Exciting Facts About Eating Green Beans

One of the most cultivated vegetables (green beans) has a lot of varieties you could pick from. String beans, Snap beans, or French beans are high in vitamins A, C, and K; they are also high in folic acid, calcium, and fiber.

It is possible to have hated seeing them in your lunchbox while growing up, but the fact remains that green beans are among the most nutritious vegetable children can eat. Harvesting these beans is an exciting process. Green beans are edible pods that are picked early in the plant’s growth cycle. Immediately they mature, the pod becomes thick and tough, more fibrous, and inedible, according to the book ‘Healing Foods.’

Green bean farmers harvest these products while the beans are intact in their pods before they approach maturity.

Facts On Green Beans

Here are some key facts about green beans you need to know.

• Over 130 varieties of green beans have been discovered globally.
• Green beans are a brilliant source of vitamin A (retinol), C (ascorbic acid), and K (phytomenadione).
• It is highly pertinent to rinse and drain your canned beans to reduce their sodium content.

Green Beans are Loaded with Plenty of Health Benefits

Consuming vegetables and fruits of all kinds can help decrease the risk of many debilitating health conditions.

Many research studies have suggested that adding more plant foods, such as green beans, in one’s diet reduces the risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and mortality in general.

Consumption of vegetables and fruits also maintains a healthy complexion, increased energy, and overall weight reduction.

One cup of canned snap beans (about 150g), according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database, contains:

• 28cal
• 1.42g of protein
• 5.66g of carbohydrate(CHO)
• 2.6g of fiber
• 0.55g of fat
• 1.94g of sugar

In terms of nutrients, it contains:

• 17mg of calcium (Ca)
• 1.2mg of iron (Fe)
• 18mg magnesium (Mg)
• 30mg of phosphorus (P)
• 130mg potassium
• 24mcg of vitamin A (retinol)
• 52.5 mcg of vitamin K
• 32 mcg of folate (vitamin B9)

However, a cup of well-drained canned green beans also contains 362mcg of sodium. You should therefore rinse canned beans before use. For the lowest sodium and the best source of nutrients, choose frozen or fresh greens beans for cooking. Green beans also contain thiamin, folate, iron, magnesium, riboflavin, and potassium.

Now let us go through some health benefits of eating green beans.

• Bone Health

According to the book ‘Healing Foods,’ these amazing beans are high in Vitamin K, which activates osteocalcin (the main non-collagen protein in bones). The compound binds calcium molecules together inside the bone and strengthens them from within.

• May Help Fight Cancer

Eating beans, in general, have been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer. This could be linked to a high fiber percentage in the beans.

A high intake of green beans can also reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Green beans are rich in different bioactive compounds that protect against cancer. Their non-digestible carbohydrates are fermented by the intestinal bacteria, thus leading to some anti-inflammatory actions.

Green beans also have a very low glycaemic index, which has also been attributed to low cancer-causing risks. The beans contain gamma-tocopherol, saponins, and phytosterols, which are all strong anti-carcinogenic compounds.

These beans are high in chlorophyll, which also has an important role to play in cancer prevention. Chlorophyll binds with some cancer-causing compounds, thus hindering their absorption in the GIT.

• Good for Eyesight

Extremely high in carotenoids, green beans play a significant role in preventing macular degeneration (a condition that is known to decrease visual strength and general eye function). They are also high in Zeaxanthin and lutein, which help to maintain night vision and good sight.

• They are Filled with Essential Minerals

These beans are highly rich in zinc, folate, and iron. Zinc is necessary for our body’s enzymes, which successively is pertinent for growth and development. Transporting oxygen around the body and preventing white blood cell damage is handled by iron in the body. Folate is highly essential to the biochemical pathway that manufactures genetic material, which is why it is important to supplement or consume it when pregnant. All three are vital to your dear health, and yet another brilliant example of the health benefits gotten from taking green beans.

