staying healthy in the fast lanegreat for diabetics, weight loss, and heart disease patients provid-
ed they don’t come with a bunch of extra calories from fat, meats,
and cheeses added to them.
Aside from just eating the whole bean or putting them in soups,
they can also be mashed into spreads that are much tastier and
better for you than those creamy, white junk sauces that are of-
ten served in the middle of an otherwise healthy vegetable platter
(drives me crazy!). The next time you throw a party or attend a
potluck or sporting event, replace the usual high-calorie and fat-
laden creamy dip with a nice bean spread (white, black, garbanzo,
pinto, etc). Your friends will be so distracted by how good it tastes
that they won’t even realize you’ve tricked them into eating some-
thing that is great for their health! The simplest version of a healthy
bean spread can be made by taking your favorite bean (organic if
possible) and blending it up in a food processor, then adding garlic,
herbs, and lemon or lime juice to taste. It’s that simple.
Another interesting and positive aspect of beans: not only are
they a great blood sugar food, but they also help us to lose weight
or maintain it. When you eat beans, a large percentage—approxi-
mately 30 percent of the carbohydrates in the bean—doesn’t get
absorbed into the bloodstream or broken down by the body. It
goes into the colon, and the bacteria in the colon break it down and
produce short-chain fatty acids. Not only are these fatty acids good
for the colon cells but they act as a fuel for the liver to cause more
oxidation of fat by the body, which causes us to lose more weight.^8
No matter the form in which they are served, beans are unfor-
tunately underutilized because initially they tend to give people
gas or some other G.I. complaint. Soaking the beans overnight,
rinsing them, and then cooking them helps to mitigate these un-
pleasant effects. Eating beans regularly over one to two months
will also help get your gastrointestinal flora adjusted. If you have
problems cut your daily consumption of beans in half until your
distressing symptoms are gone, then gradually increase your dose
of beans to a half or one cup per day. This is a way to mitigate
the digestive complaints from beans until your G.I. flora changes.
When possible, organic and non-GMO beans are best.