Green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) also well known with several names like string beans and French beans. Since this green beans are also available in almost every country around the world, each country also has its own name for this type of beans. Green beans originated from South America cultivated by the Incas and the Mayans and have been part of Mexican diet since 7,000 years ago. From America, green beans were introduced to Europe and then it reached Asia. However, asides from its history today, China is the top producers of green beans followed by Indonesia and India. So, green beans are much more popular in Asia compared to its origin countries.
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Nutrients Value of Green Beans” state=”closed
| General Information | Nutrient Value & % RDA |
| Energy | 31 Kcal – 1.5% |
| Carbohydrate | 7.13 g – 5.5% |
| Protein | 1.83 g – 3% |
| Total Fat | 0.34 g – 1% |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.4 g – 9% |
| Vitamin | |
| Vitamin A | 690 IU – 23% |
| Vitamin C | 16.3 mg – 27% |
| Vitamin K | 14.4 µg – 12% |
| Niacin | 0.752 mg – 5% |
| Pantothenic Acid | 0.094 mg – 2% |
| Pyridoxine | 0.074 mg – 5.5% |
| Riboflavin | 0.105 mg – 8% |
| Thiamine | 0.084 mg – 7% |
| Folates | 37 µg – 9% |
| Electrolytes | |
| Potassium | 209 mg – 5.5% |
| Sodium | 6 mg – 0.4% |
| Minerals | |
| Calcium | 37 mg – 3.7% |
| Iron | 1 mg – 13% |
| Magnesium | 25 mg – 6% |
| Manganese | 0.214 mg – 9% |
| Phosporous | 38 mg – 6% |
| Zinc | 0.24 mg – 2% |
| Phyto Nutrients | |
| Beta Carotene | 379 µg |
| Carotena α | 69 µg |
| Lutein-zeaxanthin | 640 µg |
Meanwhile, here is the health benefits of green beans you need to know.
1. Rich of Antioxidant
Don’t be fooled by the green colors. People thought that the green color is the sign of lacking the nutrients. The fact is quite the opposite because the green color of green beans is the source of antioxidant. Surely you have known how amazing antioxidant for your body and practically to your life entirely.
2. Natural Source of Antioxidant
As rich with vitamin A and vitamin C surely green beans are the excellent source of Antioxidant. Beta Carotene as pro vitamin A is also found in green beans. Furthermore, green beans also contains some varieties of carotenoids and flovanoids which best known as powerful antioxidant compounds. Recent studies also stated that compared to others pea variety, green beans contain the highest value of antioxidants.
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3. Immunity System Booster
All foods contain high value of antioxidant is a good immunity booster. It is due to some compounds like flavonoids and carotenoids. Those basic antioxidants will provide your immunity system one layer of protections.
4. Promote Regeneration of Cells
Antioxidants and vitamin A contained in green beans will protect the healthy cells from free radicals while potassium will make sure the regeneration of cells. Degeneration of cells could be avoided but at least the process could be slowed down by making sure the regeneration of new cells to replace the dead one is without disturbance.
5. Anti-Aging Benefit
It is true that impossible to stop the time and everyone will get older without exception. However, if you cannot stop it but surely you can slow it down. Green beans which are rich of antioxidants will make sure your cells always in their best conditions which make you look much younger.
6. Fighting Free Radicals
Fighting free radicals should be done continuously because just like the degeneration of cells, it is also possible to stop free radicals from affecting you. That’s why making sure that your body have enough protection against them is important and green beans are containing the magic potion to fight free radicals in the most natural way.
7. Reduce the Severity of Stroke
As rich of flavonoids which is well known as one of the powerful antioxidant, consuming green beans could reduce the severity of strokes for the stroke survivors. It is because flavonoids contain basic antioxidant like catechins which contributes actively in reducing the severity of stroke.
8. Rich of Fiber
It is prominent to make sure that foods you consumed are not only making you full but also making you healthy. Green beans are so rich of fiber and it is a common knowledge though fiber is cannot be extracted or absorbed but its function is much more than just a passing by compound in your bowel.
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9. Prevent Colon Cancer
When it comes to digestive and colon issue fiber always becomes the best solution. According to some studies, fiber is also able to prevent colon cancer by keeping the colon always in healthy condition and decrease the possibility of stress in the intestinal.
