Why You Should Eat Beans

By Dr. Harold Gunatillake Health Writer

There is a belief that beans of all varieties, including Mung and lentils (parippu) are good for the heart, but they do much more than that. They provide a major source of soluble fibre.(Most beans have 15 grams of fibre per cup) This fibre when passing through the gut grabs and traps bile that contains cholesterol, removing it from the body before it’s absorbed. The cholesterol in bile is the excess excreted by the liver, and if there isn’t sufficient soluble fibre in the digestive tract, the cholesterol may get re-absorbed in the small intestines. According to Patti Bazel Weil R.D., diabetes nutrition educator at the University of Kentucky  in Lexington and author of ‘Magic Beans’, eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower your total cholesterol by up to 10% in 6 weeks. Hence, indirectly it can lower incidence of heart disease by 20%. A study conducted at the University of Kentucky has shown that only three weeks of increased bean intake (3/4 cup of beans) lowered the men’s cholesterol by an average of 19%. This reduces the risk of heart attack by almost 40%. The high fibre in beans also curbs your appetite to eat less food as it creates a sense of fullness.

Helps diabetes

Those suffering from diabetes must eat cooked beans daily. The soluble fibre in beans helps
to create more insulin receptor sites. These sites help the insulin to get into the cells. Beans
have a low glycaemic index (GI), meaning the glucose content in the beans after digestion is
low, and the glucose level in the blood will not spike, unlike eating foods with high GI.

Isoflavonlagnins

A special compound is found in beans called iso-flavins lignin phytic acid saponin and
protease inhibitors- have been shown to keep normal cells from becoming cancerous and
prevents abnormal growth. Hispanic (Spanish and Portuguese) women have half the risk of
breast cancer as white women, and the reason attributed is that they eat large quantities of
beans daily in their diet. Same observation is found in Mexicans who eat beans in their
cooked rice daily.

Antioxidants

The number one food on the United States Department of Agriculture’s list of 20 highantioxidant
source of common foods is a bean. These antioxidants lower the risk of some
types of cancers, likein the large bowel.

Legume:Legume is used to include beans, peas, and lentils. The potein in legumes is about 15
grams per cup- more or less depending on the variety- except soy beans, which pack an
impressive 29 grams per cup. These beans can be added to a variety of menu and break the
meat monotony, without skimping on protein.

Lentils (Parippu) is quite a popular bean the Sri Lankans relish. Most average wage earning
families eat dhal curry and bread for breakfast. School boarding houses give plenty of dhal to
the boarders, and some schools are nicknamed, ‘Parippu Schools’.

Mung beans

A popular breakfast among Sri Lankans is boiled Mung beans eaten with coconut scrapings
and ‘lunumiris’.These were originally cultivated and migrated to China where they have been
used for thousands of years. We import our quota of mung beans from India. These beans
are dark green outside and dark yellow inside. They may be cooked peeled or whole. They are
sweet, and soft and easily digested.

Ground beans may be used in a variety of ways, including making noodles. In India the
ground beans are used for making a fried cake. In Sri Lanka mung beans are used during
festive seasons to make cakes and included in milk rice.

In the Western world beans are used for sprouting. These sprouts contain vitamin C that is
not found in beans. Sprouting is an easy way to provide fresh salad ingredients on demand.
They are used when the sprouts are about two inches long. They are eaten raw or lightly
boiled.

Mung beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, 1 cup

Nutrient Units 1.00 X 1 cup
202g
Proximates
Water g 146.77
Energy kcal 212
Energy kj 891
Protein g 14.18
Total lipid (fat) g 0.77
Ash g 1.60
Carbohydrate, by difference g 38.68
Fiber, total dietary g 15.4
Sugars, total g 4.04
Minerals
Calcium, Ca mg 55
Iron, Fe mg 2.83
Magnesium, Mg mg 97
Phosphorus, P mg 200
Potassium, K mg 537
Sodium, Na mg 4
Zinc, Zn mg 1.70
Copper, Cu mg 0.315
Manganese, Mn mg 0.602
Selenium, Se mcg 5.0
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid mg 2.0
Thiamin mg 0.331
Riboflavin mg 0.123
Niacin mg 1.166
Pantothenic acid mg 0.828
Vitamin B-6 mg 0.135
Folate, total mcg 321
Folic acid mcg 0
Folate, food mcg 321
Folate, DFE mcg_DFE 321
Vitamin B-12 mcg 0.00
Vitamin B-12, added mcg 0.00
Vitamin A, IU IU 48
Vitamin A, RAE mcg_RAE 2
Retinol mcg 0
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) mg 0.30
Vitamin E, added mg 0.00
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) mcg 5.5
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated g 0.234
16:0 g 0.168
18:0 g 0.048
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated g 0.109
16:1 undifferentiated g 0.000
18:1 undifferentiated g 0.109
Cholesterol mg 0
Amino acids
Tryptophan g 0.154
Threonine g 0.465
Isoleucine g 0.600
Leucine g 1.099
Lysine g 0.990
Methionine g 0.170
Cystine g 0.125
Phenylalanine g 0.858
Tyrosine g 0.424
Valine g 0.735
Arginine g 0.994
Histidine g 0.414
Alanine g 0.624
Aspartic acid g 1.640
Glutamic acid g 2.537