Legumes contain resistant starch, which received its name because it resists the enzymes that normally would break down starches during digestion resulting in a reversal of the order in which the body burns food. Usually, carbohydrates are burned for energy first,  but resistant starch reverses the order making fat burned into energy first. This cuts down on fat storage.

Can I get an Amen?!

When you are trying to lose weight, eat one meal of a resistant starch daily. Legumes contain a higher percentage of resistant starches than other resistant starches such as brown rice and other whole grains.

A high intake of resistant starch from legumes keep you feeling fuller longer and can help regulate your blood sugar level.

Examples of legumes include but are not limited to the following:

• Black beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Calico beans
• Cannellini beans
• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• Edamame
• Great Northern beans
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Lima beans
• Navy beans
• Pinto beans
• Split peas
• White beans

 

For optimal health, we should eat about 1/2 c. of cooked legumes daily. Because black beans contain the highest amount of dietary fiber as well as a high percentage of resistant starch, they are my recommended choice and my personal favorite.

Of course, consuming so many beans reminds me, well my husband, of every popular children’s song…

Beans, beans, the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel
So we have beans at every meal!

If this is an issue, and let’s face it – for most of us it is, I recommend these products. Digestive Enzymes and Beano which can be found in most retail stores, including Sam’s Club/Costco.

I also found this article from FoxNews.com interesting and worth the read:  ‘Resistant’ Starches Heal the Colon, Prevent Cancer and Diabetes.