Do You Eat this “Magical” Fruit…
I spent the last several days in Turkey, doing a handful of lectures to a group of pharmacists and doing a little media work over there as well. In fact here I am on Sky Turk TV with one of their health anchors. Apparently she’s a favorite of Dr. Oz as well, who is Turkish, so asked me to say hi to him when I come back to the States since he is on her show as well every time he comes back to Turkey.
So anyhow, me and the anchor were talking about some smart nutrition decisions people can make to help them lose weight faster.
And she asked about some particular foods — wondering specifically what parts of the Turkish Diet are the best? While I could have named many — fish, fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, olives and olive oil — for example, one food that I noticed Turks eat much more of is beans, the "magical" fruit. So while I did talk about some of those other foods above, I surprised her by saying how beans can help with weight loss.
Beans are high up on the list for one of the greatest foods of all time…
Gram for gram, it would be harder to find a more nutrient dense food for the same cost.
Outside of fruits and vegetables (both carbs), beans are a winner in the carb category too (and, technically, they are a fruit anyhow) – super high in fiber, yet they offer a good amount of protein and other nutrients too.
In fact, a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2003 showed that black beans had antioxidants levels equivalent even to some fruits! The levels of the particular antioxidant, anthocyanin, which gives beans and dark fruits their color, were 10 times as high in black beans compared to oranges – and were equivalent to grapes, apples, and cranberries!
Now all beans are fantastic (pinto, garbanzo, kidney, cannellini, etc), but this particular antioxidant was particularly high in black beans.
Antioxidants fight something called free radicals; too many free radicals and low levels of antioxidants have been associated with heart disease and other diseases.
Aside from antioxidants, we know fiber is fantastic for heart health, but beans also provide folate and magnesium, which both may be responsible for some of their heart health benefits too.
Check this out – in one study, researchers followed more than 16,000 middle-aged men from around the world for 25 years.
One of their findings – the higher the consumption of beans, the lower the risk of death from heart disease. And not just a little lower – there was an 82% reduction in risk!
Another study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine followed nearly 10,000 Americans for 19 years … people eating the most fiber, which they found to be 21 grams/day compared to those who ate the least (5 grams/day) had 11% less heart disease. The authors attributed this finding to the high fiber in the diet.
This wasn’t just isolated to bean consumption, but since they provide around 10 grams per ½ cup, they’re surely an easy option.
And keep in mind even the "highest" intake of 21 grams/day is less than the recommended intake, which is upwards of 25g+ per day.
So how do you include more beans?
- Add them to a salad
- Use them in place of red meat in dishes like chili, quesadillas, or burritos
- Add them to a wrap with mixed veggies (add avocado for an even better nutrient punch)
- Add them to eggs with mixed veggies
- Mix them with canned salmon and some balsamic vinaigrette (a personal favorite)
- Find a black bean soup recipe or black bean burger recipe online for ideas.
Aim to include 1/2 cup of beans at least 4 times per week.
Now I didn’t share all that sciency data on Sky Turk TV (after all, I had a translator speaking in my ear so I had to speak in the most simple, yet effective way possible.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Beans are delicious but why are they so difficult to digest? How can you prevent the gas and bloat that comes with beans or bean products?
[Reply]
Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Great question — for one, they’re high in fiber and many people aren’t used to that amount of fiber. But they also provide something called oligosaccharides, which aren’t really digested because we don’t have the enzyme necessary to break this down. Soaking beans does seem to help a bit … and Beano is an effective product you can get in any grocery store.
[Reply]
Kelly Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Growing up "Southern", we ate a lot of 'soup beans' and cornbread. (I still do!) When you soak the beans overnight, add in a tablespoon or so of baking soda. That seems to help with the gas and bloat issue.
[Reply]
February 8th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Hi Chris, i wrote to you years ago when you were at UMASS writing for the Hampshire Gazette. i have another question now. do you have any articles for pre-workout food. thanks
[Reply]
Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Thanks for the email — that was many years ago with the Gazette! We have done stuff on nutrient timing — a great pre workout food would be yogurt, chocolate milk, a piece of fruit, if not much time before a workout … or something more substantial if you have a lot of time before a workout.
[Reply]
February 8th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Question: For someone trying to lose weight, would a dinner of rice and beans provide too many carbs and not enough protein?
[Reply]
Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Not at all…that meal is a good source of protein! Just watch your overall portions.
[Reply]
November 10th, 2010 at 12:56 am
Of course regardless if you choose to consume less do more exercise or the actual ideal mixture is always to meet someplace at the center is wholly your choice but it’s the only guideline that actually is important in order to look into the fine detail regarding how you would lose weight fast next click the link.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2011 at 7:02 am
Well…..I do love beans and I eat a pretty high fiber diet even without them so not a problem usually.
My problem is that I do eat a pretty low carb diet most days…..mostly protein, veggies, fruit, small amount of sprouted bread, occ sweet potato, almost never rice or very small amount (1/4 C)…..you could say I have a little phobia of carbs cause i seem to respond negatively to the starchy ones…..I do have 1/4 – 1/3 cup dry oats a couple of times a week after a workout and do consume 0% greek yogurt. I do incorporate an appropriate amount of healthy fats too.
So my question here is how do I get past this thought that beans are too high in carbs….I do know that they are full of fiber and they digest slowly but is the amount of carbs truely the amount your body is using??
Just a quick question here as well if you don’t mind……I am a 50 year old female, 5’3, 123lb, exercise 6 days of week of one kind or another (3 days are pretty intense), on average I burn 1100cal just through activity. My diet intake is about 1500-1600 cal…..I am trying to drop just a couple % body fat although I am fairly lean everywhere except for that little bit of stubborn abdominal fat…..do you think I am under eating and that is hampering my fat loss?? I do eat 5 times a day and very clean.
Just recently had my hormones tested via saliva….found I am very low on progesterone, estrogen although estrogen dominant compared to the progesterone, DHEA, slightly low on testosterone, and very low on cortisol all the time. I will be taking some supplements to try to correct these things.
Thanks for your time.
Dianne
[Reply]
Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
April 4th, 2011 at 8:20 am
Hi Dianne,
Without knowing more about you, this is an impossible question to answer … it’s not always quite as easy as calories in, calories out. And, for your beans are too high in carbs — not at all — they’re fantastic for you!
[Reply]
April 2nd, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Does this include green string beans? I sure hope so, I eat a lot of them.
[Reply]
Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
April 4th, 2011 at 8:19 am
They’re surely good, but thinking more like black, pinto, kidney, etc
[Reply]
April 12th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Thanks for the Bean-Talk from Turkey! Does that 1/2 cup 4 times a week include people who have significant weight loss goals?
[Reply]
Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 9:27 am
For sure!
[Reply]