Eating Beans Improves Heart Health, 2019 Study Says

Based on their research, they found that people who regularly consume legumes experience the following health benefits:

• -13% obesity
• -9% hypertension
• -10% coronary heart disease
• -8% cardiovascular disease

But why legumes? What is it about this family of plants that makes them so healthy? According to John Sievenpiper, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Nutrition at the University of Toronto, the reason is twofold.

1. Inherent nutritional value

Legumes, AKA the edible part of plants in the legume family, are often referred to as “superfoods”. That is because they are high in nutrients like protein, fiber, folate, potassium, and B vitamins (among many others). Legumes pack what nutritionists call “a double whammy”, the ability to quickly fill us up without compromising our health. Plus, they taste great!

2. A healthy substitute

Researchers also found that eating a lot of legumes often correlated with a healthier diet overall, as beans would displace less healthy foods such as red meats or processed foods. In other (less scientific) words: beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat… the more you avoid things like fast food. If you follow nutrition as closely as we do, none of this should come as much of a surprise. More and more people are waking up to the health benefits of bean-heavy diets, and we couldn’t be happier! Now that you know about legumes, how many do you have to eat to experience their health benefits? Not many, according Dr. Sievenpiper, who says, “Anywhere from a half serving [50 grams] to a full serving [100 g] per day is where we see the best signal for the associated benefits.”