--Black Beans High in Antioxidant Ratings

[Guest guest]

http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail & item_id=18954

 

The debate over which plant has the most antioxidants continues, with new

research showing black beans are a rich but overlooked source of antioxidants

equal to fruits like grapes, apples and cranberries. Their color seems to be

indicative of their ORAC value, according to researchers.

 

''Beans are really loaded with antioxidant compounds. We didn't know they were

that potent until now. In general, darker colored seed coats were associated

with higher levels of flavonoids, and therefore higher antioxidant activity,''

said Clifford Beninger, a former researcher for the USDA's Sugarbeet and Bean

Research Unit.

 

The researchers tested the antioxidant activity of flavonoids, or plant pigment,

found in the skin of 12 common varieties of dry beans. Findings suggest that one

class of compounds in particular, anthocyanins, were the most active

antioxidants in the legume.

 

Based on a previously published study of the anthocyanin content of black beans,

Beninger found that the levels of anthocyanins per 100 gram serving size of

black beans was about 10 times the amount of overall antioxidants in an

equivalent serving size of oranges, and similar to the amount found in an

equivalent serving size of grapes, apples and cranberries.

 

Human studies are still needed to confirm the link between bean antioxidants and

health and until then, no one knows how many beans one must eat to obtain

maximum health benefits. But the finding adds antioxidants to a growing list of

healthy chemicals found in the popular legume, which is also rich in protein,

carbohydrates, folate, calcium and fiber.

 

Antioxidants destroy free radicals, which are highly active chemicals whose

excess has been linked to heart disease, cancer and aging. Black beans came out

on top, having more antioxidant activity, gram for gram, than other beans,

followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans, in that order.

 

Although only dry beans were used in the study, frozen or canned beans are

thought to have similar antioxidant activity. The study is scheduled to appear

in the last issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

www.pubs.acs.org/journals/jafcau/index.html this year.

 

Republished with permission from Nutra Ingredients, December 10, 2003

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi JoAnn

To avoid the obvious qustion-begging element here, we need to know if the

antioxidant (ORAC, anthocyanin, etc.) benefits of beans, survive after

" cooking. "

thanks

JP

 

-

" JoAnn Guest " <angelprincessjo

;

<DietaryTipsForHBP >

Saturday, February 05, 2005 10:18 AM

--Black Beans High in Antioxidant

Ratings

 

 

>

>

>

>

> http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail & item_id=18954

>

> The debate over which plant has the most antioxidants continues, with new

> research showing black beans are a rich but overlooked source of

> antioxidants equal to fruits like grapes, apples and cranberries. Their

> color seems to be indicative of their ORAC value, according to

> researchers.

>

> ''Beans are really loaded with antioxidant compounds. We didn't know they

> were that potent until now. In general, darker colored seed coats were

> associated with higher levels of flavonoids, and therefore higher

> antioxidant activity,'' said Clifford Beninger, a former researcher for

> the USDA's Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit.

>

> The researchers tested the antioxidant activity of flavonoids, or plant

> pigment, found in the skin of 12 common varieties of dry beans. Findings

> suggest that one class of compounds in particular, anthocyanins, were the

> most active antioxidants in the legume.

>

> Based on a previously published study of the anthocyanin content of black

> beans, Beninger found that the levels of anthocyanins per 100 gram serving

> size of black beans was about 10 times the amount of overall antioxidants

> in an equivalent serving size of oranges, and similar to the amount found

> in an equivalent serving size of grapes, apples and cranberries.

>

> Human studies are still needed to confirm the link between bean

> antioxidants and health and until then, no one knows how many beans one

> must eat to obtain maximum health benefits. But the finding adds

> antioxidants to a growing list of healthy chemicals found in the popular

> legume, which is also rich in protein, carbohydrates, folate, calcium and

> fiber.

>

> Antioxidants destroy free radicals, which are highly active chemicals

> whose excess has been linked to heart disease, cancer and aging. Black

> beans came out on top, having more antioxidant activity, gram for gram,

> than other beans, followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans, in that

> order.

>

> Although only dry beans were used in the study, frozen or canned beans are

> thought to have similar antioxidant activity. The study is scheduled to

> appear in the last issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

> www.pubs.acs.org/journals/jafcau/index.html this year.

>

> Republished with permission from Nutra Ingredients, December 10, 2003

> _________________

> JoAnn Guest

> mrsjoguest

> DietaryTipsForHBP

> www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

>

>

>

>

> AIM Barleygreen

> " Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

>

> http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

[Guest guest]

, " John Polifronio "

<counterpnt@e...> wrote:

>

> Hi JoAnn

> To avoid the obvious question-begging element here, we need to

know if the

> antioxidant (ORAC, anthocyanin, etc.) benefits of beans, survive

after " cooking. "

> thanks

> JP

 

 

Hi John!

