To stay healthy, you need to have a nutritious diet and a healthy lifestyle. Drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, and regularly exercising are part of maintaining your health.
You'll also need different nutrients to stay in great shape. To get these vitamins and minerals, you need to eat different kinds of food. Fruits and vegetables are known to have all the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. They help the body become strong and resistant to sickness.
Another highly nutritious food is beans. Beans have fiber, protein, magnesium, and many other nutrients. It's a common ingredient in cuisines all over the world. If you are curious about them, let us introduce you to the wonderful borlotti beans' health benefits.
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What are borlotti beans?
Borlotti beans are better known as roman beans or cranberry beans. They're a variety of the common bean, whose scientific name is Phaseolus vulgaris. Borlotti beans have an oval shape and are average in size. These are like your typical legume.
What makes Borlotti beans stand out, however, is their color. When uncooked, Borlotti beans have a distinct red and white coloring. The colors look like a painting, but they are just the beans' natural color!
The red and white swirls go away once you cook the beans. The beans take on a dark brown hue when cooked.
If you're wondering about how they taste, most people would say that they taste like chestnuts. Like most beans, they also have a creamy texture when cooked.
What are the different health benefits of borlotti beans?
Borlotti beans' health benefits are known to be helpful for our overall physical health. To give you an overview — they can improve your nervous, cardiovascular, and digestive health. Since these beans are full of different vitamins and minerals, they're a popular choice for those suffering from diabetes and heart disease.
They're also perfect if you want to lose weight or want to maintain your fitness. Not only that, Borlotti beans are high in protein and have a low glycemic index.
1. High in protein
Aside from meat, fish, and eggs, you can get protein from beans. Borlotti beans, in particular, are known to have high protein content. With Borlotti beans, you don't have to worry about high saturated fat and cholesterol. They can give you a hefty dose of protein without the fat and cholesterol.
Why is protein so crucial, though? Your skin, hair, bones, and even your organs have protein in them. It is necessary for the tissues in your body to remain strong. Protein is also essential for the energy-creation, oxygen-flow, and antibody-making processes of the body.
That's why everyone needs to take in a certain amount of protein each day. In general, people's daily calories should be ten to thirty-five percent protein. That amount is enough to maintain a good amount of muscle.
Be careful, though. Too much protein intake can do more harm than good. If the body has high protein levels, it can store the excess protein as fat. It will lead to unhealthy weight gain.
Consider adding Borlotti beans to your meals to lose weight or gain healthy muscle. Borlotti beans also work if you want to have a healthy diet. The protein in these beans is a great building block for a fit and healthy body.
2. Low glycemic index
If you have diabetes, have heart problems, or want to lose weight, Borlotti beans can help you! One-third cup of Borlotti beans is enough for one serving. Since these beans have a low glycemic index, they're perfect for controlling these conditions.
What does it mean when certain foods have a low glycemic index? The glycemic index ranks different kinds of foods according to how much they increase blood sugar levels. To put it simply, foods with a low glycemic index digest slowly in the body and prevent your blood sugar levels from rising.
If the glycemic index is high, it means that the food makes your blood sugar levels high. Health problems like diabetes, heart problems, and even stroke happen when your blood sugar is high. Borlotti beans are also a good option if you want to prevent your blood sugar levels from rising.
That's why those who have diabetes should include beans like Borlotti beans in their meals. They're a better alternative to starchy foods like rice, bread, and pasta if you're trying to lose weight.
Borlotti beans also make you feel full faster because they're full of fiber. Including these beans in your meal will most likely make you eat less.
3. Improves your digestive health
Since Borlotti beans are rich in fiber, they can help improve your digestive health. They have soluble fiber or fiber that dissolves in water, which is excellent if you suffer from constipation and hemorrhoids.
Fiber helps your digestive system because it retains water and builds up your stool. The combination of water and stool buildup lets you have a regular bowel movement. That's why your colon needs fiber to keep it healthy.
Most of the time, people with bowel problems need to increase their fiber intake. If you suffer from digestive issues, you can combat them by eating fibrous food, including Borlotti Beans.
However, you should remember that too much fiber in your body can also be harmful. If you overeat fiber-rich foods, you might aggravate your digestive system. While it might sound odd, too much fiber can make you bloated and increase your bowel movements.
It would be best also to remember to drink plenty of water when you increase your fiber intake. Sometimes, high amounts of fiber can cause constipation. You'll need to drink enough water to ensure that your bowel movements are still regular.
