Beans are one of the healthiest foods out there. Beans are so healthy, in fact, that they are considered by many to be what’s known as a “Superfood,” more specifically a nutrient-rich food with a capacity to positively affect health.
The health benefits of beans include helping give your body many of the important vitamins and nutrients necessary for a healthy heart, brain, stomach, and as a source of healthy energy and protein. It’s no argument that beans are good for you, but we do get one question from our fans quite often: with so many different kinds of beans out there, which beans are healthiest for you?
It’s important to understand that all beans have tremendous nutritional value, providing you an opportunity to get a large percentage of your daily recommended amounts of protein and fiber in just one serving of beans. If you are incorporating beans into your diet on a daily basis, no matter the variety, you are making a very smart and healthy decision.
That being said, there are some beans that provide greater benefits than the rest that are of even more importance to incorporate into your regular diet. In no particular order, here are a few of the healthiest beans that stand out among the other varieties.
Garbanzo Beans
Perhaps considered to be the healthiest variety of beans on the shelves of your local grocery store is the garbanzo bean. Particularly high in fiber, iron, and protein, garbanzo beans are a great bean of choice for reducing your risk of heart disease, as studies have found.
The high protein of garbanzo beans makes them a simple substitute for meat in low-fat or vegetarian diets, while their fiber content helps feed the healthy bacteria in your gut which keeps your digestive processes running healthy and even help you reduce weight gain.
Garbanzo beans are commonly consumed in many regions of the world considered to be “Blue Zones,” parts of the world where the people that live there have been found to enjoy a higher-than-average lifespan. An excellent topper to a salad or turned into a hummus dip eaten with veggies, there is no shortage of ways to get your share of garbanzo beans.
Black Beans
Black beans, a favorite of recipes in Central and South America, are also a favorite of healthy eaters due to their high protein and fiber. This variety of beans is also particularly high in folate (or folic acid) which is a nutrient critical for promoting healthy cell growth and function, and particularly important for women to consume during pregnancy.
Most varieties of beans are a good source of folate; black beans are one of the best. One serving of black beans can provide you with over 60% of your recommended daily folate intake (about 250 mcg of the recommended 400 mcg).
Great Northern Beans
Great northern beans, Randall’s most popular variety of beans, are plump, creamy, nutty, and best of all super-healthy! While a serving of great northern white beans may not top out the charts on any particular nutritional value, their wide coverage of valuable nutrients makes them one of the best and healthiest beans to incorporate into your regular diet.
White beans possess good volumes of protein, iron, fiber, copper, folate, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and other vitamins. Because of their versatility in cooking, adding white beans to salads, soups, casseroles, and other recipes makes them not only healthy but one of the easiest to add to your diet.
Kidney Beans
One of the most widely consumed beans in the world, kidney beans are also one of the healthiest beans due to their high fiber content. Fiber is an important nutrient because, while it isn’t digested by the human body, it is a food source for the healthy bacteria that live in your gut.
This bacteria plays an important role by protecting you from unhealthy and unwanted bacteria that can make its way into your body as well as helping you regulate your weight gain and even help you lose weight.
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