What Is the Nutritional Content of Green Beans?
Green beans, also known as french beans, snap beans, or string beans, are a common micronutrient vegetable source available in solid, canned, fresh, and frozen forms across the globe. Green beans belong to the legume family along with beans and other lentils, but they possess significantly lower carbohydrates than other members of the legume family. Green beans can be stir-fried, boiled, steamed, added to soups, stews, and even pickled. Raw green beans are composed of 90 % water and usually contain negligible fat. It forms a portion of low-calorie food that is a major part of the keto diet especially because they are low in carbohydrate content and high in fiber. Green beans also boost bodily immunity owing to the high levels of antioxidants they possess and are also anticarcinogenic, cardioprotective, and rich in folate sources. Green beans can also be refrigerated but the vitamin C content in them may get reduced after prolonged refrigeration. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a standard cup of canned beans, which is approximately 150 grams of beans, contains the following
Calorie Source:
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28 calories.
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5.66 grams of carbohydrates.
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1.42 grams of protein.
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2.6 grams of fiber.
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0.55 grams of fat.
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1.94 grams of sugar.
Nutritional Value:
In terms of nutrients, it contains
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30 milligrams of phosphorus.
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130 milligrams of potassium.
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24 micrograms of vitamin A.
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52.5 micrograms of vitamin K.
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17 milligrams of calcium.
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1.2 milligrams of iron.
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18 milligrams of magnesium.
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32 micrograms of folate.
What Are the Health Benefits of Beans Consumption?
The American Heart Association recommends eating no more than 1,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium, ideally on a daily basis, to maintain optimal cardiac health. Green beans, which are naturally low in sodium, contain only 6.6 milligrams (mg) in a cup. Hence it is also ideal to be consumed by hypertensive patients.
For the best source of multiple nutrients and also because beans are generally low in sodium content, fresh or frozen greens beans are ideally chosen for cooking.
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Cardioprotective Nature: Green beans are considered rich sources of vitamins A, C, and K. The soluble fiber in green beans, even raw beans, not only helps lower LDL (low-density lipoproteins) or the so-called bad cholesterol but is also cardioprotective because it supports heart health and lowers blood pressure as well as reduces inflammation.
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Anticarcinogenic Effect: Green beans contain good amounts of the following nutrients, folate, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, magnesium, potassium, etc. The added advantage is that the nutrients in green beans are capable of potentially blocking the carcinogenic effects through heterocyclic amines found in foods like grilled meat that are roasted at high temperatures. Individuals who prefer grilled foods or charred foods should always combine green leafy vegetables in order to decrease the predisposition to certain cancers.
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Female Fertility: Also consumption of more iron from plant-based sources such as spinach, beans, pumpkin, and green beans also appears to be a promoter of female fertility, according to Harvard Medical School research in recent times. Especially in women in the childbearing age group of 20 to 40 years. Several other studies have also shown a mutual correlation between a woman’s fertility levels to be proportional to the level of iron consumed that is rich in green beans. Vitamin C-rich foods for example tomatoes, bell peppers, and berries can also be combined or cooked along with green beans in order to facilitate iron absorption, which is recommended by most nutritionists.
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Folic Acid and Iron Source: Adequate folic acid intake is also essential, which is found in green beans and canned beans that are fundamentally needed during pregnancy for the protection of the fetus against the possibility of neural tube defects occurring. Approximately it is estimated that one cup of green beans can provide us with approximately 10 percent of our daily folic acid needs and up to 6 percent of our daily iron requirements. Daily folic acid supplementation is found to be a potent supplement for individuals suffering from depression.
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Folate and Homocysteine Metabolism: Adequate folate consumption also prevents excess accumulation of homocysteine in the body and hence can facilitate better production of feel-good hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine alongside several nutrients through the blood-brain barrier that regulates sleep, appetite as well as mood. An increase in homocysteine level can defer the release or the passage of these hormones and nutrients.
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Improves Bone Health: Beans are also rich in vitamin K, providing adequate vitamins that can improve bone health and strength by modification of bone matrix proteins. Increased vitamin K also improves calcium absorption and helps in reducing the amount of calcium excreted in the urine.
Who Cannot Consume Green Beans?
Lectins are other proteins that bind up with carbohydrates that are mainly present in green beans. They can be a source of digestive issues in some individuals and hence beans should always be cooked adequately to reduce the levels of lectin.
Green beans also contain good amounts of phytic acid that cannot help with adequate ingestion of foods with mineral content and also prevent them from being absorbed by our body. That is why people should get an opinion from their nutritionist or their physician in case of systemic mineral deficiencies before consuming green beans on a regular basis.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the focus of the dietitian or nutritionist should always be on educating the patient on the importance of a balanced diet and foods with low calories in order to maintain or manage weight. Also, overall eating patterns play a major role in disease prevention as well as achieving good systemic health. Green beans can also be combined along with other vegan or nonvegan sources or eaten whole after cooking them. However, it is always essential to rinse and then subsequently drain if you purchase canned beans in order to reduce the sodium content.
