Why beans are so good for your gut health
In the world of plant-based foods, beans reign supreme. In fact, beans are so beloved that there’s even a children’s song promoting their benefits: “Beans, beans, the magical fruit!”
But why are beans so lauded? As it turns out, beans are good for us in all sorts of ways. Not only are they a humble food, often inexpensive to buy and easy to prepare, but they also carry plenty of nutritional benefits.
Beans form an important part of vegetarian and vegan diets largely because they are an excellent source of protein and minerals like calcium and iron. But people who eat meat can also stand to benefit from the fibre in beans, and they contribute to a healthy, varied diet.
Dr Emily Leeming, author of Genius Gut: The Life-Changing Science of Eating for Your Second Brain, tells Yahoo UK: "Beans are packed full of fibre, more than most fruits and vegetables. Most of us in the UK are severely lacking in how much fibre we’re eating, only having just over half of the 30g we need a day.
"For every 7g more of fibre you eat, equivalent to about half a can of chickpeas, is linked to a lower risk of heart disease by 9% and type II diabetes by 6%, and just a third of a can of chickpeas, equivalent to 5g of fibre, is linked to a 5% lower risk of depression.
"Adding beans onto your plate is one of the easiest ways to up your fibre intake for your health. Fibre is essential to feed our healthy gut bacteria that live in our lower intestine, helping them to produce special molecules that support your health across your body, including your brain."
Some types of beans may even be good for our mental health. Botanist Nadia Mohd-Razman spoke of her mission to get Britons eating more broad beans. She told the Observer that broad beans should be more of staple in meals across the country, and is campaigning to promote British broad beans.
Broad beans have plenty of nutritional benefit, and may even be good for mental health, says a researcher. (Getty Images)
Mohd-Razman, a researcher from Cambridge University, said that broad beans contain high levels of levodopa, or L-dopa, a compound that "has been shown to be very effective in treating the condition known as anhedonia, which is essentially the inability to feel or experience pleasure".
"We have a major problem with growing numbers of young people experiencing mental health problems in the UK today, and helping them eat a proper, healthy diet is going to be crucial in tackling this. The broad bean will be our first line of attack," she told the publication.
Broad beans are also sometimes also known as fava beans. According to Hodmedod, which supplies British-grown beans, grains, seeds, and more, fava beans are the dried beans of the Vicia faba species of the legume family, which is the same species as the fresh green broad beans many Britons may be more familiar with.
Broad beans are usually picked fresh, while fava beans are the fully mature fruit of smaller seeded varieties that are left to dry and blacken before they are harvested.
You can try incorporating more beans into your diet with these recipes from Hodmedod and Amelia Christie-Miller of Bold Bean Co:
Ricotta and Pesto Butter Beans
Ricotta and Pesto Butter Beans. (Joe Woodhouse / Bold Bean Co)
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
700g jar Queen Butter Beans
250g ricotta (or burrata or stracciatella cheese)
Zest of 2 lemons, plus juice to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
For the pesto:
Large handful of pine nuts, toasted (or walnuts)
30g basil
1 garlic clove
25g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese
4-5tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
Method:
To make the pesto, add the pine nuts, basil, garlic and cheese to a blender or food processor, along with four tablespoons of the olive oil. Blitz until you have an oozy, puree-like consistency; you may need to add more oil to bind the mixture together.
Next, prepare the beans. In winter, we like serving this as a brothy bean base, so we recommend saving some of the bean stock and warming through the beans in a pan.
For summer, we like it lighter, so simply drain and rinse the beans and don't bother to warm through.
Spoon the beans onto your serving plate and dollop over the ricotta.
Drizzle over the pesto and scatter over the lemon zest, plus a small squeeze of the juice if you like a real zing.
Finish with some cracked black pepper and a final drizzle of olive oil for extra indulgence.
Charred Courgette and Chickpea Salad with Lemony Yoghurt
Charred Courgette and Chickpea Salad with Lemony Yoghurt. (Joe Woodhouse / Bold Bean Co)
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
700g jar chickpeas or 2x400g cans of chickpeas, drained
4 tbsp olive oil
2tbsp sumac
3 courgettes, quartered lengthways and chopped into thirds
100g petit pois (cooked or frozen)
2 Baby Gem lettuces
Large bunch of mint, leaves picked
1tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
Sea salt
Freshly found black pepper
For the dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp Greek, natural or plant-based yoghurt
1 garlic clove
1tbsp olive oil
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.
