Full of Beans

“Beans? But they give me the vapors!”

Actually, that myth about beans making us gassy isn’t entirely accurate. Beans do cause some gas buildup, but that’s mostly the case when our gut isn’t adapted to process them efficiently, often due to not having them frequently enough. So in truth, we get gassy if we don’t have enough beans in our regular diet!

Beans are a nutrition powerhouse. Period. Science is coming back with more and more proof of what indigenous cultures have known for eons — this food group should be a core component of a healthy diet. Here are just a few cases in point:

• Beans in the Blue Zones. A National Geographic Fellow named Dan Buettner has spent decades researching hotspots around the world with a much higher proportion of centenarians than the global average (referred to as The Blue Zones). One common dietary staple found across ALL Blue Zones? You guessed it — beans. The type and preparation may be different from Okinawa to Sardinia to Loma Linda, CA, but the presence of beans as an anchor of the Blue Zones diet is universal.
• Nutritional oomph. Whether you’re a meat-eater or a vegan or anything in between, the nutritional gifts of this legume are a cornerstone of heath, from protein (1/2 cup of beans yields the same amount as one ounce of meat per the Cleveland Clinic) to fiber (pinto beans = 15g per cup as opposed to oatmeal at 4g per cup), to prebiotics that enable your microbiome to produce probiotics at optimal levels.
• Diversity. I took the photo at the top of this article — it’s a couple of cups of mixed dry beans from my local farmer’s market, freshly rinsed. Beautiful, right? And every single one of those different “species” offers a unique nutritional profile. If you’re a follower of Dr. Deanna Minich, who studies the connection between the colors of the plants we eat and what they offer to us health-wise by way of phytonutrient diversity, this picture says it all.

Interested in upping your bean game? Then why not tuck in? For the next few weeks, gently increase your bean intake. If you’re not yet a regular bean-eater, try to get in a serving of beans every OTHER day, varying bean type when you can. If you’re already a card-carrying bean-o-phile, try to eat one serving of beans every day, and choose a different type of bean (or a medley) as often as possible, including a few that you’ve never eaten or heard of (dragon-tongue, anyone?). The options are dizzying.

Here’s a cheat sheet of some celebrity beans and their nutrients, to get you cooking. At the end of your experiment, take a note of how you feel, from energy levels to sleep to elimination to general wellness. What did this experience teach you?

Have fun, bon appetit, and take care!