Beans - the Magical, Healthy Fruit

Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat ... the healthier you are. Bet you thought I was going to say 'the more you fart', didn't you? Well, you clearly have no class at all. Shame on you.

Beans have gotten a seriously bad rap over the years as having no more meaningful function than causing damage to the ozone layer. And for being responsible for a lot of juvenile giggling. Sorry. Farts are just funny.

But back to the more legitimately remarkable qualities of beans - beans are low in total fat. They also contain no saturated fat or cholesterol, and are high in fiber, protein, calcium, iron, folic acid and potassium. To add to their wonderful qualities, beans are known to lower cholesterol, combat heart disease, stabilize blood sugar, to reduce cancer risk and to relieve hypertension. It has also been suggested that beans can help to lower the risk of type two diabetes. Wow. Beans really are a magical fruit!

If you are not yet convinced of the magical qualities of the simple bean, perhaps you should factor in that beans are a very good diet food. Beans are high in dietary fiber, and so eating beans fills you up faster than most foods. If you are full, you are less likely to consume more calories. Beans also contain a high amount of resistant starch, which is not easily digested. Since the resistant starch in beans is slow to digest, the sugar spike that exists with many foods is not there, so you do not feel hungry again in the near future.

As for the beans that are highest in antioxidants? The small dried red bean is tops, followed by the red kidney bean and the pinto bean.

Further good news about the magical bean is that the canned bean really loses no more nutritional value than going through the hassle of cooking a dry bean. In this day of continual time-crunch, not having to spend hours watching a pot of beans cook just to get the full nutritional value is a big bonus.

If eating plain old beans is not your thing, try substituting half beans in a recipe that calls for ground beef. I, personally, found this to be a tasty, refreshing change to plain old hamburger. Add a little spice to those beans. Do what you've got to do to get a little magic into your system. And, while you're getting so healthy, don't forget the Beano.