Benefits of Cannellini Beans
1. Help You Lose Weight
Many common bean varieties are well-known for their role in weight loss. One reason for this is that they act as alpha amylase inhibitors. These inhibitors stop your body from absorbing carbohydrates quickly by blocking the enzymes responsible for their digestion.
The white bean (another name for cannellini beans) has been used to develop a weight loss supplement known as Phase 2. Researchers from Medicus Research LLC in California found that this supplement caused no serious side effects and successfully helped participants lose weight. The participants’ blood sugar noticeably did not spike after meals in the same way as those taking the placebo.
Further research published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences also indicates that similar supplements and extracts from the white bean are responsible for other body changes, such as a reduction in body mass index and reduced body fat, while maintaining lean body mass.
On a very practical note, cannellini beans have a very low calorie count while increasing satiety (the feeling of being full). This makes them a great addition to the diet of anyone desiring to lose weight.
2. Regulate Blood Sugar Levels
I already mentioned in the study above that scientists discovered a drop in blood sugar in study participants taking a white bean extract supplement. Additional research has also been conducted on the ability of cannellini beans to help maintain healthy, normal blood sugar levels. Healthy amounts of blood sugar are common, as a spike in blood sugar is commonly one of the symptoms of diabetes, a destructive disease that impacts more than 3 million people each year in the U.S. alone.
The amylase inhibitor in cannellini beans can help fight this. Various studies have been done on their role in blood sugar levels, including a 2006 study on diabetic and non-diabetic rats. According to this and other research, orally administered doses of the amylase inhibitor from white beans was extremely effective in reducing blood sugar levels and regulating elevated disaccharidase levels, enzymes that break down into sugar.
Cannellini beans also help reduce the risk of diabetes because of their fiber content. Although the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber is between about 25 to 38 grams (depending on gender and body mass), only about 5 percent of people in the U.S. consume as much fiber as they should each day. However, proper fiber consumption is vital to the prevention of disease, including diabetes. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics highly recommends a high-fiber diet including whole grains, legumes (beans), veggies, fruits and nuts in order to help prevent disease.
3. Contribute to a Healthy Heart
The study I just mentioned also includes heart disease on the list of diseases a high-fiber diet can help prevent. Another large analysis of studies involving more than 672,000 participants found that high fiber intake is very closely linked to the prevention of coronary heart disease.
The alpha amylase inhibitor extract of white beans also have various heart-healthy effects, including the reduction of triglycerides. These fat cells found in your blood are produced when your body has calories that it doesn’t have to use for energy right away. Your body stores the triglycerides in fat cells, and then hormones trigger their release when you need more energy.
It’s an efficient system, but if you consistently consume more calories than you ever burn, triglycerides build up in the bloodstream and increase your risk of heart disease. In the first in a series of studies on the impact of this white bean extract, researchers found that not only was weight loss achieved, but triglyceride levels also dropped in subjects taking the supplement.
Another way these dry beans help protect your heart is by lowering LDL cholesterollevels (considered “bad” cholesterol). It’s very possible to regulate your cholesterol levels by eating a healthy diet, and it’s much safer than dangerous medications many doctors may prescribe, all of which have significant side effects.
Other beans in the Phaseolus vulgaris classification have shown preliminary results in helping reduce high blood pressure. As many of the beans in this group have similar health benefits, it’s possible that cannellini beans could play a role in lowering blood pressure as well (although this has not yet been proven).
4. May Help Fight Cancer
Like all Phaseolus vulgaris beans, cannellini beans have a high level of antioxidants, fighting the oxidative stress caused by free radicals you encounter in your diet and environment. (9) They also contain polyphenols, a type of antioxidant commonly known for decreasing the risk for heart disease and cancer, making cannellini beans potential cancer-fighting foods. (10)
While research is limited on the exact content of antioxidants in cannellini beans, they’re very closely related to navy beans, which contain one of the highest levels of antioxidants of dry beans in their class. Specifically, navy beans (and by extension, cannellini beans) contain ferulic acid, which is known for its role in fighting cancer.
Ferulic acid has shown promising impact in therapeutic treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, causing apoptosis (cell death) of hepatoma cells. The same study also found caffeic acid, an antioxidant found in many healthy foods (and coffee), to have similar effects. Ferulic acid also has the ability to inhibit the growth of some types of breast cancer cells.
5. Protect from Skin Damage
Antioxidants in cannellini beans also play a role in protecting your skin. Because of the way it protects against oxidative stress, ferulic acid helps prevent sun damage. In fact, when added to a topical solution of vitamins C and E in a study conducted at the Duke University Medical Center, ferulic acid doubled the protection sunblock offered and greatly reduced the amount of skin cell death when exposed to excessive UV rays.
Because one in five people develop skin cancer at some point in their lives, it’s important to protect your skin from damage caused by the sun and many chemicals you’re regularly exposed to.
6. Good for Crohn’s Disease Patients
Surprisingly, another benefit of the high fiber content of cannellini beans may be the ability to benefit Crohn’s disease sufferers. While it has long been believed that a high-fiber diet is undesirable in the treatment of Crohn’s, recent research indicates that plant-based dietary fiber may actually help treat this disease. So it’s a good idea to include cannellini beans and other high-fiber foods in any Crohn’s disease diettreatment plan.
