Are some beans (navy beans, northern beans, kidney beans) healthier than others (like lentils)?

[Alex K Chen]

[the real answer is green beans, but they are so unlike other beans that you're unlikely to rely on them when you feel bean cravings + way harder to store]

All of them seem really similar, but some are still slightly higher % fiber and some may have lower GIs (I presume lentils are easiest to digest but they also seem the “simplest” =-> easiest to digest and quickest to boost glucose)

My guess is kidney beans, in part b/c of the "anti-nutrients" that inhibit nutrient absorption. Also whatever bean "white bean extract" comes from. More resistant starch is better

https://www.rapamycin.news/t/what-is-the-chemical-composition-and-kcal-g-of-the-polysaccharides-oligosaccharides-raffinoses-non-digestible-fraction-found-in-beans-vs-bread-rice-corn-pasta-and-other-starches/4301

chickpeas is 350 ug/g of trigonelline but one source says white beans (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32420683/ ) are even higher

 

Edited January 14 by InquilineKea

[Saul]

Edamame and Fava beans have amino acid balance more closely resembling animal protein than most other beans -- so they supply the most "complete protein".  In particular, they are higher than most other vegetable sources in methionine and other sulfur bearing amino acids.

  --  Saul

[Sibiriak]

I believe beans are ultra-healthy and it's good to eat a variety of them.    According to various studies,  beans with deeply-colored coatings (eg. red, purple, black) have greater amounts of phytochemicals with anti-cancer/anti-aging potential.

See for example:

Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of the Extracts of Twelve Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Endemic Ecotypes of Southern Italy before and after Cooking (2016)

Quote

1. Introduction

Among legumes, common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are widely consumed throughout the world. They play a significant role in human nutrition, being an important source of plant proteins, minerals, and certain vitamins and exhibit, for this reason, high nutritional value. In last years, bioactive effects, associated with the fibres, polyphenols, and other beans components related to human health have gained attention [1, 2]. Beans contain substantial amount of phenolic acids and flavonoids; some cultivars (red, black, and blue-violet coloured beans) show also anthocyanins, such as delphinidin and cyanidin, that overall attribute them a very strong antioxidant and antiradical activities [3]. Polyphenols are essentially present in the seed coats and in minor amount in cotyledons.

The beneficial effects of polyphenols on human health are expressed primarily through the reduction of the oxidative stress [4]. Some polyphenols are also able to exert antiapoptotic, antiaging, as well as anticarcinogenic activity, overall inhibiting the cell proliferation processes [5, 6].

Epidemiological studies have shown a strong link between the consumption of legumes and prevention of cancer risk, as well as the reduction of diabetes and cardiovascular risk through a normalization of the blood lipid and glucose profile [7]. Wedick et al. (2012) demonstrated that, among flavonoids, higher intakes of anthocyanins could be significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (risk: 0.85) [8].  [...]

Quote

4. Conclusions

Common beans are a key food of the Mediterranean diet, representing an important source of proteins, fibres, some minerals, vitamins, and bioactive compounds. We evaluated the antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of polyphenolic extracts obtained from old twelve varieties of endemic bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), of some rural countries of Southern Italy. Our findings confirm that the speckled, red, and black coloured varieties of beans are more active than the nonpigmented ones. Interestingly, cooking of beans, despite causing a certain loss of bioactive molecules, did not negatively affect in marked way their biological properties. [...]

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by Sibiriak

[Ron Put]

Here is a video ranking the antioxidant properties of a number of legumes:
 

 

[Alex K Chen]

Lupini beans are more nutritionally distinct from the other beans:https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/beans/lupini/1lb.html

(most of the macros of *all* the beans are freakishly similar to each other)

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Still, if you eat 4 cans of beans per day (=1680 calories), that's 7*3.5*4g of protein, which is very high...

Edited March 11 by InquilineKea

[Alex K Chen]

Kidney beans are really really filling relative to the others, though they also take a lot out of you and can make you feel sleepy..

Butter beans have lower calorie density (350 calories per can rather than 420). They don't have as much fiber..

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kidney beans also have the slowest glucose response (b/c they are so tough)..

choline: (450g, or 1 can, is 2.5 cups...). So 2 cans is 89.3%. Other beans have choline, though a bit less (garbanzo is 13% DV per cup)

"

Canned Kidney Beans (Beans, kidney, all types, mature seeds, canned) 1 cup

89.3mg (16% DV)

Edited June 1 by Alex K Chen