Average Reading Time: 2 minutes and 46 seconds
As humans evolved and foraged for nuts, seeds, tubers, grains, fruits and vegetables, beans were the one cherished food that we discovered could weather the winter without spoiling.
Beans fall off the vine in the fall and lie dormant all winter, in order to sprout in the spring. Grains do much of the same, but they lack the super strong protective shells and anti-nutrients that beans have, and do not weather the winter as well.
Because beans can survive winter unharmed, Ayurveda considers them a spring food. Spring is a low-fat, austere time of year when it comes to the foods that are harvested. Spring greens, sprouts and roots don’t provide sustainable nutrition on their own, so foods that could be preserved through the winter to provide spring nutrition were extremely valuable. Beans provided an excellent source of proteins, fiber, minerals and vitamins that were scarce in the early spring.
They are considered astringent, which means they can have a drying effect on the body and intestines. In the winter, beans can be too dry, but come spring when the earth is holding onto more water and moisture, they provide the perfect antidote to the dampness of spring.
According to the book, The Blue Zones, beans are the cornerstone of most centenarian diets. Ayurveda considers mung beans a superfood and, around the world, rice and beans have been a staple for thousands of years.
The Power of Beans
Beans are a critical part of the new MIND diet that has been found to protect the brain from cognitive decline as we age. (1) We know that early cognitive decline is related to incremental increases in blood sugar, even in those without diabetes. (2)
Beans have repeatedly shown to be one of the most protective foods against blood sugar concerns and cognitive decline. In one study, a meal of black beans was compared with a high-fiber meal and high-antioxidant meal to find which meal was more effective support for healthy blood sugar. Black beans outperformed both, suggesting that the benefits of beans reach beyond the high-fiber or antioxidant content that is the typical explanations of how beans support blood sugar.
Black beans have about 15 grams of fiber per cup. When we compare the hunter-gatherers – who consumed about 100 grams of fiber per day – to our 15-20 grams per day, consuming just 50 grams of fiber per day might prove difficult, but is very possible. While fiber is linked to heart health, it is also critical for the protective health of the intestinal skin. (6) If the intestinal skin breaks down, the beneficial gut microbes disappear and the lymphatic drainage system that lines the gut will congest, resulting in accelerated aging and degenerative health concerns. (7)
The black coating on black beans has been shown to support fat metabolism and healthy cholesterol levels. (4) They were also found to help reduce appetite, burn fat, help weight loss, and increase the amount of butyric acid in the large intestine. (5) Butyric acid – which is the primary fatty acid in ghee – is the main driver of gut immunity, fat metabolism, colon cell energy and microbial diversity.
In the spring, when the harvest is austere and low-fat, nature is encouraging the body to burn fat. Beans, the spring food according to Ayurveda, is a natural driver of fat metabolism, weight loss and less desire for food. Traditionally, religious holidays that required fasting happened in the spring, when nature is encouraging us to burn fat.
This spring, let beans be your superfood!
NOTES:
Trouble digesting beans? Try split yellow mung beans, which are Ayurveda’s answer to hard-to-digest beans. >>> Learn more here.
No time to cook beans? Use a crock pot and let them cook all day. Or try a programmable pressure cooker called The Instant Pot, which lets you program your beans to start cooking and finish cooking to perfectly fit your schedule. Beans are critical to health and, in our busy lives, we have to strategize ways to make your daily beans happen!
Dana Lamm says
Hello Dr. Doulliard,
I am very interested in more of your perspective on beans for someone with high Vata. I have been told by a couple of Ayurvedic practitioners that I should minimize beans. I LOVE beans and enjoy eating a variety from black to kidney to mung. I am so happy to see that the spring seasonal menus encourage sprouting of beans and I am curious if that is key to the Vata constitution. Can you provide a bit more insight or point me to further information please?
Kind regards,
Dana Lamm
Robert thornton says
Hi Dr. John,
You Suggest using a pressure cooker, but don’t beans have a toxic coating on them to protect them from bugs? If the beans are cooking inside a pressure cooker, wouldn’t the toxic coating be unable to escape into the air, and be ‘pressured’ back into the meal being cooked? Or does the heat somehow neutralize the protective toxin, and it doesn’t matter if it escapes the cooking vessel or not when it reaches a high enough temperature?
pat thomas says
what is your opinion on canned beans?
i have been so disappointed lately with uneven cooking. i buy them in bulk at our co-op and have heard old beans will cook this way. so i now use canned beans.
your thoughts on this are appreciated.
thank you for all your work and information.
Fay says
Unfortunately, even split moong beans gives me flatulence that makes my dogs look at me disgustedly. I’ve even tried soaking and washing, then cooking….. For me, Kitchari is a no go zone.
Wandajune, I’ve always thought sprouted kidney beans were poisonous. (Two eg: Davesgarden.com or growyouthful.com) Its all over the NET. Maybe because you’ve cooked them, you’ve neutralized the toxin.
Marjorie says
I am Hispanic and black beans are part of our diet. I have been incorporating Mung beans and mad making kitchari and so far is working really well.
Thank you Dr. Douillard for your good heart in sharing your knowledge.
God Bless you always
Wandajune Bishop-Towle says
I’ve been adding kidney beans to my kitchari, which has become my go-to breakfast. I sprout the kidney beans before cooking them, which reduces cooking time and gives the beans a wonderful, nutty flavor. Not sure, but I think it’s the fiber and protein of the kidney beans that helps my breakfast to take me until lunch.
Would this strategy be appropriate when using kitchari for a cleanse?