"We are stardust, we are golden...and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden”

Sunday, 12/12/10

After being diagnosed with colorectal cancer I decided to make some serious dietary changes. I cut out all artificial sweeteners, lowered my sugar intake as much as I could and significantly reduced the amount of red meat I was eating. Pizza Hut was no longer on speed dial and I broke off my long-standing relationship with Ben & Jerry. I started to take a serious look at the USDA recommend food pyramid and opted to replace the Myan-like food pyramid I had been following for years, which consisted of four basic food groups: cheese, sour cream, guacamole and corn chips. In essence, I was moving toward a plant-based diet by eating more fruit & veggies. I began eating more beans and tried to incorporate them in one meal each day. Beans are a wonderful source of protein and soluble fiber. They contain saponins and phytic acid, which may help prevent carcinogenesis. While all beans are good, some beans are better than others. Our initial research indicated that white kidney is the best followed by red bean. Different varieties or cultivars as they are called, are being tested to determine which beans have the best benefits in terms of bioactive compounds related to metabolomics.

I encourage everyone I know to eat more beans. Many people claim they don’t like beans because of gas. Beans contain a significant amount of raffinose, which can’t be broken down by humans due to a lack of an enzyme called a-galactosidase. The gas is a combination of carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen caused by bacterial fermentation in the colon. It’s worth noting the anecdotal observation that increased bean consumption over time will result in less gas. In addition, reduction or elimination of carbonated beverages will also help reduce gas.  Beans are inexpensive, easy to prepare and taste great. I can’t say enough good things about beans. For those who are interested, our lab recently put together a list of 50 "beaneficial recipes". This is a work in progress and more recipes will be posted on the Crops For Health website as they become available.

Eat more beans!