The benefits of black beans they are well known. In many cuisines around the world, black beans take center stage as a staple food. Since these are an inexpensive source of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, micronutrients and antioxidants. If you want to know what are the benefits of black beans, take a look! And find out everything you need to know about this delicious legume.
What are black beans?
Black beans are legumes, from a family of plants that also includes peanuts, soybeans, and lentils. Technically, they are known as legumes and are classified among other dry, edible seeds of plants in the legume family.
Legumes are not only good for you, they are also great for the soil and ultimately the planet, because they help return more nitrogen to the soil and minimize the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Black Bean Nutrition Facts
Consuming just a half cup of cooked beans can result in a higher intake of fiber, protein, folic acid, zinc, iron, and magnesium. Here are the nutritional facts, based on one cup of black beans:
- Calories: 218 (11 percent of the recommended daily value, or DV)
- Fat: 0.7 grams (5 percent of DV)
- Sodium: 331 milligrams (14 percent DV)
- Carbohydrates: 35 g (13 percent DV)
- Fiber: 16.6 g (66 percent DV)
- Protein: 14.5 g (29 percent DV)
- Calcium: 84 mg (8 percent DV)
- Iron: 4.5 mg (25 percent DV)
- Manganese: 1.2 mg (28 percent DV)
- Zinc: 1.3 mg (9 percent DV)
Health benefits of black beans
Black beans are a good source of iron, folate, and plant-based protein. Plus, they’re packed with fiber, and that alone offers protection against disease.
High-fiber foods like black beans offer many benefits for people with health conditions like constipation, diabetes, and heart disease. These are some of the health benefits of black beans.
Complete a plant-based diet
Protein is a vital nutrient for the body and black beans are a great source of plant-based protein. If you follow a vegetarian, vegan, or plant-centric diet, black beans are a wonderful option. Not only can they help make up for protein deficits from not eating animals, but they can also make up for a lack of iron.
Vegetarians who rely on beans as a source of iron can eat foods with vitamin C to help increase iron absorption.
They have a lot of fiber
Fiber-rich foods are important for the body. Eating plenty of fiber can keep your digestive tract healthy. one of the greats benefits of black beans is that they contain soluble fiber, a type of fiber that is not digested but is beneficial to the intestinal tract.
Black beans provide soluble fiber and indigestible carbohydrates that help feed good gut bacteria. Bean oligosaccharides (short-chain sugar polymers) and resistant starch, which act as prebiotics, a type of food that feeds healthy bacteria in the intestinal tract.
Getting enough fiber can also help you feel full longer, which helps with weight management. The soluble fiber and resistant starch in beans can help suppress your appetite and control blood sugar. Whole food sources of fiber, like black beans, are best because you get a boost in many different nutrients at once.
They can help with blood sugar control
The body digests food at different rates, depending on the types of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins it contains. Fast-digesting foods (such as hard candy or white rice) have a high glycemic index and tend to raise blood sugar levels. Foods with protein and fiber take longer to digest and have lower glycemic indices.
Some experts suggest eating low-glycemic index foods to help prevent a rapid rise in blood sugar levels at mealtime. Black beans are good for your blood sugar because they have a low glycemic index, which can help keep your blood sugar in a healthy range.
And here’s some promising research for any rice and bean lover with diabetes: Combining black beans or other legumes with rice can help minimize the spike in blood sugar levels after a meal.
According to a randomized controlled trial published in the journal Nutrients in 2017, black beans lower blood glucose when eaten with white rice. However, it is worth noting that this study was small, with only 12 subjects, all women.
black beans [y todas las demás legumbres] they play an important role in diets aimed at controlling chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
They can help protect against disease
Black beans have been shown to be praised for their role in fighting cardiovascular disease. One reason they can be so heart-protective is that legumes have been linked to lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. When these get out of control, they increase the risk of heart disease.
Risks and Side Effects of Black Beans
The benefits of black beans are many and they are considered a safe and beneficial food in moderation for most people, but they are not perfect. Here are some potential downsides to eating black beans.
You may have gas or bloating
Their biggest reputation is that they cause flatulence and it’s true. The gases (hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide) are produced by intestinal bacteria when they ferment indigestible carbohydrates in the bean, such as raffinose and stachyose.
Humans do not have the necessary enzyme to digest complex sugars, also known as oligosaccharides. When bacteria ferment these indigestible carbohydrates in the digestive tract, they produce hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide gases.
Eating a high-fiber diet is important, but you shouldn’t rush to eat more high-fiber foods too quickly. Doing so can cause bloating and constipation.
FODMAPs May Aggravate Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Some people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may want to limit their consumption of black beans due to the presence of FODMAPs: fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols.
These are types of carbohydrates found in certain foods, including wheat and beans. Black beans are high in FODMAPs, which can cause digestive symptoms in people with irritable bowel syndrome. If you have IBS, your doctor or dietitian may recommend a low-FODMAP diet.
May decrease mineral absorption
Beans contain phytic acid, a compound found in many plants that helps protect seeds from premature germination. Phytic acid can bind to minerals like calcium, magnesium and copper and can prevent the body from absorbing nutrients, says Greeley.
This is why phytic acid is sometimes called an antinutrient. While that’s a drawback, it’s generally not a reason to stop eating black beans. Phytic acid is also an antioxidant, so eating beans is more beneficial and tends to outweigh the risk of less mineral absorption.