BEANS on toast could help you lose weight, a study suggests.
The playground rhyme says beans are good for your heart — and they could be good for your waistline too.
People who ate 40g per day of resistant starch, found in beans, chickpeas and lentils, lost 3kg (7lbs) after eight weeks, Chinese researchers found.
The carbohydrate is digested by healthy bacteria in your gut that help you shed the pounds, they said.
Professor Weiping Jia, of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said: “We demonstrated that resistant starch can facilitate weight loss.
“The benefits of resistant starch are associated with changes in gut microbiota composition.”
Around 38 per cent of adults in England are overweight, and a further 26 per cent obese.
The NHS says obesity costs £6.1billion a year, but the total cost of all linked conditions is believed to be much higher.
Resistant starch is a type of fibre that is not digested in the small intestine but becomes fuel for the healthy bacteria in your lower bowel.
The best sources are wholegrain cereals and legumes, which include beans, lentils, and peas.
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You can also get it from potatoes, although they need to cool down after you cook them.
Previous research has suggested having higher levels of healthy gut bacteria can make losing fat and weight more easy.
Just 40g a day
The latest research, published in Nature Metabolism, looked at how eating more resistant starch is linked to shedding the pounds.
Some 37 overweight or obese adults aged 18 to 55 were recruited to take part in the 20-week study.
They were all asked to follow a standard weight-loss diet of 25 calories per kilogram of body weight, receiving 40g of resistant starch daily for eight weeks and none for another eight weeks.
While having the starch, they lost an extra 2.8kg of bodyweight and had better blood sugar levels.
How to boost gut health with diet
Go for the long haul and improve your gut health by following these steps.
- Aim for 30 different types of fibre per week as there is evidence this helps build a diverse gut microbiome. Foods you can count include all fruits, vegetables, pulses, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds. Start by counting how many you eat and increase slowly from there.
- Start increasing your fibre intake slowly. Just one extra portion of fruit or veg a day will help. One portion is around 80g of veg. Aim for 25-30g of fibre a day.
- Look after the gut-brain connection. When we are stressed, we don’t digest food as well and you can become bloated, constipated or suffer with loose stools. Deep breathing, yoga and walking have all been shown to calm the vegus nerve which can affect digestion.
- Aim for eight hours sleep. Go to bed eight hours before you need to wake up and incorporate a wind down in the evening such as stretching, writing in a journal or listening to calm music.
- Get outside every day. Exposure to the natural world helps diversity the gut microbiome. Stroking a pet or doing the gardening could help.
- Exercise. Daily movement helps create a healthy gut. People who exercise regularly have a more diverse set of gut bacteria and often have strains associated with better overall health.
Common signs that something is wrong with your gut include persistent changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, blood in the stools, weight loss and trouble swallowing. If you experience any of these, you should seek medical help.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
