Which beans are healthier

Mankind began to consume such a healthy and tasty food product as beans several thousand years ago. It was cultivated in Ancient Egypt, China, and Mediterranean countries. It was the basis of the diet of the American Indians along with corn. The Aztec menu included beans of various colors. Europeans became acquainted with beans thanks to the travels of Columbus, who brought dried grains from America.

Bean wealth

These legumes were brought to Russia in the 17th century, but at first, out of ignorance, they were used exclusively for decoration. Only a few decades later they learned to cook delicious, satisfying dishes from them. There are approximately 220 varieties of beans. It has gained particular popularity in the modern world when more and more people began to refuse to consume animal products.

The main differences between white and red beans

When deciding for yourself the question of which beans are healthier, white or red, it is important to remember that their main difference lies in the amount of protein, fiber, and amino acids.

The calorie content of red bean varieties is 310 kcal , white beans - 325 . Colored beans are denser. They are often added to first courses, sauces, and salads. White ones are softer and more fibrous. They are better absorbed by the body. More suitable for children's and dietary nutrition. White beans are often used to make puree and soufflé.

Fresh legumes are harmful to the body. It contains toxic compounds. Moreover, in white beans, unlike red beans, there are 1.5-2 times less of them.

These include:

glycosides that irritate the mucous membrane of the digestive tract;
the protein phytohemagglutinin, which causes red blood cells to stick together and provokes abnormal cell division;
lectins, which increase the permeability of the intestinal walls to harmful compounds, preventing the normal absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Regular consumption of red bean varieties increases the body's defenses, helps reduce the risk of cancer, and cleanse the body of toxins. They are recommended for use by active athletes and people whose hard work requires the expenditure of large amounts of energy. With the help of colored beans, strength is restored faster; eating dishes made from them gives you a feeling of satiety and a large amount of energy for a long time.

Red and white beans are very healthy for humans

The difference between beans with a white shell and a red one is that they contain more ascorbic acid, which is healthier for people with weak immune systems. It also contains more iron, so it should be used for anemia. In addition, it contains more calcium, which should be taken into account by middle-aged and elderly people, who are recommended to eat it to prevent osteoporosis.

In terms of vitamin and mineral composition, there are practically no differences between varieties of beans with colored and white skins. The choice is determined by your own taste preferences and some features of the product.

It's hard to say whether red beans or white beans are healthier to eat. Both varieties are suitable for a healthy person. But if you have health problems, you need to study in more detail the chemical composition, the benefits of each variety and choose the best option for yourself.

What is the difference?

Calorie content : - red, as a finished product, has more calories, white - less calories, so it is more often used by athletes for diet menus.
Digestibility - white beans are undoubtedly the leader here, red beans take much longer to digest.
A long feeling of fullness - red beans have this quality, giving the body greater saturation with energy compared to white beans.
Cooking - red beans are used for preparing appetizers, salads, sauces, main courses; white beans are more often used for preparing soups.

Calorie content and chemical composition

The energy, vitamin and mineral indicators of colored and white beans are not much different.

Beans have a rich mineral composition with a relatively low calorie content

The main average characteristics are as follows:

300 Kcal.
Proteins – 20-30 g.
Fats – 1.8 – 3.5 g.
Carbohydrates – 50-64 g.
Coarse fiber content – 10-12 g.

All varieties of these legumes contain essential amino acids, organic acids, vitamins K, A, PP, B, E, choline, micro- and macroelements (zinc, sodium, magnesium, cobalt, sulfur, copper, calcium, chromium, iodine).

Which beans and in what form are healthier?

Vegetarians and vegans call legumes “plant meat.” They contain protein, the amount of which is almost the same as in meat. But after eating plant foods, there is no such feeling of heaviness as after meat, due to the presence of an important element called niacin, which helps plant protein to be absorbed faster.

Plant-based meat is a salvation for vegetarians

The benefits of thermally processed white or red beans are as follows:

reduces the level of low-density lipoproteins (in common parlance “bad cholesterol”);
helps the body get rid of toxic substances;
stimulates the digestive process, accelerating the work of beneficial microorganisms in the intestines;
useful for women and men with type 2 diabetes, since beans contain arginine, which lowers blood glucose;
helps fight swelling and constipation due to its diuretic and laxative effects;
has a positive effect on heart rate due to the content of the potassium-magnesium complex;
helps fight excess weight by creating a long-lasting feeling of fullness;
helps keep the skin young, toned, without excess pigmentation;
prevents the appearance of dermatitis and inflammation.