• Rich in Vitamin C

Another antioxidant existing in abundance in green beans is the ascorbic acid (vitamin C). As an antioxidant, it detoxifies all harmful free radicals, thus protecting healthy cells from oxidative damage, also as fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and DNA. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) has so many health benefits that just doesn’t end here. It also helps our body synthesize collagen, which is found around vital tissues around your tendons, bones, skin, and inside our organs.

• May Support Brain Function

The B vitamins in green beans can help reduce levels of a compound known as homocysteine within the blood. An abruptly increased level of homocysteine can negatively affect cognitive function.

• Repairs Cell Damage

Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) in these beans provides a lot of benefits. The vitamin acts as a strong antioxidant to protect cells in your body from radical oxidative damage. Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) also improves immune function, boosts collagen synthesis, and helps our body to utilize iron (a vital mineral needed for sound health)

• May Help Treat Depression

Consumption of vegetables and fruits generally has been attributed to a reduced risk of depression. Green beans are exceptionally rich in vitamin C and Bs, which are known to boost psychological state. These effects were noticed to be more heard with the intake of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Beans are generally very high in zinc, magnesium, and, of course, the amino acids tyrosine and glutamine. All of those are known to boost psychological state by enhancing the alertness of neurotransmitters.

The protein in these beans can also boost our body’s aminoalkanoic acid profile, thereby having an advantageous effect on our psychological state, brain function. Green bean is also high in chromium, another vital nutrient for treating memory loss and depression.

Meeting our daily folate requirement may also help protect us from depression. Adequate folate intake can reduce an excess of homocysteine to an average level in the body. Excess homocysteine can prevent blood and some other nutrients from getting to your brain. This can interfere with the synthesis of norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin hormones, which regulate sleep, mood, and appetite.

• Protects Against Oxidative Damage

Green beans are packed full of antioxidants that help to prevent radical damage activities. Free radicals are harmful atoms or groups of atoms (molecules) with an unpaired (odd) number of electrons and are mainly formed when oxygen (O₂) interacts with some molecules. These molecules might bind together to form chains that may be harmful to vital cellular components making them less functional and causing them to die (cell necrosis). In worse cases, it can also trigger some heart ailments and cancers alongside. To put an end to radical damage, the body must feature a defense system of beneficial antioxidants. These beans, with their high levels of antioxidants, can prevent these radical activities. The book ‘Healing Food’ detailed that the levels of antioxidants, beta-carotene, lutein, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin are similar to those in carotenoid-rich vegetables, such as carrots.

• Beneficial to Pregnant Women

Green beans are high in folate, a nutrient that is essential during gestation. Folate is responsible for the assembly of erythrocytes within the physical body. It also plays an essential task in developing the central nervous system of the fetus. Adequate folate lowers the risk of ectoderm defects in neonates.

Beans are widely known to be among the healthiest of foods. Green beans are filled with important nutrients, the reason why they bring a healthy boost to our meal.

• Low in FODMAPS

Fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides, and polyols (also known as FODMAPs) are carbohydrates seen in many foods. A ration low in FODMAPs can help reduce symptoms/signs of Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); green beans rank high in this context.

• ­­Green Beans for Energy

Green beans are loaded with about twice the quantity of iron as compared to spinach. Iron (Fe) is a component of erythrocytes (RBC), which is essential for oxygen transportation from the lungs to other body cells. If you are challenged with anemia, low metabolism, and dripping energy, then green beans are just the perfect food for you.

• Heart

Green beans are loaded with abundant amounts of heart-protective calcium and flavonoids. Flavonoids are antioxidants that are majorly found in vegetables and fruits. These flavonoids have immense anti-inflammatory attributes, regulating thrombotic activities in the cells, and hence preventing blood clots in the arteries.

• Detoxification Effects

Along with its strong diuretic strength, green beans can serve an excellent detoxification purpose and help get rid of all harmful and debilitating toxins in the body.