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10. Excellent for Digestive System
Fiber is responsible to bind some unnecessary properties and compounds inside the bowel so the digestive system could function optimally. Just imagine there is no compound like fiber, bowel will be packed with properties that cannot be extracted.
11. Treat Constipation
Health benefits of green beans is as constipation treatment. Constipation occurred when bowel is jammed with unnecessary properties that are no longer able to be extracted. Fiber will assist to push them out from the bowel system and make more rooms for bowel to function properly.
12. Maintaining the Cholesterol Level
Fiber also could assist in maintaining the cholesterol level by binding the LDL or bad cholesterol found inside the digestive system to be flushed away from the system. This will significantly improve the function of HDL or good cholesterol.
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13. Delicious Weight Loss Solution
Well, most people thought that anything green will taste yuck. Try green beans and you will know that it is so crunchy and delicious as long as you cook it in the right way. As rich of fiber, surely it is good for weight loss and then green beans also low in calories, sodium, saturated fat and totally zero in cholesterol.
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14. Prevent Obesity
It is true that there are people who tend to get obese even when they have tried their best to control their weight. Green beans could optimize your efforts because it is not only able to control your weight but also prevent obesity.
15. Natural Body Detox
Body should be detoxifed regularly. There is no such medication or special treatments to conduct as long as you put green beans as your daily diet because it will naturally detox your body.
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16. Rich of Folate
Folate could do the wonders because it affects the production of DNA and cell directly. Folate contributes in producing the best cells for brain, so baby will be born with better and healthier brain cells. That’s why folate is essential during pregnancy.
17. Good for Pregnancy
During the first trimester, the need of folate is essential for a pregnant mother since folate has prominent role in the development of brains of the fetus. So, consuming green beans during pregnancy is highly recommended because folate will make sure only the best cells used to develop the brains.
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18. Reduce the Risk of Birth Defect
One more amazing thing that folate or folid acid could do for pregnant mother is providing protection to the infant in the womb, so the risk of birth defect could be reduced significantly. Though regular consultation with your doctor is still required during pregnancy. It is important to do, not only to learn about the development but able to detect the early problems that may occur inside the womb.
19. Promote Healthy Cells Production
Do you know that green beans contain properties that essential to the cells production? During pregnancy healthy cells are important if you want to give birth to not only a healthy baby but also smart one. All the best in your children are coming from the how good the cells that develop them.
20. Rich of Vitamin C
Foods which is rich of vitamin C considered to be a super food because vitamin C has super power that has a lot of benefits to human body. Likewise, that is beneficial to maintain health, prevent from any diseases, and promote immunity system.
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21. Prevent Infection
Infection is one of the things that common to happen but not easy to handle. Vitamin C, niacin and thiamine are the powerful compounds that could prevent your body from infection. Consuming green beans in daily basis will provide you and your family one layer of protections since it is not easy to prevent infection from the outside but it is very possible to prevent it from the inside.
22. Promote Healing
If you think your body healed because of the medications you consume or your wound healed because of the antiseptic you use and then you think wrong. To promote healing and accelerate the would healing process you need something from the inside and Vitamin C is exactly what you need. Green beans could make sure your body is getting enough vitamin C in daily intake without the need to consume it too much.
23. Essential Foods for Body Metabolism
Healthy body metabolism means all aspects in your body are working properly and function optimally. So, in other words, there is nothing you should worry about because nutrients from food you consume will be absorbed optimally and the excessive compounds will be washed away completely.
24. As Anti-inflammatory Benefit
The flavonoid contained in green beans adding one more benefit to human body which is as the anti-inflammatory properties. It is due to two important antioxidants found in green beans they are carotenoids and flavonoids. They have been proven to provide anti-inflammatory benefit of human body system. They also responsible to produce certain enzymes like lipoxygenases and cyclooxygenases which always associated with the anti-inflammation effect.
25. Friendly Food for People with Diabetes
It is not a common knowledge but blood sugar level is closely related to blood pressure. If the blood pressure is high, blood sugar levels also the same. One of the anti-inflammatory benefits in this matter is preventing Diabetes Type 2 as well as treats the symptoms of this condition for those who have been diagnosed with diabetes.
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26. Rich of Potassium and Relatively Low in Sodium
It is a common knowledge that potassium is a magic potion to all kinds of cardiovascular condition and green beans contain this compound in relatively high amount. Though sodium is also found but the amount is relatively low, so your heart will be fully protected from the bad effect of sodium.
27. Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease
Surely you have known that potassium is good for heart while sodium is harmful. Well, green beans contain sodium but the amount of potassium is higher and could bind sodium to be out from body system. So, the risk of all kinds of heart disease could be reduced significantly.
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28. Preventing Blood Clots
Blood clots could be dangerous for your heart and the root of many heart problems. As rich of flavonoids, this antioxidant will have anti-thrombotic effect and the result is the blood clots could be prevented effectively.
29. Reduce the Risk of Stroke
One of the heart problem occur because of blood clot is stroke. The condition where the heart is no longer able to be forced to work. Logically, blood vessels are where blood are being distributed but when blood clots are accumulating in the vessel walls, the distribution will be disturbed and heart need to work a bit harder to make sure all body cells get what they need.
30. Controlling Blood Pressure
High content of potassium in green beans could assist in controlling the blood pressure. Once your blood pressure is under controls some other condition will get better as well like cholesterol level and blood sugar level. Though, you should be careful with the sodium contain. If you have consume too much sodium, adding more will be bad but since the sodium in green beans are relatively low, just make sure to consume this delicious legumes in proper amount.
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31. Key Element to Bone Regeneration
Surely you want to have healthy and strong bone until you were old and grey though it is impossible but still the degeneration process could be slowed down. Green beans contain calcium, vitamin K, vitamin A and silicon. Silicon always associated with the strong bones, without which some conditions like bone loss may be suffered.
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32. Maintain the Bone Health
Let’s find out what makes green beans are good for your bone. First, it is relatively high in calcium which has prominent role in making sure your bone always in its healthy condition by providing the calcium required. Moreover, the vitamin K also contributes in making sure the bone to function optimally in elderly.
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33. Prevent Osteoporosis
As it is good for bone health and of course green beans could prevent osteoporosis. It is because calcium could prevent the deterioration of bone that may lead to osteoporosis condition. So, start consuming green beans for a better and healthier bone.
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34. Rich of Vitamin A
Asides from the fact that Vitamin A is the excellent source of antioxidant that could fight free radicals, Vitamin A itself has its own perk that contribute to human health.
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35. Good for Eyes
It is a common knowledge that vitamin A is good for eyes. Green beans contain carotenoids that have important function in slowing down the degeneration cells of your vision and eye. Furthermore, green beans also contain lutein and zeaxantine that could prevent the stress of your eyes.
36. Protection Against Macular Degeneration
Carotenoids are the key role to provide protection to macular degeneration. Conditions mostly occur in elderly. As mentioned in some points above, it is impossible to stop the cells degeneration but green beans could prevent all the worst conditions that may occur because of the cells degeneration.
When it comes to foods, there is always a caution that you should aware of. Furthermore, each person also has their own level of endurance toward a certain compounds and since green beans are containing a lot of compounds which some of them are in high level, some cautions below will provide you the information you need to know and be more careful with what you should and you shouldn’t eat.
1. Allergies
For those who have allergies to legumes and then you should be careful with green beans because the possibility of you allergic to this food is high. Consult with your doctor first before put this healthy bean to your diet or find a solution to treat it. Though, avoiding it in all cost is recommended.
2. Side Effect of Lectins
Lectins will bind proteins so those who consume too much lectins will have some digestive issue. Fortunately, the lectins contained in green bean is relatively low, so you don’t need to worry too much but still controlling the amount of green bean you consume is important.
3. The Bad Side of Phytates
Just like lectins phytic acid contained in green beans is also low but if you are already suffering some minerals deficiency, adding more phytic acid could be dangerous since phytic acid will disturb the absorption of some important minerals like zinc and calcium.
Having a healthy diet is important but you cannot just put it into your diet when you feel like want to do it. Consuming healthy food in daily basis is a must and green beans could be one of the vegetables you could put in your daily menu. The fact that this bean is able to be cultivated around the world and in all kinds of climates and seasons, surely you don’t need to be afraid of running of green beans. Besides, since it could be cultivated everywhere, why don’t you try to have them in your back yard because even cultivating it is not difficult? Though it is easy to cultivate, when it comes to prices, green beans are also relatively affordable if compared to other similar beans with similar nutrients contained. Surely you don’t want to miss all the benefits of these crunchy green beans because healthy lifestyle is coming for inside your body and your dinner table.