How to Cook Beans for Maximum Benefit | Science in the Kitchen

Wondering how to cook beans to maximize health benefits? Today we cover the science on cooking beans, best methods for soaking etc. A one-stop shop on how to cook beans and get maximum health benefits

Let’s look at how to cook beans, the soaking, the cooking methods, what the science says is the best way to get the most benefit out of them

soaked beans cook faster, but there are other benefits. Beans contain great nutrients but also lectins and phytates.
beans are seeds, so they store nutrients for when they sprout and need them to grow - that's what phytates are for. but phytates bind to calcium, iron, zinc. Soaking breaks down phytates

how long to soak? Beans swell in water. one day is a good ballpark.

When you soak beans, phytates keep dropping up to 3days of soaking

sprouting: drain soaking water and leave beans in jar or bowl. Sprouting gets rid of the most phytates and makes the nutrients in beans more absorbable; it also increases the antioxidant power of beans, peas and chickpeas etc. exception: lentils (lose antioxidant power with sprouting)

You can sprout beans or just give them a good soak

The water changes color when you soak beans. With black beans it gets dark, with chickpeas it gets yellow. Soluble constituents of beans leach out

Before cooking, bean experts recommend discarding the soaking water to get rid of phytates

Beans & gas: oligosaccharides. they leach out during soaking. discarding the soaking water helps get rid of them to get the best of beans

if not used to eating beans, start slow.

Cooking beans reduces phytates and lectins. Lectins are thermolabile (destroyed with cooking). lectins have been linked to benefits. Should we go buy lectin supplements or eat purified lectins? no. it’s about amount and context. tomatoes are not suddenly made unhealthy for containing lectins

Well--cooked beans are beneficial. their net effect is massively positive

lectins are not a problem

how should we cook beans? some studies suggest steaming over boiling and pressure steaming in particular (steaming basket inside the pressure cooker). regular steaming or pressure cooking generally looks better than regular boiling. lentils are the odd man out, regular old boiling seems to work best

unless you eat raw beans, they’re a great food no matter what. Civilizations have been enjoying their benefits without reading studies on how to cook beans so don’t stress over this

How long to cook beans? ~1h for boiling/steaming, 10-15mins for boiling in pressure cooker

Cooking water: some bean components leach into cooking water, just like during soaking. You can discard cooking water or consume the cooking water e.g. in soup. If you can eat beans like a champ, no prob

Iron: the iron in beans is non-heme, you can enhance absorption with vitamin C (red bellpepper), with onions and garlic or beta-carotene, they all boost absorption of nonheme iron

More ideas for plant protein sources and more on iron, maximize absorption and get all the iron you need

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References:
Soaking, phytates, oligosaccharides etc:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814605008794
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814608001210
ifst.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.…
Sprouting:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889157504001218
Lectins:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-…
mdpi.com/1420-3049/20/3/3791
Benefits of Legumes:
nature.com/articles/ejcn2014228
academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/100/1/278/4576571
ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.…
bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b2337.short
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1…
Cooking methods:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1750-…
iron:
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jf100716t

Disclaimer: The contents of this video are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor to replace medical care. The information presented herein is accurate and conforms to the available scientific evidence to the best of the author's knowledge as of the time of posting. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding any medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information contained in Nutrition Made Simple!.

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