Bean Nutrition

 Kitchen Kneeds offers a variety of classes that you can attend at their store.  The following information on beans is from their bean class.  I really recommend attending one of their classes.  They have a bread class, bean class, and a preparedness class.  All of them are good.  They are the best price FREE!


Kitchen Kneeds
7579 So. Redwood Road
West Jordan, UT 84084
801-561-9616

Why You Should Be Eating More Beans

…for great value

                        …for hearty meals

                                …for good nutrition

Protein

One half-cup serving of dry beans equals:

18 to 22 grams of protein

10% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein

One-ounce serving of lean meat in the Food Pyramid Meat and Beans group

Full serving of vegetables in the Vegetables group

Costs about $0.10 cents per serving 

Improve the quality and digestibility of beans by consuming them with cereal grains.

Beans are a rich source in lysine, but a poor source of methionine.

Cereal grains are a poor source of lysine, but high in methionine and other sulfur amino acids. When beans and grains are served together in dishes like beans and rice, or tortillas and refried beans, they provide a complimentary protein profile.

Serving beans with grains, eggs, or cheese makes a "complete" protein.

Kcalories

There are only 100 to 120 kcalories in a half-cup serving of beans. However, Kcalories and other nutrients are diluted in canned beans because the moisture content is higher.

Carbohydrates

Beans contain an average of 25 grams of carbohydrates per serving. The carbohydrates in cooked beans are mainly starch, a complex carbohydrate, and less than 1% of simple sugars, mostly Sucrose. 

Discarding the soaking and cooking water helps remove oligosaccharides and reduces flatulence. Hot soaking removes about 50% of these sugars. Extended soaking removes more, but reduces vitamins and minerals. Canned beans may contain up to 4% sucrose as a flavor enhancer.

Fiber

One half-cup serving of cooked dry beans provides:

25-30% of the Daily Value of dietary fiber

75% of the fiber is insoluble which may reduce the risk of colon cancer

25% of the fiber is soluble fiber which may reduce blood cholesterol

Consumption of beans produces a moderate increase in blood glucose and insulin levels which may be helpful in the metabolic control of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association include beans in the exchange system. 

The slower release of glucose and the increased satiety from beans may also enhance the effectiveness of weight-reducing diets.

Lipids

One half-cup serving of beans contains:

Less than 0.5 grams of mostly polyunsaturated fat and no cholesterol.

Pinto bean lipid is 84% polyunsaturated fatty acids. Most of this fatty acid is linoleic acid.

Vitamins & Folacin

Beans are a good source of several B vitamins, thiamin, pyridoxine (B6) niacin and folic acid. Although some B vitamins are lost in preparation, cooked dry beans retain more than 70% of these vitamins after hot soaking and cooking. Extended cooking times will result in greater B vitamin losses. 

One half-cup serving of beans provides:

36% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of 400 micrograms of folacin

11% of the RDI for thiamin

Minerals

One half-cup serving of cooked dry beans contains large amounts of:

Iron, phosphorous, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, calcium, and zinc.