BEANS AND SICKLE CELL

Variety of beans

Beans on the whole are good for you and I.  It is a meal that can be eat in so many different ways, cooked on its own, with rice, in salads, can be dips, as a soup or blended and stuffed with other rich goodness and steamed.

There are  variety of beans: Azuki bean; black or turtle bean (my favourite); butterbean; chick pea; cranberry bean, black eyed beans; broad bean; green bean; haricot bean; kidney bean; lentil bean; butter bean; navy bean; pinto bean; pole bean; soya bean; white bean; winged bean; asparagus bean and wax bean and more.

To be sincere I don’t know  a lot of these beans, just a handful but my favourite is the black or turtle bean.  My goodness, when cooked, they are delicious!

Now, why are beans so good for us, I hear you ask?

Well, first things first: they are a very healthy, multi-purpose and also affordable food.  What more could you ask for?

They are packed with protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and low in fat.  In addition, beans are a good source of B vitamins (5, 6 & 12) potassium, folic acid and fibre, which promotes digestive health and relieves constipation. Eating beans may help prevent colon cancer, and reduce blood cholesterol (a leading cause of heart disease).   Beans retain about 70 percent of their B vitamins (after preparation) as well as high levels of folate, which helps form red blood cells.

Each variety of beans has its own specific nutritional value, I have only concentrated on the general nutrients.

Health sites recommend eating it at least three times a week, I say for people with sickle cell, maybe five times a week?.

Trivia – Did you know that there is a bean institute?  Check out – www.beaninstitute.com

Article courtesy of – webmd; bean institute; havest to table, fit day and whfoods.