal satisfaction, says Zinn.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Higher Intake of Plant-Based Protein <\/p>\n “Beans are a reliable and affordable source of plant-based protein<\/a>, providing about 7 to 9 grams of protein per half cup cooked,” says Urich. This may be less than what’s found in meat, but beans also have nutrients like fiber and phytochemicals that you can’t get from animal-based protein, notes Urich. Thus, beans are an excellent option if you’re looking for meatless recipes<\/a> or lean protein sources.\n<\/p>\n Better Cholesterol Levels <\/p>\n Due to their high soluble fiber content, beans can help manage your cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber can “bind to cholesterol in the digestive tract and carry it out of the body in a bowel movement, instead of allowing it to enter the bloodstream,” says Urich. “Over time, this can help lower total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol,” she says. This is crucial because high cholesterol can increase the risk of heart disease, and there are few ways the body can lower cholesterol on its own, according to Urich.\n<\/p>\n Is It OK to Eat Beans Every Day? <\/p>\n Needless to say, eating beans<\/a> often can benefit your health. The habit can support digestive regularity, cardiometabolic health, and weight management (due to increased satiety), and may also increase intake of micronutrients such as folate, magnesium, potassium, and iron<\/a>, says Zinn. It’s also safe for most people to eat beans daily, according to Urich.\n<\/p>\n The catch? As mentioned, beans are high in fiber, so you’ll want to increase your intake slowly. Otherwise, if you eat too much fiber too soon (from beans or otherwise), you might experience gas, bloating, cramping, diarrhea, or constipation, according to Zinn. “This happens because the gut bacteria ferment the fiber in the beans, leading to excess gas production,” Zinn says.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n To prevent these side effects, add beans to your diet gradually. This will allow your gut and digestive system to gradually adjust. It’s also important to drink plenty of water, as this will help fiber do its job, says Urich. Light physical activity, such as walking, helps keep things moving, she notes.\n<\/p>\n How Many Beans to Eat <\/p>\n If you’re new to beans or don’t eat them often, start by consuming \u00bc cup of cooked beans per day, says Zinn. Over time, you can slowly increase your intake to \u00bd to 1 cup of beans per day, she says.\n<\/p>\n Things to Consider <\/p>\n While most folks can tolerate beans well, some may need to be more mindful. “If you’ve struggled with irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease, you may want to start with smaller portions and evaluate how you feel as your body adjusts to more fiber,” says Urich. Otherwise, “for the majority of people, beans are a nourishing, affordable food that can be part of everyday eating,” Urich says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key Points Eating beans daily can improve your overall health by supporting digestion, heart health, and weight management.Beans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[103,61,60,446],"class_list":{"0":"post-273571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nStephanie Mitchell Urich, MS, RDN, LD, registered dietitian<\/a> and clinical instructor at the School of Health Sciences, Missouri State University<\/p>\n