Both red and white beans have medicinal properties. Their shell has a diuretic effect. The beans themselves help remove sand from the kidneys, gall bladder, and help dissolve small stones. They are included in the diet for diseases of the kidneys, genitourinary system, and gastrointestinal tract. Arginine in their composition lowers blood sugar. Tryptophan has a sedative effect on the central nervous system. Lysine fights infections in the intestines and viruses, and prevents the development of abnormal cancer cells. Tyrosine normalizes the functioning of the endocrine system.

Fresh

It is better not to eat fresh beans, especially for children, pregnant women, and people with poor health. It contains glycosides phaseolunatin and phasin, which cause intoxication of the body.

Fresh white beans in a pod

There are also protease inhibitors that the human body does not absorb. It is because of them that heaviness appears in the gastrointestinal tract and increased gas formation. Soaking grains for 6-10 hours, boiling or sprouting helps reduce the intoxicating effect.

Frozen

One way to store legumes is to place them in the freezer. Fresh and boiled beans can be frozen, but experts do not recommend doing this with fresh beans. They then have to be boiled, as a result the taste of the product deteriorates greatly. It is better to pre-cook the beans, cool them, dry them, removing excess moisture. Place in a single layer on trays and place in the freezer. After a day, pour the product into a storage container and put it back in the freezer. Store at -18°C. In this case, it does not lose its beneficial properties for at least six months.

Boiled beans do not lose their attractive appearance after defrosting.

It is not recommended to freeze fresh beans because the taste of the product will deteriorate, the grains will crack, and during further cooking they will become mealy and turn into puree.

Important! Thaw boiled beans in the refrigerator, otherwise, if you put them out of the freezer immediately into a warm place, ice crystals will damage the delicate structure of the beans.

Canned

This product contains useful substances. When canning beans, at least 70% of vitamins and more than 80% of minerals remain in it, but toxic substances are destroyed, since the beans are boiled for a long time before canning.

Homemade canned beans with vegetables

Eating canned food is very convenient: open the jar, heat it up if necessary, add your favorite spices, meat or vegetables, and a hearty dish is ready. Or quickly prepared a salad or made soup.

However, when you buy canned beans, you get a pig in a poke. It may contain poor quality beans (rotten, black barreled, overcooked or undercooked). Vinegar and large amounts of sugar are used as preservatives. Before purchasing, be sure to study the composition indicated on the label. It is better to have a minimum content of salt, sugar, vinegar, and spices. And there were no other vegetables (unless, of course, this is the kind of snack you prefer). In this case, the beans do not change their taste. Better yet, preserve the product yourself.

The most popular variety

Most often we have red beans on our tables. It is bright, looks great on the table and complements many meat and vegetable dishes. But it's not just about beauty. It is important for us to find out which beans are healthier - white or red. Extensive research has been conducted to find the best antioxidants. The products studied included fruits, berries, nuts, and red beans. At the same time, the latter even left currants behind, becoming an ideal antioxidant. This substance effectively protects against radicals that cause various diseases, including cancer.

Which beans are best for weight loss?

For those trying to lose weight, white and red beans are suitable. Their calorie content is almost the same, so both will benefit women and men in losing weight. Only white is a little higher in calories. Complex carbohydrates in legumes take much longer to break down than simple ones. Consequently, insulin is also released slowly, and it is an excess of this hormone that provokes fat deposits.

Fact! Green beans are considered the lowest in calories. In canned form it has only 16 kcal, and in white and red - 99 kcal each.

The bean diet for weight loss involves boiling legumes without seasoning and without salt. They are consumed with vegetables or boiled fish, dietary meat.

You can lose a few kilograms on a bean diet

In addition to helping with weight loss, the usefulness of white and colored beans for women's health is to improve the appearance of hair and nails, which often suffer with other types of diets. This is due to the large amount of sulfur in legumes.

