News & Emerging Research about Beans and Health
Pinto bean
consumption
reduces biomarkers
for heart disease
risk.
Winham DM, Hutchins AM
and Johnston CS – 2007. Journal of the American
College of Nutrition 26: 243-
249
Researchers at Arizona State University examined
the effects of daily pinto bean, black-eyed peas or carrot
(placebo) consumption (1/2 cup) on coronary heart
disease risk factors using a randomized, crossover study
design (7 men and 9 women). Pinto bean consumption
was the only treatment that significantly lowered
serum total cholesterol (-19 mg/dL vs 1 mg/dL) and LDL
cholesterol (-14 mg/dL vs 1 mg/dL). Based on these
results, the authors recommend that “pinto bean intake
should be encouraged to lower serum total cholesterol
and LDL-cholesterol, thereby reducing risk for coronary
heart disease.”
TAKE HOME MESSAGE
Pinto beans offer an
easy and non-invasive approach to lowering
cholesterol levels. Physicians should advise
patients to regularly consume legumes and
other fiber-rich foods in combination with other
treatments to reduce cholesterol levels.
Baked bean
consumption reduces
serum cholesterol in
hypercholesterolemic
adults
Winham DM and Hutchins
AM – 2007. Nutrition Reviews,
Vol 27, pp. 380-386
Baked bean intake has been previously associated
with reduced cholesterol levels in adults with
elevated cholesterol. The present work by
researchers at Arizona State University and the
University of Colorado investigated whether
consumption of a half-cup of vegetarian baked
beans daily for eight weeks would reduce risk
factors for coronary heart disease and type
2 diabetes in men and women with elevated
cholesterol levels. A significant reduction in total
cholesterol was seen at the end of the study in the
bean group when compared to the control (–5.6%
vs 0.5%, respectively), while no significant effects
were seen with other parameters investigated. The
mean percentage change of serum LDL-cholesterol
showed a trend toward significance for the baked
beans relative to the control (-5.4% vs 1.0%,
respectively).
TAKE HOME MESSAGE
While these
findings show that vegetarian baked
bean consumption can lead to significant reductions in total cholesterol in
hypercholesterolemic men and women, it is surprising that no significant effects
were seen with other parameters. For example, baked bean consumption for
eight weeks did not affect blood glucose levels. This is unusual since beans are
considered a low-glycemic index food. The authors suggested that is possible that
the dose provided was not sufficient to produce significant changes in glucose and
insulin, considering the study group was non-diabetic. It would be valuable to
repeat this study with a dose of one cup of baked beans per day in adults with and
without diabetes.
