Spilling the Magic of Beans...

It has been almost an year now, since I discovered the magic of including beans in my daily diet and thought i will finally spill some beans about the health benefit of this wonderful class of food!

In general, all kinds of dry beans and legumes have this common nutritional profile. They have

• A Low Glycemic Index (GI)
  
• LOTS of both Soluble and Insoluble Fiber
• Excellent source of Protein (though not complete for the human body, like all plant proteins!)
  
• Good source of Folate, Iron, Phosphorus & vitamin B1
  
• Excellent source of complex carbohydrates too!
  

With this great nutritional profile, eating Beans can potentially have all the following health benefits :-)

• The Soluble Fiber in Beans helps reduce the bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase the good one (HDL).
  
• The Insoluble Fiber helps reduce the risk of Colon cancer and other digestive disorders like IBS, Diverticulitis, Appendicitis, Hemorrhoids etc.,
  
• Insoluble fiber also helps in dieting and controlling food cravings by giving a feeling satiety.
• Lowers the risk of Type 2 Diabetes
• Helps in controlling Diabetes because of the complex carbohydrates that are absorbed as much 45% slower than other carbohydrate sources
  
• Helps in avoiding / controlling Osteoporosis by increasing Calcium absorption

Following are some of the easy ways, I add Beans to my diet...

• Use a bag of mixed beans (available in korean stores in the US) and add a cup of it to my regular rice while cooking.
  
• Bean Chili recipes are abound in the Internet and they make a tasty side dish for rice or as filling in a burrito or a wrap.
• Add frozen Peas to any vegetable dish
  
• Hummus made with less oil(!!) is also a tasty way to consume beans.

Now, which Bean is the best ?

Now we all know that there are so many different kinds of beans or sometimes we wonder if something is a bean or not... Well, here is a photo dictionary of various kinds of beans that might help you identify beans in your local grocery store!

I feel that its good to include all varieties of beans in our diet since Beans differ in their mineral content and it might also avoid some boredom. Nevertheless, here is a table showing the basic nutritional profile of the various kinds of beans (mainly taken from [NutritionData])... Compare it to the nutritional profile of White and Brown Rice at the bottom of the table...

Per 100 gms (Boiled,Unsalted)	Total Calories	Fat Cals	Carb-Fat-Protein ratio	Carb	Fiber	Protein
Black Beans	132	5	74-3-23	24 g	9 g	9 g
Black Eyed Peas	116	4	73-4-23	21 g	6 g	8 g
Garbanzo (Chick peas)	164	22	68-13-19	27 g	8 g	9 g
Green Peas	84	2	76-2-22	16 g	5 g	5 g
Lima	115	3	73-3-24	21 g	7 g	8 g
Mung Beans	105	3	74-3-23	19 g	8 g	7 g
Pigeon Peas (Toor)	121	3	78-3-19	23 g	7 g	7 g
Pinto Beans	143	5	74-4-22	26 g	9 g	9 g
Red Kidney Beans	127	4	73-3-24	23 g	7 g	9 g
Soybeans	173	75	24-43-33	10 g	6 g	17 g
White Rice (medium grain)	130	2	92-1-7	29 g	0 g	2 g
Brown Rice (medium grain)	112	7	87-6-7	24 g	2 g	2 g