Beans Lower Cholesterol
If you have been paying attention to health information, you know that beans can be one of the healthiest foods you can eat, outside of fruits and vegetables! Research is always looking into what beans can do for us, and here is another study that shows benefits.
Because beans are full of beneficial fiber they may be just what you need to lower bad, LDL, cholesterol levels. Just by eating as little as one-half cup of cooked dry beans everyday, you could lower your LDLD cholesterol levels. And these cooked dry beans can be canned without added salt or flavorings, also, which makes it REALLY easy to eat more beans!
Published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers investigated the role beans would play in effecting blood cholesterol levels in people with Metabolic Syndrome. For 12 weeks one group was randomly selected to eat one-half cup of cooked dry pinto beans daily along with their regular daily diet. The other group ate a replacement serving of chicken soup instead of the pinto beans. The findings show that, compared to measures taken prior to the 12-week test phase, all the volunteers--the healthy ones as well as those with symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome--who ate pinto beans saw a reduction in their cholesterol levels, which included total cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and LDL (“bad) cholesterol.
Metabolic Syndrome is directly related to cardiovascular disease. Because cardiovascular disease is a lifestyle-related disease, changes to improve LDL cholesterol levels are beneficial to your health. The more you exercise and eat a well balanced diet, the more likely you are to improve not only your cardiovascular health but also your overall health.
Beans are actually a vegetable, but they're high enough in protein that the government also considers them a meat substitute. Since they fit into two food groups, they're often lost in the shuffle. Given what beans have to offer us, they're probably the most neglected food in our diets. Dry peas and beans and tofu (soybean curd) are great meat substitutes that are low in saturated fat, and are cholesterol free. Dry peas and beans also have a lot of fiber, which can help to lower blood cholesterol. Another benefit of beans is they are high in iron.
So what does this mean to you? Simple: Add more beans to your diet! I actually have a favorite lunch or dinner that I make often, and here is the recipe: I slice up an onion, sauté it in olive oil until it’s soft, add a can of pinto beans (plain beans, no sauce), and a can of plain corn. I add seasonings that I like, heat up a couple flour tortillas (you could use whole wheat), cut up half an avocado (excellent fat source) and make a couple burritos! Combining the vegetable with the beans and tortilla give me a complete protein and the avocado provides some healthy fats in my diet.
So, play around with how you can add beans to your diet. They can replace the rice or potatoes at dinner, and today many great options are available canned, making it easier than ever to eat beans. And, if you need to lower your cholesterol levels or get more iron or fiber into your diet, this is a very simple way to do it!
To read the abstract of this study, go to:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/137/11/2391
Or to read more about beans in your diet, go to:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3689588&page=1
Because beans are full of beneficial fiber they may be just what you need to lower bad, LDL, cholesterol levels. Just by eating as little as one-half cup of cooked dry beans everyday, you could lower your LDLD cholesterol levels. And these cooked dry beans can be canned without added salt or flavorings, also, which makes it REALLY easy to eat more beans!
Published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers investigated the role beans would play in effecting blood cholesterol levels in people with Metabolic Syndrome. For 12 weeks one group was randomly selected to eat one-half cup of cooked dry pinto beans daily along with their regular daily diet. The other group ate a replacement serving of chicken soup instead of the pinto beans. The findings show that, compared to measures taken prior to the 12-week test phase, all the volunteers--the healthy ones as well as those with symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome--who ate pinto beans saw a reduction in their cholesterol levels, which included total cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and LDL (“bad) cholesterol.
Metabolic Syndrome is directly related to cardiovascular disease. Because cardiovascular disease is a lifestyle-related disease, changes to improve LDL cholesterol levels are beneficial to your health. The more you exercise and eat a well balanced diet, the more likely you are to improve not only your cardiovascular health but also your overall health.
Beans are actually a vegetable, but they're high enough in protein that the government also considers them a meat substitute. Since they fit into two food groups, they're often lost in the shuffle. Given what beans have to offer us, they're probably the most neglected food in our diets. Dry peas and beans and tofu (soybean curd) are great meat substitutes that are low in saturated fat, and are cholesterol free. Dry peas and beans also have a lot of fiber, which can help to lower blood cholesterol. Another benefit of beans is they are high in iron.
So what does this mean to you? Simple: Add more beans to your diet! I actually have a favorite lunch or dinner that I make often, and here is the recipe: I slice up an onion, sauté it in olive oil until it’s soft, add a can of pinto beans (plain beans, no sauce), and a can of plain corn. I add seasonings that I like, heat up a couple flour tortillas (you could use whole wheat), cut up half an avocado (excellent fat source) and make a couple burritos! Combining the vegetable with the beans and tortilla give me a complete protein and the avocado provides some healthy fats in my diet.
So, play around with how you can add beans to your diet. They can replace the rice or potatoes at dinner, and today many great options are available canned, making it easier than ever to eat beans. And, if you need to lower your cholesterol levels or get more iron or fiber into your diet, this is a very simple way to do it!
To read the abstract of this study, go to:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/137/11/2391
Or to read more about beans in your diet, go to:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3689588&page=1
posted by Margie Geiser, MBA, RD, NSCA-CPT at
6:22 AM
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