Eating more beans leads to weight loss and better nutrition

By Priyanjana Pramanik, MSc.Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Oct 8 2024

Boost your nutrition and diet quality with beans! A new study shows that adults who consume more beans enjoy better weight outcomes, lower sugar intake, and increased essential nutrients.

Study: Adult dietary patterns with increased bean consumption are associated with greater overall shortfall nutrient intakes, lower added sugar, improved weight-related outcomes and better diet quality. Image Credit: nadianb / Shutterstock.com

In a recent study published in Nutrition Journal, researchers compare the differences in diet quality and nutrient intake between American adults who consume beans and those who do not. Adults who consume beans were found to have better diet quality and consume more essential nutrients, including 'shortfall' nutrients, which are often under-consumed, thus highlighting the importance of bean consumption for healthier diets.

What are the health benefits of beans?

Environmental sustainability and optimal nutrition are two important global issues, with policymakers and experts interested in improving access to adequate nutrition while limiting the carbon footprint of food.

Legumes, including beans, have a low impact on the climate, improve soil fertility, remove carbon from the atmosphere, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They are also nutrient-dense, with a 100-gram serving considered a rich source of carbohydrates, protein, calcium, folic acid, potassium, and dietary fiber without being high in sodium or sugar.

Bean consumption has been associated with higher nutrient intake, improved weight and blood pressure outcomes, and lower risks of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cholesterol. Dietary guidelines currently recommend increasing the consumption of legumes; however, less than one in five Americans follow these recommendations.

About the study

Researchers used data from a nationally representative survey on the health and nutrition of non-institutionalized and independently living people in the United States. Dietary information was collected using 24-hour recall surveys, whereas nutrient composition was determined from an established food and nutrient database.

Five different consumption patterns were identified, including one that did not include beans and four that did. Pinto beans, chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans were included under bean consumption, whereas soybeans were excluded.

After excluding baby food, fourteen food groups were identified. Based on the distribution of calories from food categories, study participants were assigned to one of five consumption patterns.

Statistical models were used to compare people who consumed beans and those who did not after controlling for characteristics such as energy intake, household income, ethnicity, gender, and age.

Study findings

Group one reported the highest bean consumption, with beans accounting for 13.5% of their daily calories. Both groups, one and two, also noted the highest contribution from vegetables. Group three had the lowest caloric contribution from beans at 9.3% and the highest from mixed dishes, whereas group four reported the highest contribution from sweets and snacks.

Three of the four bean-consuming groups had higher energy intake than the no-bean group. Sodium, choline, vitamin E, iron, folate, magnesium, potassium, and dietary fiber were also higher among bean consumers. Group one reported lower saturated and total fat consumption than the non-bean groups.

All bean patterns had higher diet quality scores than the no-bean group. Groups one and two reported higher consumption of plant proteins, seafood, vegetables, and fruit, whereas groups one, two, and four consumed more healthy fats than the non-bean group. Besides group four, which reported the highest consumption of sweets and snacks, bean consumers had a lower added sugar intake.

Adults in groups one and two had significantly lower body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body weight values. However, similar patterns were not observed for those in groups three and four.

Conclusions

Bean consumers in the current study were found to consume higher levels of essential nutrients like vitamin E, magnesium, iron, folate, and choline, as well as calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber. Study participants who ate beans also consumed more plant proteins, seafood, beans, greens, and vegetables, thus contributing to better overall diet quality.

Although individuals who consumed beans also had higher levels of sodium intake, which can be harmful to blood pressure, this effect may be counteracted by their increased potassium intake. Sodium can also be eliminated from canned beans by draining the fluid and rinsing the beans before consumption.

Following a healthier diet has been associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. For example, the Mediterranean diet, rich in legumes, has been shown to reduce overall mortality from coronary heart disease and cancer.

The current study's notable limitations include its reliance on self-reported data from dietary recall, which can lead to misreporting and memory errors. The study's study'stional nature also makes it difficult to infer causality.

Nevertheless, the study findings indicate that promoting bean consumption could provide significant health benefits by improving nutrient shortfalls.