Washington, DC
November 29, 2007
ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Rosalie Marion Bliss, (301) 504-4318,
rosalie.bliss@ars.usda.gov
Consuming as little as one-half cup of cooked dry beans every
day helped volunteers lower their total cholesterol levels in an
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study in North Dakota. These
results, published in the November issue of the Journal of
Nutrition by the ARS scientists and their colleagues, add to a
growing--and convincing--body of evidence that beans are a heart
healthy food choice.
The lead authors, chemist Philip Reeves and nutritionist John
Finley (no longer with ARS), conducted the study at the agency's
Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific
research agency.
Experts consider a lipid profile, which provides a complete
cholesterol count based on blood tests, to be a valid biomarker
for the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because cardiovascular
disease is a lifestyle-related disease, interventions that
improve cholesterol profiles are considered beneficial to
health. Positive changes in physical activity and diet may
result in substantial improvements.
The researchers tested 80 volunteers aged 18 to 55 years. Half
were healthy, while half had at least two symptoms that lead to
metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that signal a
risk for cardiovascular disease. Those with
"pre-metabolic-syndrome" had abdominal obesity and either high
triglyceride levels, low HDL "good" cholesterol, high blood
sugar, or high blood pressure.
For 12 weeks, half of the group was randomly selected to eat
one-half cup of cooked dry pinto beans daily along with their
regular daily diet. The others ate a replacement serving of
chicken soup instead of the pinto beans. The findings show that,
compared to measures taken prior to the 12-week test phase, all
the volunteers--the healthy ones as well as those with
symptoms--who ate pinto beans saw a reduction in their
cholesterol levels.
While the findings confirm earlier studies by other researchers
showing that eating beans lowers cholesterol levels, the
mechanisms that underlie the effect require further study.
Funding was provided in part by a grant from the U.S. Agency for
International Development through the Accord, Mass.-based Beans
for Health Alliance. |
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