Turtle beans, commonly known as black beans,
are popular in Latin American cuisine for their dense meaty texture. Black
beans are often found in stews, sauces and salads, and like other legumes are
loaded with health-promoting macro and micronutrients such as protein, fibre, zinc, iron and magnesium(1).
Notably, black beans contain more dietary
fibre than other legumes including chickpeas and lentils(2), with one cup of canned black beans providing a massive 17.2g of
fibre(3). This is equivalent to approximately 57% of the daily fibre
recommendation for Australian men and 69% of the daily fibre recommendation for
women(4).
Black beans are also rich in resistant
starch,(2) which when fermented has been shown to produce to produce
favourable effects, including higher levels of butyrate than types of fibre(5).
Butyrate is produced by beneficial bacteria which is linked to many health
benefits including decreased inflammation and reduced risk of colorectal cancer
(6).
Black beans additionally contain high
levels of anthocyanins(2), a flavonoid with beneficial antioxidant properties which also gives
them their intense colour. Whilst there is limited research in humans, studies
in mice suggest that anthocyanins may protect against DNA damage and improve
health(7).
Black or turtle beans are gaining
popularity and becoming more widely available. They add great flavour to dishes
such as salads, soups or your family’s favourite chilli recipe, offering another
choice to boost your legume intake towards achieve the minimum recommendation
of aiming to eat legumes at least 2 times each week.
References
1. NHMRC. Australian Dietary Guidelines
Providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian diets. 2013 Accessed
online January 2014.
2. Silva-Cristobal L, Osorio-Díaz P, Tovar J, Bello-Pérez LA.
Chemical composition, carbohydrate digestibility, and antioxidant capacity of
cooked black bean, chickpea, and lentil Mexican varieties Composición química,
digestibilidad de carbohidratos, y capacidad antioxidante de variedades
mexicanas cocidas de frijol negro, garbanzo, y lenteja. CyTA - Journal of Food.
2010;8(1):7-14.
3. USDA. National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
Release 28: United States Department of Agriculture
2015 [cited 2016]. Available
from: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4757?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=black+bean.
4. NHMRC. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New
Zealand - Dietary Fibre: Australian Government; 2014 [cited 2016]. Available
from: https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/dietary-fibre.
5. Hernandez-Salazar M, Osorio-Diaz P, Loarca-Pina G,
Reynoso-Camacho R, Tovar J, Bello-Perez LA. In vitro fermentability and
antioxidant capacity of the indigestible fraction of cooked black beans
(Phaseolus vulgaris L.), lentils (Lens culinaris L.) and chickpeas (Cicer
arietinum L.). Journal of the science of food and agriculture.
2010;90(9):1417-22.
6. Canani RB, Costanzo MD, Leone L, Pedata M, Meli R, Calignano
A. Potential beneficial effects of butyrate in intestinal and extraintestinal
diseases. World J Gastroenterol. 2011;17(12):1519-28.
7. Azevedo L, Gomes JC, Stringheta PC, Gontijo AM, Padovani CR,
Ribeiro LR, et al. Black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as a protective agent
against DNA damage in mice. Food and chemical toxicology : an international
journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.
2003;41(12):1671-6.
