Black, Pinto, Red Kidney and White Beans
These so called “common beans” originating from Central and South America are anything but common. They are, in fact, extraordinary when it comes to the effects they have on our heart, our brain, our digestion, our immune system, and our overall health. Not only are they a top source of fiber, protein, and omega 3; they also provide a high amount of minerals and vitamins B, including folate. Plus, beans are rich in phytochemicals that support our immune system, help us fight inflammation and free radicals, and even promote our longevity!
Something important to note is that these beans are not interchangeable. Each color has specific superpowers. For example, white beans are a great source of calcium and potassium; red kidney beans have high amounts of longevity phytochemical, quercetin; pinto beans have the highest amount of folate, and black beans are a great source of the strong antioxidant, anthocyanin. For this reason, we should try to include them all in our family’s diet. The good thing is that they also have different flavors and consistencies, so we can have a nice variety of dishes: from traditional tacos or bean soups, to sweet potato quesadillas, veggie paddies, black-bean pasta, or different bean spreads.
What about their explosive effect? So many people avoid beans because of this, claiming they simply can’t digest them. The good news is that in most cases, this is due to not having the right gut bacteria to process them. The more we eat beans and legumes, the more of the right bacteria we will grow, and the easier it will be for our little guys to help us digest our beans. So, for most people, it is best to start small and take it from there. Concerned about lectins? Don’t be. Soaking your beans before boiling them, or cooking them in your pressure cooker for over 45 minutes, will eliminate them.
Check out our interactive page to learn more about how these extraordinary beans can support your family’s well being.
Nutrition Calculator: Latin American Beans
Use our personalized nutrition calculator to discover the percentage of daily nutrition needs you and your family can get from eating black beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans, or white beans. We’ve made separate calculators for boiled vs canned beans because there is a difference in nutritional content.
Nutrition needs vary according to age, sex, and whether women of reproductive age are pregnant or breastfeeding. Fill out the form below for yourself and for your family members to get personalized results.*
* Calculated as a percentage of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) as established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Based on spinach nutritional information provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tips to Select and Prepare Your Beans
Organic or Not?
Whenever possible, you should aim at getting organic beans. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), beans and legumes are often sprayed with glyphosate right before harvest. Aside from avoiding this chemical that is linked to a higher risk of developing cancer, organic beans also have a higher nutritional profile than their conventional counterpart, including 20% more protein, 28% more antioxidant power, and 10% less phytate. Learn more.
Sort and Rinse Before Cooking
Beans are left to dry in the field, so they often come with some small rocks, dirt or organic debris. This is why sorting your beans is important. Simply spread your beans on a light-colored surface so you can easily scan for debris, or slowly transfer small handfuls from one hand to the other while inspecting them. Never skip this step, you don’t want to end up chewing on a rock while enjoying your comforting bean soup! After you sort your beans, rinse them in a large colander to remove dirt.
To Soak or Not to Soak
Soaking our beans can help shorten their cooking time while also removing toxic lectins as those found in kidney beans. Not all lectins are toxic or inflammatory, by the way, but when it comes to those present in our beans, soaking them for at least five hours before cooking them eliminates these lectins. Also, boiling them for an hour or cooking them for 45 minutes in the pressure cooker will destroy lectins without having to presoak your beans.
Spice Up Your Beans
Be sure to add more flavor and antioxidant power to you beans when cooking them. One easy way is to dry-sauté a diced onion until caramelized, then use a little water to pick up the flavors. Add 3 cups of rinsed beans and 3 tablespoons of your favorite spice mix. This Fajita Seasoning recipe is delicious, you can eliminate or reduce the salt amount and skip the sugar to make it WFPB. Add about 8 cups of water and cook them with your favorite method.
Skip the Unhealthy Companions
Skip the unhealthy companions such as meat, dairy or oil. If you like refried beans, just mash your beans with a fork and serve without frying them in oil. If you like to give them a cheesy flavor, add nutritional yeast. Lastly, if you enjoy eating your beans with tortilla chips, it’s easy to make your own at home. Just cut your oil-free tortillas in eights, spread them on a silicon mat or parchment paper, sprinkle them with lemon or lime juice, add some spices, and bake at 250°F until crisp (about 30 minutes) flipping them once.
Beans for Breakfast
A lot of cultures eat beans for breakfast, whether it is black beans with Mexican chilaquiles, or some delicious hummus with vegetables or pita bread. If you prefer enjoying a sweet breakfast, you can try out this delicious recipe from Forks Over Knives. All it takes is white beans, plant-based milk, maple (or dates for an even healthier option), vanilla, and cinnamon. You can then serve it in a bowl or spread on some toast, add berries or any other fruits of your choice, and enjoy!
