4 of the best beans for health

Keep your finger on the pulse with these 4 health-giving beans.

They make a great meat substitute and are useful if you’re making the transition to a vegetarian diet.

Beans / legumes are filling and can be used as the protein part of your meal. By combining beans with a grain, you get a complete protein. For example beans on toast, chickpea curry and rice or dahl with quinoa…

Lentils

Lentils provide high levels of iron which is vital for transporting oxygen around the body. Red lentils are especially versatile – add them to soups and casseroles or make into curries and dahl

Mung beans

Mung beans contain high levels of folic acid and thiamine, two of the B vitamins. It has recently been reported that brain shrinkage; an early sign of alzheimer’s disease, can be lessened by high doses of this vitamin.

Chickpeas

If you’ve recently become vegetarian and are wondering how to up your protein intake, you’ve found your answer! Chickpeas also help stabilise blood sugar levels and are beneficial to the heart. Try humous, adding chickpeas to salad or cooking them in curries.

Red Kidney Beans

Molybdenum is a component which helps rid the body of sulfites and kidney beans contain larges amounts of this important mineral. Sulfites are preservatives added to prepared food which can cause headaches and rapid heartbeat.