4. Helps your nervous system
Borlotti beans contain vitamin B, which is essential for maintaining the health of your nervous system. More specifically, beans are rich in vitamin B1, or Thiamine.
Thiamine helps in the formation of your nervous system's neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters can send signals from your brain to the different parts of your body.
It also helps your brain with learning and memory processes. That's why Thiamine is an essential vitamin that your body needs. Without it, your brain and nerves will find it hard to send signals throughout the body.
Also, a deficiency in Vitamin B can make you more forgetful and easily confused. It's best to consume Vitamin B-rich foods, like Borlotti beans. An average serving each day can help you maintain your nervous system. Your brain and nerves will thank you!
5. Helps maintain cardiovascular health
Borlotti beans have fiber and potassium. These two nutrients together are great for your heart and blood pressure, and here's why.
Fiber not only helps with digestion but also reduces cholesterol levels. When your cholesterol levels are high, fatty, waxy substances develop in your blood vessels.
It makes it difficult for your blood to flow normally through your body. The buildup can turn into a clot in severe cases, causing a sudden stroke or heart attack.
That's why it's good to keep your cholesterol levels low. Consuming Borlotti beans can help you with that.
Borlotti beans also have potassium, which helps maintain normal blood pressure. It does this by relaxing your blood vessel walls so that that blood can flow more easily.
With potassium, your body can quickly get rid of high levels of sodium. If you have kidney problems, however, potassium might not be good for you. It's best to discuss with a physician the amount of potassium you should take in.
If you want to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, consider adding Borlotti beans to your diet. You'll also lower the risk of developing heart complications.
6. Great for pregnant women
Why are Borlotti beans recommended for mothers-to-be? As mentioned earlier, Borlotti beans are rich in B vitamins. Another type of B vitamin is folate, which is an essential vitamin for babies in the womb.
You might be confused, though. Are folic acid and folate the same thing? Folic acid is a synthetic, manufactured version of folate. The latter is present in food like beans.
Folate can reduce the risk of congenital disabilities. That's why many pregnant women take folic acid supplements and eat folate-rich foods. It is also proven to reduce the risk of early labor.
If you're trying to get pregnant, it's also a good idea to eat folate-rich foods and take folic acid supplements. Doing so will further reduce the risk of congenital disabilities, especially when you don't know that you're pregnant yet.
How do I cook Borlotti beans?
There are plenty of recipes for Borlotti beans. Soups, stews, sauces, pasta; you can add them to almost any dish! Some recipes also use these beans as the main ingredient.
It's essential to keep in mind that you can't eat these beans raw! You first need to boil the beans, peel them, and then consume them.
If that seems like a hassle, then you can always opt for canned Borlotti beans. Canned Borlotti beans have salty brine. Just rinse this off and add the beans to your dish.
For dried Borlotti beans, you'll need to soak the beans before cooking them. The process is usually done overnight or throughout the day. Soaking softens the skin and prevents splitting when cooking the beans.
There's also a quick way to soak dried Borlotti beans. Place the beans in a pot with water. Bring the Borlotti beans to a boil and let them rest for one hour. Afterward, you can add the beans to the dish of your choice.
Since Borlotti beans possess a savory taste, they go well with many dishes. Most of the time, people use salt and pepper to add flavor to Borlotti beans.
No matter the dish, Borlotti beans offer an inexpensive yet delicious taste. There are also the above Borlotti beans' health benefits that come along with them.
Can you eat beans every day?
Since beans have so many benefits, is it safe to eat them every day? The short answer is yes. You can eat beans at least once a day. Experts even recommend eating beans every day because they're perfect for your health.
Beans, in general, are affordable and versatile. You can add them to many dishes, so you won't get sick of eating beans. All of them have fibers, vitamins, and minerals that are great for the body.
With all its varieties, you won't have trouble choosing your bean for the day. There are soybeans, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, and many more.
Another type of bean is the Borlotti bean. Like most beans, it's filled with fiber, protein, and different benefits that are good for the body.
Conclusion
Overall, there are many Borlotti beans' health benefits. Whether you're suffering from cardiovascular, digestive, or nervous system complications, Borlotti beans are a great choice.
Since Borlotti beans are rich in various nutrients, they are a tasty way to improve your health. It's full of different types of Vitamin B, potassium, fibers, and protein, and these nutrients can help your body be in its best shape. Don’t miss out and try this awesome superfood today!
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