Research that Shows that Legumes are Bad for you? page

[Leida]

I was just wondering if there are studies that show convincingly that legumes are bad for you and how? I know there oodles of research that both CW and slow carb approaches quote in support of eating legumes, but are there strong cons research that compare clean meat consumption to beans consumption as protein source (without rice)? Can beans be combined with something other than rice to cover the essential spectrum of proteins, or if they are eaten in addition to animal proteins not instead of them, is it even necessary to strive for full protein from beans? For weight loss, fatty meats vs beans? When fat source is clean and is about 30-40%?

[tfarny]

Beans are indeed a cheap source of protein and some minerals. The Primal argument against them is that they contain anti-nutrients (phytates, lectins) which leach the body of other minerals as well as upsetting the gut. Also, they only contain some of the proteins that you need (ie they are not a "complete protein" which is kind of a misleading way of puttting it).

I have never seen any research however that says they are bad for you, so this is one of those "really?" foods for me. I have always known that beans give me (incredible, horrific) gas when I eat a lot at once, but I've recently found that, if I'm otherwise healthy, a small portion of beans like you get in a burrito has no real effect on my gassiness so they are back "in" my diet in small portions occasionally.

[Leida]

The antinutrient argument is nullified for a traditional soaking + pressure cooking or canned beans iirc? Canned beans have high sodium however.

Are phytates specific to beans, nuts & grains? Do they occur in vegetables?

[pazzaglia]

Soaking legumes in plenty of water overnight, and then rinsing the beans and changing the water in the morning (assuming you are cooking the legumes for lunch or dinner) will take care of most of the gas. It's caused by water-soluble indigestible sugars and the soaking can completely remove them.

If you buy a burrito, likely hood is that the beans have been soaked, to remove these sugars - since this is the common practice for Mexicans.

Quick-soaking or pre-cooking them (if you forgot to soak them overnight) will also do the job.

BTW, I read this...
"... in the 1970s, you probably heard about the importance of combining grains and beans in the same meal to make “complete” proteins. Proteins are made from various amino acids, some of which our body can make and others that we must ingest. Some foods are higher in some amino acids and lower in others relative to the proportion we ultimately need. The thought was that they had to be consumed together to get the full nutritional value. Subsequent research has thoroughly dismissed this idea. "

Here:
"How Do You Get Your Protein?" - Why I Don't Think Vegetarian Protein is a Problem | Herbivoracious - Vegetarian Recipe Blog - Easy Vegetarian Recipes, Vegetarian Cookbook, Kosher Recipes, Meatless Recipes
Ciao,

L

[JoanieL]

I don't know if beans are bad for you per se, but they are an inefficient way to get protein, and they have a lot of carbs.

Artificial scenario: you want to eat 100 gms of protein. You can only eat one food to get it. Your choices are: 95% ground beef or kidney beans.

1 oz of 95/5 grass fed ground beef has 38 calories, 7.4 grams of protein, and 0 carbs.
1/4 cup dried kidney beans has 150 calories, 10 grams of protein, and 28 grms of carbs.

So, in order to get 100 grams of protein, you'd have to eat either 13.5 oz of 95/5 ground beef, or 2.5 cups of kidney beans.

13.5 oz of 95/5 ground beef has 513 calories and 0 carbs.

2.5 cups of dry kidney beans has 1500 calories and 280 grams of carbs.

So, in my mind anyway, unless you need all those carbs because of an extremely active lifestyle, or the occasional carb boost, beans, whether harmful or not, are fairly useless foods. Better than wheat and grains perhaps, but not even close to the same class as meat.

[Leida]

You don't need to get all the protein from the same source though, you need carbs, satiation wise beans are great, they are far cheaper than the super-lean beef (and not lean beef will quickly ring up your caloric count), and you get fibre that satiates, while meat just slips through you and you stay hungry.

[tfarny]

Since when does MEAT just "slip through you and you stay hungry?" while BEANS keep you full?

[Leida]

Every time. I would fry 2 pounds of ground beef, and I can eat the entire thing if I don;t control myself. I eat a cup of beans with other veggies, and I am fine.

[JoanieL]

Sadly, I'm one of those people that gets hungry after eating a lot of carbs. OTOH, meat sates my appetite. I made a meatzza last night, and even though it was only a pound of the aforemetioned 95/5 beef, <1/4 pound of cheese, and 7 ounces of tomato, I couldn't get it all down. And I'd been so busy all day that I hadn't eaten more than 4 ounces of food prior to that meal.

We are all different. And we should all do what works for ourselves. Eat and be happy! There are entire cultures that live with rice and/or beans as their staple foods.

[Leida]

fast carbs like fruit make me ravenous as well, but slow carbs, like beans really fill me up. Yeah, you are lucky!