多吃豆类的5个理由

多吃豆类的5个理由

Ah, the humble bean. They star in favorite dishes from around the world – cassoulet, feijoada, red beans and rice, pasta e fagioli, the list goes on and on. Beans are as cheap and durable as they are delicious and nutritious; it's no wonder that they've been such an important part of our diets throughout history.

啊，卑微的豆子。他们在全世界最受欢迎的菜肴中担当主角——砂锅泥、feijoada、红豆和米饭、意大利面和法焦利，名单还很长。豆子既美味又营养，既便宜又耐用;难怪它们在历史上成为我们饮食中如此重要的一部分。

So if you find yourself with a kitchen stuffed with a stockpile of beans, be grateful. Aside from being one of the greatest comfort foods ever, here's what else the mighty bean has going for it.

所以，如果你发现自己的厨房里堆满了豆子，要心存感激。除了是有史以来最好的安慰食物之一。下面是强大的豆的其他好处。

Bean salad, with black beans, chickpea, apple, spring onion and dill.

Westend61 / Getty Images

1. Superb Practicality

出色的实用性

Beans provide protein, fiber, folate, iron, potassium, and magnesium while containing little or no total fat, trans-fat, sodium, and cholesterol. Compared to meat, Harvard Medical School puts it plainly: "beans are a much better nutritional bargain than steak." Beans are inexpensive; and whether canned or dried, they have a long shelf life. Lastly, for those of us who are soothed by stirring a pot of a simmering something over the course of a day, beans are meditation, therapy, and dinner, all in one.

豆类提供蛋白质、纤维、叶酸、铁、钾和镁，同时几乎不含脂肪、反式脂肪、钠和胆固醇。与肉类相比，哈佛医学院明确表示:“豆类的营养价值比牛排好得多。”豆类价格便宜;无论是罐装的还是干燥的，它们的保质期都很长。最后，对于我们这些在一天中通过搅拌一锅炖菜来缓解情绪的人来说，豆类是冥想、治疗和晚餐的集合体。

2. A Longer Life

延长寿命

Michelle McMacken, a board-certified internal medicine physician and an assistant professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine, writes at Forks Over Knives that beans and other legumes (like lentils and chickpeas) are “the most important dietary predictor of longevity in people of different ethnicities.” All this time we thought the fountain of youth was comprised of some ethereal and mysterious potion – and it’s really just beans?McMacken tells of one study in which nearly 800 older adults in several countries increased their daily bean and legume consumption – for each 20-gram increase, there was a 7 to 8 percent lower risk of dying during the study period. “No other food groups consistently predicted survival,” she notes.

米歇尔·麦克麦肯是一名获得委员会认证的内科医生，也是纽约大学医学院的医学助理教授，她在《餐叉胜于手术刀》中写道，豆类和其他豆类(如扁豆和鹰嘴豆)是“不同种族的人最重要的长寿饮食预测因素”。“我们一直以为青春之泉是由某种缥缈而神秘的药剂组成的——而它真的只是豆子?”麦克麦肯说，在一项研究中，几个国家的近800名老年人增加了他们每天豆类和豆科植物的摄入量——在研究期间，每增加20克，死亡风险降低7 - 8%。她指出:“没有任何其他食物组能够持续预测存活率。”

3. Less Diabetes

降低患糖尿病的风险

The American Diabetes Foundation calls beans a “diabetes superfood” for their vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Meanwhile, the Harvard Medical School notes that a cup of beans or lentils each day, when combined with a low-glycemic diet, helped lower blood sugar levels and coronary artery disease risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. “Legumes, because they pack a lot of protein, help dampen the blood sugar response, and lower blood pressure. And as a good source of fiber, beans can help lower cholesterol, too.”

美国糖尿病基金会称豆类为“糖尿病超级食物”，富含维生素、矿物质和纤维。与此同时，哈佛医学院指出，每天一杯豆类或小扁豆，再加上低血糖饮食，有助于降低2型糖尿病患者的血糖水平和冠状动脉疾病风险。豆类富含蛋白质，有助于抑制血糖反应，降低血压。而且作为纤维的良好来源，豆类也有助于降低胆固醇。”

4. A Healthier Heart

保持心脏健康

Research shows that eating beans and legumes four or more times a week versus less than once a week leads to a 22 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease. That is really significant. Research also shows that these power foods also lower blood pressure – McMacken points out that a single serving of beans a day can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol by 5 percent.

研究表明，一周吃四次或四次以上的豆类与一周吃不到一次的豆类可以降低22%的冠心病风险。这是非常重要的。研究还表明，这些能量食物还能降低血压——麦克麦肯指出，每天一份豆类可以降低5%的低密度脂蛋白胆固醇。

5. Less Cancer

降低患癌风险

While of course The Bean Institute is going to sing the praises of beans, on their site they list all kinds of references to scientific studies backing up their claims. The research they cite shows that regular bean consumption may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, noting that: "Beans unique composition of fiber, as well as important micronutrients and antioxidants, makes them an important food choice for many reasons, including their possible anti-cancer properties for certain types of cancer, including colorectal, breast, and prostate.”

虽然豆类研究所当然会为豆类大唱赞歌，但他们在网站上列出了各种科学研究的参考资料，以支持他们的说法。他们引用的研究显示,定期食用豆类可以降低某些癌症的风险,他们指出:“豆子独特的纤维成分,以及重要的微量营养素和抗氧化剂,使它们成为一个重要的食物选择,其他原因包括对于某些类型的癌症,包括结肠癌、乳腺癌、前列腺癌可能的抗癌特性。