Eating this food may be a reason some people live to be 100 years old

Beans, beans, the magic food of longevity?

It’s true, these unassuming little morsels are filling and nutritious, and as the foundation of a plant-based diet, they’re good for the planet, too. But how could the legume family, which includes beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas, help us live longer?

Related video above: Adding these foods to your diet can help you live longer

In every Blue Zone I’ve visited, beans and other legumes were and still are an important component of the daily diet, said author and entrepreneur Dan Buettner, who has spent decades reporting on Blue Zones, unique communities around the world in which people live long and healthy lives, up to and beyond the age of 100.

Residents of these areas share a common environment and lifestyle, including a plant-based diet that scientists believe contributes to their longevity. The Blue Zones were discovered in Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoia, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, Calif.; and the Italian island of Sardinia, just off the coast of Italy.

In Sardinia, where one of the first groups of centenarians was studied, chickpeas and broad beans are the legumes of choice, Buettner said. Also known as chickpeas, chickpeas are the main ingredient of a minestrone which is usually eaten in several meals, allowing the inhabitants of Sardinia to obtain the benefits of the beans at least twice a day.

The recipe was given to Buettner by one of the three brothers and six sisters of the Melis family of Perdasdefogu, Sardinia, which he says is the longest-lived family in the world.

There are nine siblings whose collective age was 851, Buettner said. Every day of their lives, they ate the exact same minestrone soup with sourdough bread and a three-ounce shot of red wine.

Why beans?

All members of the legume family are high in nutrients, including copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, folate, zinc, lysine, which is an essential amino acid, and plenty of protein and fiber.

Fiber rewards you with a healthy gut microbe and less inflammation and better immune function, Buettner said, noting that only 5% to 10% of Americans get the fiber they need.

Each type of bean has a different nutrient profile, so eating a variety of beans might be best, Buettner said. Aduki, or the red mung bean, has more fiber than many other varieties, while the beans are rich in the antioxidant lutein. Black and dark red beans are high in potassium and chickpeas are high in magnesium.

Beans are also high in plant protein, which is healthier because it has more nutrients with fewer calories than animal protein, she added.

In fact, Buettner said, pair beans with whole grains and you’ll have all the amino acids that make up a whole protein nutritionally similar to that found in meat.

In Nicoya, Costa Rica, for example, people might start the day with Gallo Pinto, the country’s national dish, Buettner said.

It’s a combination of beans cooked in a sauce, seasoned with onion, green pepper and some flavoring like basil or thyme and maybe garlic, she said.

Then they mix with yesterday’s white rice. This is interesting because the rice undergoes metamorphosis as it cools overnight, Buettner said. The starch in rice becomes resistant, which means the body absorbs it more slowly, so your blood sugar doesn’t rise as high.

While the purple potato is historically credited as the staple longevity food for the people of Okinawa, Japan, the second most important staple in their diet is soy, Buettner said.

Okinawans eat tofu, often with every meal, so it’s like their bread, she said. Usually, a breakfast will be really chunky miso soup with chunks of tofu but they don’t dice the tofu like we do, they break it up so it can absorb the flavors better.

It’s good for the body and the wallet

Studies point to the health benefits of beans, confirming what people in the Blue Zones have known for some time, Buettner said. The soluble fiber in beans can lower cholesterol and help prevent type 2 diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar. A 2001 study found that eating beans four times a week reduced heart disease by 22%. A 2004 study found that people lived about eight more years for every 20 grams of legumes consumed, or about an ounce.

Beans also help with weight loss: A 2016 review of studies found that people who ate up to 9 ounces of beans a day for six weeks lost three-quarters of a pound more than people who didn’t eat beans. .

In addition to all these benefits, beans and their cousins ​​are also cheap to buy and can be grown at home in a variety of soils, making them the perfect food to help economically disadvantaged people live longer, Buettner said.

Most of my day job over the past 13 years has been working with cities to help reduce obesity, she said, referring to the Blue Zone Project, community transformation programs that have helped Americans in cities like Spencer, Iowa and Beach Cities, Calif.

I always feel that American families can’t afford to feed their families healthy food, Buettner said. This is sadly true when it comes to organic foods and other fresh foods, but I tell them they can still get most of the way by making beans and whole grains the staple of many meals.

OK, fine, beans are good for us. But how do we deal with the, uh, uncomfortable and sometimes loud and smelly result?

If you want to avoid gas, the way to start with beans is with a couple tablespoons a day, Buettner said. Then go up to four tablespoons and over the course of two weeks work your way up to one cup.

You’re now feeding the good bacteria in your gut, and your microbiome is ready for it, she added. I have no gas due to eating beans.