The book, " Practically Macrobiotic " , by Keith Mitchell, claims that

many types of legumes and beans should never be eaten raw, because

they contain an " enzyme inhibitor "

otherwise called " trypsin inhibitors " which can *interfere* with

the " digestion " of proteins.

 

However, the levels of these " anti-nutritive " factors (with a few

exceptions) are greatly diminished when properly soaked, cooked or

sprouted.

 

Nearly all large unprocessed beans taste incredibly bad when

eaten raw, so proper soaking and cooking is actually necessary

to " destroy " the detrimental " enzyme inhibitors " and improve the

flavor.

 

" Enzyme inhibitors " " bind " enzymes and nutrients and inhibit the

absorption of existing nutrients. However, with proper soaking and

germination, these " anti-nutrient " factors are eliminated from most

legumes and beans.

It is a well established fact that when beans and legumes are

properly soaked and germinated, their " nutritive (antioxidant)

value " increases greatly, usually to levels equal to or exceeding

that of the cooked bean.

(Nutritive value is the ability of food to provide a usable form of

nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals).

 

This is true for mung bean, lentil, chickpea (garbanzo bean), cowpea

(blackeye pea), pigeon pea, fava bean, fenugreek seeds (a member of

the pea family), green & black gram, kidney bean, moth bean, rice

bean, organic soybean, and legumes in general.

 

The increase in nutritive value in the " raw sprouted " bean is due to

an explosion of " enzyme activity " ,

which breaks down the *storage-protein* and starch in the seed into

amino acids, peptides, and other " simpler carbohydrates "

needed for the seed to grow.

In the ensuing process, the bean literally " digests " its own protein

and starch and creates amino acids in the process.

So sprouted beans are essentially a " predigested " food and

the " anti-nutritional " factors such as enzyme inhibitors are greatly

decreased to insignificant levels and become literally nonexistant.

 

Soaking alone causes a significant decrease in anti-nutrients, as

the anti-nutrients are typically all leached into the soak water. It

is imperative that only very PURE water be used for this process,

for as we already know tap water contains an abundance of harmful

fluorides!!

 

..Soaking for 24 hours at room temperature removes 66% of

the " trypsin inhibitor " activity in mung bean, 93% in lentil, 59% in

chickpea, and 100% in broad bean. Then as germination

proceeds, " anti-nutrients " are degraded further to lower levels next

to nothing while normal low heat cooking removes the vast majority

of all anti-nutrients.

 

Sprouted food are an extremely rich source of chlorophyll, amino

acids and proteins, all of which help " regenerate " cells and " boost "

immunity.

 

Overall, the " less cooked " the legume or bean, the more nutrients

and fiber it retains.

 

How you cook them determines how many of the nutrients " survive " .

 

A few tips: use lower heating temperatures (I typically use

stainless steel pans, covering the pan initially to retain more of

the residual heat and decrease overall cooking time). Also it is

much better to rely on fresh beans, which have more nutrients

originally than processed or canned varieties.

 

Caution: raw kidney beans reportedly contain a toxin (that is

destroyed when cooked), so it is best not to eat legumes raw.

 

A number of raw food authors are suggesting a diet that is 70-90% raw, with

the remainder of the diet consisting of lightly cooked foods.

 

However, as raw foods promote physical " cleansing " , we must be

careful in selecting the 10-25% of the diet that is cooked in order

to avoid undesirable " cleansing reactions " (cravings, cramps, etc.)

 

On a mixed diet, the cooked part should be as follows (the comments

below would also apply to someone phasing out cooked, enroute to

100% raw):

 

1. lightly cooked, with no deep frying or microwaving. Steaming,

sauteeing (in pure water or fruit juice rather than oil) are the

preferred preparation methods.

 

Some vegetarian foods that supposedly require long cooking times can

be started on high for a very few minutes, then set aside to finish

cooking at lower temperatures.

2. leftovers should not be cooked again: cook once, but never twice.

Leftovers can be warmed to room or body temperature if you prefer.

 

Also, note that it is much easier to overeat cooked foods, compared

to raw food.

Examples of undesirable cooked foods - anything fried, heavily

seasoned or salted. Examples of cooked foods that are " clean "

include steamed vegetables (optionally on brown rice). .

Personally, I consider diet to be a very individual thing: what is

good for one, may be bad for another due to differences in

individual health and other circumstances. I always encourage

everyone to try to find the mixture of raw and cooked that serves

them best.

 

Best Regards,

JoAnn