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Reasons to Include Beans in Your Weekly Diet:

In the modern realm, supermarket shelves brim with an array of goods, rendering even common beans almost unnoticed, completely overlooked.

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3 min read
In contemporary times, grocery store shelves are brimming with an array of goods, rendering a basic...
In contemporary times, grocery store shelves are brimming with an array of goods, rendering a basic item like beans indistinguishable amidst the sea of choices.

Reasons to Include Beans in Your Weekly Diet:

Scooping Past the Shelf's Obvious Wonders: The Brilliance of Beans

In today's world, supermarket shelves teem with a dazzling array of products, but the humble bean often gets overlooked—neither canned nor dried, nor green. But don't let appearances fool you. Beneath their nondescript facade, beans are jam-packed with health benefits and can even prove tempting to some palates (with a little ingenious preparation).

A Protein Punch

Protein is the lifeblood of our bodies—it's involved in building cells, muscles, bones, hair, and nails, whizzing through metabolism, and cranking out enzymes. Animal-sourced protein, including meat, fish, and dairy, is often insufficient and jammed with unhealthy fats and cholesterol.

Enter: beans! These legumes are a phenomenal plant-based protein source, brimming with essential amino acids. A 150g serving of cooked beans snags around a quarter of an adult's daily protein requirements. Plus, this protein is easy on the digestive system and keeps you feeling full for hours.

Vitamins and Minerals

Beans are a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals crucial for maintaining peak health. B vitamins, for one, are vital for energy production, brain function, and mental well-being. Vitamin B9, or folic acid, is especially important for expecting mothers—deficiency raises the chance of neural tube defects in the fetus.

Magnesium in beans fortifies the heart and bolsters the nervous system, while potassium maintains fluid-electrolyte balance and helps stave off high blood pressure. Iron enables red blood cells to haul oxygen around the body and prevents anemia, while copper and manganese help with collagen and elastin synthesis, giving your skin and hair a fighting chance.

Fun fact: Most powerful health benefits nestle within the bean's husk, making it wise to opt for varieties still clad in their skins.

Calorie and Fat Advantage

A portion of cooked beans lays claim to around 150-200 calories, making them a scarce fat find (less than a gram) and low in carbohydrates, making them an ideal food for clean eating or weight loss pursuits.

Better still, beans boast high fiber content, which dampens sugar absorption, balances blood sugar levels, and reduces the craving for between-meal snacking. Additionally, their high water and soluble fiber content provide quick and satisfying fullness, helping curb the urge to graze.

Gut Companion

Dietary fiber is the backbone of a solid diet: it congeals into a gel-like mass in the intestines, slows digestion, sparks intestinal movement, and speeds up food transit. Probiotics in your gut happily munch on fiber, multiplying their numbers and producing substances that strengthen the intestinal lining and bolster immunity, lowering the threat of gut and stomach inflammation.

One word of caution: consuming excess beans can lead to abdominal discomfort and increased gas. To prevent such discomfort, gradually introduce beans into your diet to avoid unpleasant side effects.

Heart Protector

Medical researchers have discovered that incorporating beans into your diet regularly reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack by slashing bad cholesterol and boosting good cholesterol levels. Further benefits include stabilized blood pressure and fortified arterial walls, thanks to potassium, magnesium, and calcium, as well as protection against free radical damage.

  1. Incorporating science-backed fitness and exercise alongside a balanced diet rich in nutrition, such as the inclusion of beans, can contribute to effective weight-management and overall health-and-wellness.
  2. Apart from being a tasty addition to a wide range of workplace-wellness programs, the skin-care benefits of fiber-rich beans, which promote gut health and lower the risk of inflammation, can lead to a more youthful and radiant appearance.
  3. When considering the various aspects of a well-rounded health-and-wellness routine, don't discount the role of beans—a plant-based powerhouse packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants like polyphenols that contribute to heart health.
  4. Maintaining a consistent intake of beans is not just about their protein content, but also their role in promoting cardiovascular health by keeping cholesterol levels in check and assuring healthy blood pressure. Incorporating them into daily nutrition offers a multi-layered approach to whole-body wellness.

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