Rince the chickpeas, then tumble them into a roasting tray and pat dry with a paper towel. Drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle over a good pinch of salt.
Season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Roast for 25-30 minutes until golden and crisp.
Heat a griddle pan over a high heat and add the courgettes. Griddle for around two minutes on each side until nicely browned, you're looking for deep char marks here.
While the courgettes and cooking, make the dressing. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and season to taste, adding more lemon if you like.
To assemble the salad, toss the charred courgettes, crispy chickpeas and lettuce leaves together in a large salad bowl, then drizzle over the yoghurt dressing and sprinkle with fresh mint leaves. Add chilli flakes if desired for some heat and serve.
Recipes available in Bold Beans: Recipes to get your pulse racing by Amelia Christie-Miller. Published by Kyle Books. Photography: Joe Woodhouse.
Fava Bean Shakshuka by The Cook & Him for Hodmedod
Fava Bean Shakshuka. (The Cook & Him / Hodmedod)
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
1 cup (160g) dried Split Fava Beans
2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
Drizzle olive or rapeseed oil
1 red onion, peeled and diced
1 pepper, seeds removed and flesh roughly diced
4 small cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1x400g can peeled whole plum tomatoes
4 sun-dried tomatoes
2tbsp tomato puree
1tbsp coconut sugar
2tsp smoked paprika
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
About 1tsp chilli flakes (optional)
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 medium organic free range eggs
Fresh basil to garnish (optional)
Method:
To cook the fava beans simply put 1 cup split fava beans and 2 cups vegetable stock into a medium saucepan and gently bubble for 30-40 minutes until soft but still with a little bite. Stir frequently to prevent the fava beans sticking to the saucepan. If they start to bubble dry just top up with some more water or vegetable stock.
Pour a drizzle of olive or rapeseed oil into a large frying pan along with the diced onion and peppers and crushed garlic and gently saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally till softened.
Add the can of whole peeled tomatoes and ½ can of water.
Then add the cooked fava beans (see note below), sun dried tomatoes, tomato puree, coconut sugar, paprika, balsamic and optional chilli flakes. Stir well then gently bubble for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes.
Make a well in one quarter of the mixture. It won't be a completely empty well because of the liquid from the sauce, just push the veg aside to make a rough hole.
Crack in an egg and repeat this with the other 3 eggs in different parts of the pan.
Cover with the lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the eggs are set but not overcooked.
Serve immediately garnished with a few basil sprigs and crusty bread.
Warm Carlin Pea 'Hummus' and Salad by Jenny Chandler for Hodmedod
Warm Carlin Pea 'Hummus'. (Jenny Chandler / Hodmedod)
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
For the 'hummus':
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
250g Cooked Carlin Peas, home cooked or from the can
1 heaped tsp Fermented Wholegrain Naked Barley or Fava Bean Umami Paste
½ orange, juiced
1 tsp sherry vinegar, or red wine vinegar can be substituted
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
For the salad:
½ red onion, spiced
2 tbsp vinegar (can be substituted with wine, cider, or sherry)
½ tsp salt
1 small head of radicchio or chicory
1 medium beetroot, sliced finely, ideally on a mandolin
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 oranges, peeled and segmented or sliced
2 handfuls of walnut halves
A splash of extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
Method:
Heat the garlic in the olive oil in a small pan until it just begins to colour. The idea is just to reduce the garlic’s bite, bring out the aromas and infuse the oil, you’re not frying so gently does it.
Now add the oil and garlic to a blender with the drained peas (save the cooking/can water), half of your fermented barley (or other source of Umami flavour) and the orange juice.
Blend to a purée, smooth or textured (that’s your choice). Taste and add the remaining fermented barley, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
If the purée feels too stiff do add a splash of the cooking/can water to loosen.
When ready to serve you can warm through the “hummus” in your garlic oil pan and then spread onto a serving plate with the back of a spoon.
For the salad, place the sliced red onion in a small bowl with the vinegar and salt, massage it with your finger tips for a few seconds and then set aside to soften and turn a glorious fuchsia pink.
Arrange the remaining ingredients on top of the warm pea purée, top with the onion and then add a drizzle of olive oil, the vinegar from the onion bowl and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Read more about gut health:
7 tasty recipes to replace your favourite ultra-processed foods (Yahoo Life UK, 14-min read)
Is a sweet or savoury breakfast better for gut health? (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
How to snack healthier and still satisfy your cravings (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)