Some of the health benefits of green beans include the reduced risk of heart disease and colon cancer, as well as an improved regulation of diabetes. They provide a big boost to your immune system and contributes to the elimination of harmful free radicals.

These nutrient-packed beans also provide benefits to the health of your eyes and bones, while regulating your digestive processes. They have also been shown to reduce the risk of birth defects for pregnant women. This low-calorie dietary choice is great for acquiring vitamins and minerals without adding any unwanted pounds!

Green beans are members of the common bean family, Phaseolus vulgaris, and are a popular part of diets around the world. There are slight variations in shape in different areas of cultivation and green beans may be called many different things, including French beans, fine beans, string beans, or even squeaky beans, depending on where you are eating them. There are approximately 150 varieties of green beans throughout the world that come in all shapes and colours, even purple! Despite the variable appearance of the beans, their nutritional content and health benefits remain similar.

Green beans are a versatile vegetable that can be grown in many different climates, which has helped to make them such a popular and globally recognized food. Although popularized in many American and European dishes, they are widely cultivated across Asia and Africa as well. They appear in a wide array of cultural dishes and offer health benefits to people all around the world.

They fall into two categories: “pole beans” and “bush beans”. Pole beans tend to climb like vines, require support systems to grow properly, and are slightly slower in reaching maturity. Bush beans are lower to the ground, require no support, and have faster developmental rates, meaning that some farmers and growers can have more than one crop of bush beans in a single season. It is important to remember that green beans are unripe or immature foods, so some people prefer to soak or cook the beans before eating them, but there are no proven harmful effects of eating raw green beans.

While many “common beans” share similar attributes, they are each unique, and are chosen for diets according to the individual properties that each one offers. Green beans are a favourite choice in many cultures for the variety of vitamins, nutrients, and beneficial properties that they contain!

Health benefits

Fresh green beans are very low in calories (31 kcal per 100 g of raw beans) and contain no saturated fat; but are very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrients.

They are very rich source of dietary fibre (9% per100g RDA) which acts as bulk laxative that helps to protect the mucous membrane of the colon by decreasing its exposure time to toxic substances as well as by binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon. Dietary fibre has also been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels by decreasing re-absorption of cholesterol binding bile acids in the colon.

Green beans contain excellent levels of vitamin A, and many health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin and ß-carotene in good amounts. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease process.

Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid in the beans, selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it thought to provide antioxidant and protective UV light filtering functions. It is, therefore, green beans offer some protection in preventing age related macular disease (ARMD) in the elderly.

Fresh snap beans are good source of folates. 100 g fresh beans provide 37 µg or 9% of folates. Folate along with vitamin B-12 is one of the essential components of DNA synthesis and cell division. Good folate diet when given during preconception periods and during pregnancy helps prevent from neural-tube defects in the offspring.

They also contain good amounts of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), and vitamin-C. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals.

In addition, beans contain healthy amounts of minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium, which are very essential for body metabolism. Manganese is a co-factor for the anti-oxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.

Cardiovascular Disease: Green beans can help reduce the risk of heart disease due to their high levels of flavonoids. Flavonoids are polyphenolic antioxidants that are commonly found in fruits and vegetables. They have high levels of flavonoids and these antioxidants have certain anti-inflammatory properties. Test subjects with high flavonoid levels experienced anti-thrombotic results, preventing blood clots in the arteries and veins. Cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and strokes are commonly caused by thrombotic activity, which means that a healthy volume of green beans and flavonoids in a diet can help prevent some of these conditions.

Colon Cancer: Recent studies have shown green bean consumption to be beneficial for preventing pre-cancerous polyps that commonly lead to colon cancer. Many studies have tried to link dry bean intake to cancer prevention, with limited results. However, new evidence suggests that increasing dietary green bean intake can reduce the risk of cancerous adenoma recurrence and colorectal cancer. More studies are ongoing, but that linkage is very important.

Secondly, the high fibre content of green beans can also positively impact your digestive system. Certain types of fibre can ease the digestive process and promote healthy bowel movements, which decreases the stress on the intestinal tract. Certain studies have shown a positive correlation between increased fibre intake and a reduction in colon cancer, but again, more research is still being performed.

Diabetes: These power-packed legumes have been shown to help manage and regulate diabetes symptoms in many patients. Certain studies have shown a definitive hypoglycaemic influence on patients with diabetes. Diabetes is a condition that requires constant maintenance of blood sugar levels at a normal level so the body can perform necessary tasks. Natural regulators of diabetes are rare, and the connection of beans and similar plants to the control or early prevention of diabetes is great news for many people.

Immune System: The presence of various immune system-boosting antioxidants in green beans is well known, but as more research on their benefits is done, it is becoming clear that there are far more antioxidant properties than we previously thought. Antioxidants are beneficial compounds in our body that seek out dangerous free radicals and eliminate them from our system before they can cause illness or tissue damage.

They are a good source of flavonoids and carotenoids, but the variety of those pigments was previously unknown. Flavonoids contain basic antioxidants like quercetin and kamferol, but also more useful and beneficial ones like catechins and epicatechins. Catechins have been shown to reduce the severity of strokes. Carotenoids found in green beans contain antioxidants like beta carotene and lutein. Beta carotene has been linked to a number of benefits within the body.

Eye Health: Certain specific carotenoids that are found in green beans can also prevent macular degeneration, which is a decrease in vision and eye function. Lutein and Zeaxanthin are focused at the macula on the eye, and play a key role in preventing any stress to the inner workings of the eye. Ensuring that these carotenoid levels stay strong to prevent vision deterioration is one of the many benefits of including green beans in your balanced diet.

Bone Health: There are a number of nutrients, such as calcium, found in green beans that are integral in preventing bone deterioration and osteoporosis. They contain vitamin K, vitamin A, and silicon. Deficiencies in many of these compounds have been connected to increased bone loss, strength, and durability. Silicon is not the most common mineral to hear about, and significant amounts are relatively rare in most foods. However, green beans are a terrific source for silicon, which is a key element in bone regeneration and overall bone health.

Gastrointestinal Issues – Green beans are packed with fibre, which is a hugely beneficial compound in our bodies. By keeping enough fibre in our diets, we are able to ease certain digestive issues like constipation, haemorrhoids, ulcers, and acid reflux disease. These conditions range from mild irritants to potentially life threatening, and the amount of fibre we consume is a key element in their prevention. In a normal serving of green beans, which is 110 grams, you can gain 15% of the daily recommended amount of fibre. They are one of the best vegetables to keep your stomach working properly.

Pre-Natal Health – Green beans are also a great source of folic acid, which plays a key role in a number of internal processes, but none are more important than protecting infants in the womb. Folic acid levels in a woman’s body are vital to the normal and healthy development of the fetus in utero, especially in preventing neural tube defects. Green beans provide an easy and delicious way to keep folic acid levels high, and ensure a healthy and happy baby.