How Beans Support Our Body
Beans are one of the most nutritious food groups, with benefits to all of our body parts. Hover over each pointer below to see how each body part uses the various nutrients present in common beans. Click on a pointer to visit that body part’s interactive page with further information about the nutrients it needs to thrive, the best whole-food plants to find them, and some interesting facts. Currently, we only have Our Heart and Our Bones pages ready. Come back soon for more!
Our Reproductive Health
Manganese, present in beans, supports reproduction and can help reduce PMS symptoms and menstrual pain. Vitamin B6 may also help with PMS.Our Gut Bacteria
Fiber feeds our good bacteria while sugar feeds our bad bacteria. When we eat fiber, we increase our population of good bacteria. This leads to the production of more SCFAs. Also, the more good bacteria we have, the less bad bacteria we have. Bacteria from the ingestion of red meat or choline from animal sources produces unhealthy inflammatory compounds like TMAO which leads to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer. Basically, TMAO causes the same problems that SCFAs help prevent.Our Muscles
Beans are a great source of protein, which is important to keep our muscles strong. They are also good source of calcium and potassium, which help with muscle contractions. Iron helps carry and store oxygen in muscle tissues. And magnesium helps regulate muscle and nerve function, and helps reduce muscle pain caused by fibromaglya.Early Development
Beans and other legumes are important foods to include in your diet, especially when pregnant. They are rich in folate, which is the natural form of folic acid. Folate is never toxic, as opposed to folic acid, and therefor there is no risk of eating too much. Zinc helps our cells grow and multiply, so it is very important during pregnancy, infancy, and childhood. Same goes for iron, which is needed for proper growth and for proper brain development. Finally, vitamin B6 also helps with brain development and it may help with morning sickness.Our Digestion
The fiber in beans helps push down our food through our digestive tract. It also softens our stool and makes it bulkier, so it’s easier to eliminate. A high-fiber, low-fat diet helps prevent colorectal cancer. SCFAs make our colon more acidic, preventing growth of bad, inflammatory bacteria and their production of pro-inflammatory TMAO.Our Brain
Beans are a fantastic brain food. As a top source of fiber, they promote the health of our good bacteria which, in turn, modulates neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, enhancing our mood and brain function. SCFAs (what results of our gut bacteria feeding on fiber) help improve learning and memory, and may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. A high-fiber diet also reduces the risk of stroke by lowering total and LDL cholesterol, and by lowering blood pressure. Beans are also a good source of omega 3, crucial for brain development and overall brain health. Vitamins B6 and B9 (folate) help prevent cognitive decline, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. They also help with mood regulation and pain inhibition. Copper helps with the formation of neurotransmitters.Our Heart
Beans are the top source of fiber, which helps lower our blood pressure and our cholesterol levels. They are also a good source of potassium and magnesium, which help us improve our blood pressure. Vitamins B6 and B9 help maintain normal levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that can lead to cardiovascular disease when we have it in excess. Iron helps us produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the heart, and then to the rest of our body. Lastly, calcium present especially in white beans, helps regulate our heart’s rhythm.Our Bones
Beans are packed with minerals that help keep our bones strong and healthy, including calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and potassium. High mineral density results in less risk of fractures and developing osteoporosis. Beans also contain omega 3 which may help increase our calcium absorption and decrease our calcium excretion.Our Immunity
70% of our immune system resides in our gut! Fiber has a direct effect on strengthening our immune cells, as well as an indirect effect by promoting the growth of our good bacteria over bad bacteria which can lead to inflammatory response. SCFAs help prevent allergies and make our immune cells more tolerable of our gut bacteria in general. They may also help prevent cancer by eliminating cells that could turn cancerous and by preventing multiplication. Also vitamin B9, copper, manganese, and zinc support our immune system. Zinc is very important for the growth and function of natural killer cells, T cells and B cells.Our Metabolism
Fiber reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, one of the most common metabolic disorders in the world. SCFAs improve blood sugar regulation, help protect against glucose intolerance, and improves insulin response in the pancreas. Vitamin B6 and manganese are important for the metabolism of lipids, amino acids, and carbohydrates.Important Things to Know
Hover over each of the facts below to flip the tiles and learn more details!
Black vs Pinto vs Red Kidney vs White
All four types of beans are incredibly nutritious and an important part of a whole-foods, plant-based diet. However, they each have different strengths, so you should aim to include them all in your meals rotation. See the comparison chart below to easily spot their strongest nutrition suit!