A little red

And we continue to discuss the question of which beans are healthier - white or red. Below we will talk about the fact that for various diseases the focus may shift somewhat, but in general, nutritionists say that it is important to regularly include this product in your menu. And red beans can be safely added to the list of plant foods that are vital for our body. Let's look at why now. This product is devoid of fats, or rather, their concentration is so minute that it can be ignored. Instead of synthetic vitamin complexes, prepare a delicious soup or salad. It will warm and saturate the body with everything it needs. This is a real storehouse of useful substances, especially in winter. It is no less rich in minerals. The composition contains zinc and copper, potassium and sulfur, iron and much more.

Recommendations for preparing different types

More than two hundred varieties of beans are known, which differ in size, taste, and color. But most people know green beans and grain beans. Capsicum or asparagus resembles asparagus in appearance and taste, although these are completely different crops. In turn, asparagus beans are a type of green bean, but often green beans mean green beans and vice versa. It is boiled, grilled, fried and stewed, and used for salads. Grain is mainly stewed, boiled, mashed and soups are made from it.

Everyone chooses for themselves which beans are best to eat, but in any case this food product is not eaten raw. To destroy toxic compounds, the beans are heat treated. When cooking in a saucepan, this process will take at least 3 hours. Before preparing any dishes, the beans are soaked for several hours (8-10) in water, which is changed every 2 hours.

Soaking beans significantly reduces their cooking time

To speed up the cooking process, use a pressure cooker, then the cooking process will be halved.

Or do the following manipulations:

the beans are washed and placed in a pan with water;
boil for at least 5 minutes, remove from the stove, cover with a cotton blanket, and leave for a couple of hours;
put in a colander, rinse, boil again in water until softened, and finally salt.

With this cooking method, beans of any variety will cook much faster than with conventional soaking. Read about the rules and other ways to cook beans here.

Do not mix different bean varieties when cooking. Otherwise, some beans will be completely boiled, while others will remain half-baked.

To speed up cooking, constantly add 100 ml of cold water (about every half hour) and a little vegetable oil. When soaking the beans and during further cooking, add half a teaspoon of baking soda, and add the soda again after each change of water.

Advice! Stewing beans in tomato sauce or with tomatoes improves the digestibility of legumes and reduces their ability to cause discomfort in the stomach. Lactic acid products and dill have a similar effect.

You can can any beans yourself, although the process is quite long, but not difficult. Most of the time is spent soaking and boiling the beans. But the result is worth it. The result is a delicious preparation from which you can make many hearty dishes. And most importantly, there will be no artificial preservatives, only natural products.

The cooking process is simple. You need to soak the beans for 10-12 hours, changing the water every 2 hours. Then rinse and cook for at least an hour until the beans are fully cooked and soft. In a deep saucepan, stew onions and carrots in a large amount of oil and water, add salt, vinegar, vegetable oil, and your favorite seasonings. Place in sterilized jars, sterilize for an additional 20 minutes and roll up.

For pregnant women

The benefits of legumes for expectant mothers are difficult to overestimate. This is an excellent source of protein, amino acids and vitamins, which are so important during this difficult period. The high fiber content will effectively eliminate constipation, which is not uncommon during this difficult period. Dietary fiber swells in the stomach, which means you won’t want to eat for a long time. Therefore, if you constantly feel hungry, then these dishes are especially for you. Moreover, beans stewed with vegetables are much healthier than potatoes with pork. And B vitamins and iron are another reason to eat legumes.

Which beans are healthier (white or red) for pregnant women? If you are overweight, choose white. And for normal weight, red or black, which is the record holder for protein content, is best. The most important thing is to soak the beans overnight in cold water before cooking. Then the beans will not cause painful flatulence. It is very important to fully cook the beans, because raw or undercooked, they are a source of toxic substances.

Interesting Facts

The popularity of beans in the world is so great that there are many interesting facts about them. Cleopatra also used it as a component of anti-aging masks. And later they began to produce face powder from beans.

Beans are popular in many countries of the world and even deserve their own holiday

Culture has its own holiday. Every last Sunday of November, Bulgaria celebrates Bean Day. It starts with a shot from a bean cannon. On this day, a wide variety of bean dishes are served everywhere, and culinary master classes are held. The English call beans Dutch beans because they were brought to England by traders from Holland. The Akito variety has an unusual smell; it smells like mushrooms.