Eating more beans will lead to weight loss and better nutrition

Boost your nutrition and diet quality with beans! A new study shows that adults who eat more beans enjoy better weight outcomes, lower sugar intake, and increased essential nutrients.

Study: Dietary patterns of adults with increased bean consumption are associated with higher nutrient intake, less added sugar, improved weight-related outcomes and better diet quality. Image Credit: nadianb / Shutterstock.com

In a recent study published in Nutrition Journalresearchers compare differences in diet quality and nutrient intake between American adults who eat beans and those who do not. Adults who eat beans have been found to have better diet quality and consume more essential nutrients, including ‘missing’ nutrients, which are often not eaten enough, highlighting the importance of consuming beans for healthier diets.

What are the health benefits of beans?

Environmental sustainability and optimal nutrition are two important global issues, and policy makers and experts are interested in improving access to adequate nutrition and limiting the carbon footprint of food.

Legumes, including beans, have a low climate impact, improve soil fertility, remove carbon from the atmosphere, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They are also nutrient dense, and 100 grams are considered to be a rich source of carbohydrates, protein, calcium, folic acid, potassium, and dietary fiber without being high in sodium or sugar.

Bean consumption is associated with higher nutrient intake, improved weight and blood pressure outcomes, and lower risks of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cholesterol. Dietary guidelines currently recommend an increase in legume consumption; however, fewer than one in five Americans follow these recommendations.

About the study

Researchers used data from a nationally representative survey of the health and nutrition of non-institutionalized and independently living persons in the United States. Dietary information was collected using 24-hour recall surveys, but nutrient composition was determined from an established food and nutrient database.

Five different consumption patterns were identified, including one that did not include beans and four that did. Pinto beans, chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans were included under bean consumption, but soybeans were not.

After excluding baby food, fourteen food groups were identified. Based on the distribution of calories from food categories, study participants were assigned to one of five consumption patterns.

Statistical models were used to compare people who ate beans and those who did not after controlling for characteristics such as energy intake, household income, ethnicity, gender and age.

Results of the study

Group one reported the highest bean consumption, with beans accounting for 13.5% of their daily calories. Both groups, group one and group two, also noted the highest contribution from vegetables. Group three had the lowest caloric contribution from beans at 9.3% and the highest contribution from mixed dishes, but group four reported the highest contribution from sweets and snacks.

Three of the four bean consumption groups had a higher energy intake than the no-beans group. Sodium, choline, vitamin E, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium, and dietary fiber were also higher among bean consumers. Group one reported lower saturated and total fat consumption than the non-bean groups.

All bean patterns had higher diet quality scores than the no-bean group. Groups one and two reported eating more plant proteins, seafood, vegetables and fruit, but groups one, two and four ate more healthy fats than the non-beans group. In addition to group four, which reported eating the highest amount of sweets and snacks, bean consumers had a lower intake of added sugar.

Adults in groups one and two had significantly lower body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body weight values. However, similar patterns were not observed for those in groups three and four.

Conclusions

Bean consumers in the current study were found to consume higher levels of essential nutrients such as vitamin E, magnesium, iron, folate, and choline, as well as calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber. Study participants who ate beans ate more plant proteins, seafood, beans, greens and vegetables, which contributed to better overall diet quality.

Although individuals who ate beans also had higher levels of sodium intake, which may be detrimental to blood pressure, this effect may have been counteracted by their increased potassium intake. Sodium can also be eliminated from canned beans by draining the liquid and rinsing the beans before consumption.

Having a healthier diet is associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For example, a Mediterranean diet, rich in legumes, has been shown to reduce overall mortality from coronary heart disease and cancer.

Notable limitations of the current study include reliance on self-reported data from dietary recall, which may lead to misreporting and recall errors. The national nature of the study makes it difficult to understand causality.

However, the results of the study indicate that promoting the consumption of beans may provide significant health benefits by ameliorating nutrient deficiencies.