In a recent study, a group of scientists led by Xiaotao Zhang from The University of Texas decided to find out if eating beans could help people who were overweight and had a history of colon problems.
They set up a simple study with 55 patients. These patients were used to a certain diet, but for this study, half of them were asked to add just one cup of beans to their daily meals.
The other half kept eating as they always did. After eight weeks, the groups switched their diets.
The results were interesting. Those who added beans to their diet saw some good changes in their gut bacteria. The gut is filled with tiny living things that help us digest food, and having a variety of them is usually a sign of good health.
The bean eaters had more of the good bacteria like Faecalibacterium and Bifidobacterium. These are the kinds of bacteria that help keep our guts healthy.
Not only did their gut bacteria change, but so did some chemicals in their bodies. For example, there was more pipecolic acid and less indole in their blood.
These chemicals are signs of how our body is working, especially our gut. But once they stopped eating beans and went back to their normal diet, these changes slowly went back to how they were before.
Interestingly, eating beans didn’t change much about their cholesterol levels in just eight weeks. But there were other signs that their bodies were responding well to the beans.
They had more markers showing that their bodies were fighting inflammation, which is often linked to health problems like heart disease and cancer. Plus, a growth factor that helps the gut stay healthy went up.
So, what does this all mean? The study showed that adding just a cup of beans to your diet can be an easy, safe way to make your gut healthier, especially for people who are at higher risk of health issues but can’t make big changes to their eating habits.
Beans are simple, but they can have a big impact on our health.
This study wasn’t just about beans, though. It’s a reminder that sometimes small changes in what we eat can lead to big improvements in our health. It’s not always about making huge changes or following strict diets.
Sometimes, just a cup of beans can make a difference. This is especially important for people who might find it hard to change their diet completely. The humble bean shows us that even small steps can lead us toward better health.
If you care about obesity, please read studies about Scientists find two big contributors to obesity and findings of Obesity drug improves this cognitive function in obese people.
For more information about obesity, please see recent studies about low-carb keto diet could manage obesity effectively and results showing popular weight loss diet linked to heart disease and cancer.
The research findings can be found in eBioMedicine.
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