Should I Eat Beans?

Two Very Good Reasons Among Many

Super Healthy people eat beans.

Blue zones are places on the planet where the population tends to live and thrive to much older ages than the rest of us. There are five blue zones. The people in all five eat lots of beans.

Soldiers in the Roman army, the one that conquered the entire ancient Mediterranean world, got a large amount of their protein and energy from beans. They are probably the best conditioned soldiers who ever lived. They often marched 20 miles a day with a 50-70 lb pack and then constructed a fort with a moat, high dirt walls and watch towers where they spent just one night. Then they got up and did it all the next day. resmilitares.com

The Importance of WANT TO

The need to WANT TO is crucial for success. To establish this or any habit, you need to want to and have a good reason to start. It must be a good reason to YOU.

“I want to learn to eat what healthy people eat.” “I’ve never eaten this way, but I want to learn.” “I want to check bean-eating in my todo list.”

Whatever the reason, it must be important enough to you to get you through periods or boredom and doubt.

Because the best way to proceed is slowly and steadily

Why New Eating Habits Come Slowly

Eating habits are deeply conditioned. They are not easily disturbed! Your Auto Brain is per perfectly content with the habits that you have and is very reluctant to allow you to change.

Why Easy is the Easy Way

Easy gives auto brain time to adapt and accept without using too much of your energy.

Easy makes it easy for you to establish habit-forming routine without thinking too much about it.

The Payoff is Worth It

Edamame – soy bean – is a great gateway bean.

It has a rich nutritional profile.

From PubMed:

• Cholesterol Reduction: Eating approximately 2/3 of a cup of pulses daily can significantly lower total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
• Blood Sugar Control: Pulses have a low glycemic response, meaning they lead to lower post-meal blood glucose levels. This helps mitigate the risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
• Weight Management: The high fiber and protein content increases satiety (the feeling of fullness), which helps regulate appetite and manage weight.
• Blood Pressure and Cellular Protection: Pulse consumption is closely linked to reduced blood pressure. Additionally, their high levels of polyphenols provide antioxidant protection against reactive oxygen species.

Gut Health and Microbiome Modulation

• Increases Beneficial Bacteria: Human dietary trials show that eating beans increases the abundance of health-promoting gut bacteria, including Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia, and Bacteroidetes.
• Reduces Harmful Bacteria: Diets rich in pulses decrease the colonization of pathogenic and putrefactive (ammonia-producing) bacteria in the gut.
• Boosts Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs): The fermentation of beans by gut bacteria produces vital SCFAs like butyrate, acetate, and propionate. These fatty acids are crucial for providing energy to colon cells, maintaining intestinal homeostasis, and enhancing gut barrier functions.
• Improves Microbial Richness: In specific human populations, such as colorectal cancer survivors, consuming cooked beans was shown to successfully boost overall gut microbial richness.

Beans feed beneficial bacteria and increase them in your gut. Why spend money on adding bacteria with probiotics. Eat beans and cultivate the bacteria that you have.

A pound of frozen edamame is inexpensive. I just paid $2.49 for a pound at Aldi.

Edamame also has a firmer texture than other beans. Edamame is not mushy.

By introducing Edamame into your diet you will benefit enormously.

Forming the Edamame Habit

• Buy a bag of edamame beans.
• Cook the beans according to the directions on the package.
• Put them in the frig in a covered container.
• Eat one tablespoon ideally at a meal every day day.
• That’s just over a dozen beans.
• Review this process after three weeks.

Why Make It Easy?

Forming a habit requires patience and repetition without unreasonable expectations.

Eating a tablespoon of beans from the frig is easy. Less than a minute of your time.

Just do it. Don’t think about it. Let your auto brain accept the idea. It’s quite possible that you will feel something in your system that’s encouraging. I did!

Use frozen edamame for easy access. Frozen edamame is available at most grocery stores.

After a while eating edamame regularly will be something you do without thinking. It will be a habit.

Try This Simple Way to Get Beans into Your Diet

You should say, “This is nothing. I can do much more.” But don’t! Make it easy.

Go at least three weeks the easy way.

My experience has been that the body likes beans and if you increase your intake gradually, your body will encourage you to eat them.

When you are ready, gradually increase your portion or try another bean.

Too much too soon and you will have bathroom issues. You can usually handle these by cutting back your allotment.

That was also my experience.

Embrace the Bean!