Beans Aid Weight and Blood Sugar Control
by Craig Weatherby
Want to help yourself avoid extra pounds and deter diabetes? Eat your beans!
A new review of the evidence supports prior indications that the humble legumes aid weight and blood sugar control.
The review, co-authored by UCLA School of Medicine professor Jay Udani, focused on bean-extract supplements that block digestion of sugars and starches (Barrett ML, Udani JK 2011).
But rather than taking bean-extract supplements – which contain just one of their metabolically beneficial components – it makes sense to simply shift your starch intake from grains to beans.
Whole beans, not supplements
Whole beans provide weight control and blood sugar benefits for two reasons:
The high proportion of so-called “resistant” starch in beans, which make you feel full faster and delay absorption of carbs for many hours after a meal.
Beans – especially white and kidney beans – contain phaseolamin (faze-ahl-uh-min) … a protein that inhibits a key enzyme (amylase) needed to digest starches and sugars.
For more on the basics – including grains that supply resistant starch – see “Beans Seen to Discourage Weight Gain and Diabetes” and “Beans and Lentils May Deter Diabetes”.
In addition, most beans are rich in the polyphenol antioxidants found in fruits, tea, cocoa, and whole grains, which provide myriad health benefits via their “nutrigenomic” influence on gene expression in human cells.
A number of “starch blocker” supplements consisting of phaseolamin extracts from white beans have been sold as weight control aids … with inconsistent support from clinical trials.
According to the review authors, weight control effects of bean extracts have been studied in ten clinical trials, with three studies demonstrating efficacy compared to placebo.
Two of these positive clinical trials were conducted by researchers from UCLA’s School of Medicine, but were short term (one month).
A third study, by famed anti-aging pioneer Nicholas Perricone, M.D., and scientists from Georgetown University and Italy’s dell'Università Cattolica di Roma, was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (Celleno L et al. 2007).
Study by Dr. Perricone and colleagues boosted beans
Sixty slightly overweight volunteers were divided into two groups, matched for age, gender, and body weight.
The two groups were assigned to take either bean extract or placebo pills for 30 consecutive days, just before a main meal rich in carbohydrates.
After 30 days, subjects receiving white bean extract with a carbohydrate-rich, 2000- to 2200-calorie diet showed greater reductions in body weight, BMI, fat mass, adipose tissue thickness, and waist/hip/ thigh circumferences … while maintaining the same amount of lean body mass (muscle) as the control group.
Eat beans for sugar and weight control
These and other studies also show that beans and phaseolamin-rich bean extracts alike reduce the spike in blood sugar levels after a meal.
Persuasive evidence indicates the value of reducing the glycemic index (GI) of foods for both weight management and controlling blood sugar in diabetes.
And as the review authors noted, reducing the spike in blood sugar following a high-GI meal – and thereby preventing a resulting spike in insulin levels – also reduces the risks of developing insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
So eat your beans, already!
Sources
Barrett ML, Udani JK. A proprietary alpha-amylase inhibitor from white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris): A review of clinical studies on weight loss and glycemic control. Nutr J. 2011 Mar 17;10(1):24. [Epub ahead of print]
Boivin M, Flourie B, Rizza RA, et al. Gastrointestinal and metabolic effects of amylase inhibition in diabetics. Gastroenterology 1988;94:387–94.
Boivin M, Zinsmeister AR, Go VL, DiMagno EP. Effect of a purified amylase inhibitor on carbohydrate metabolism after a mixed meal in healthy humans. Mayo Clin Proc 1987;62:249–55.
Boivin M, Zinsmeister AR, Go VL, DiMagno EP. Effect of a purified amylase inhibitor on carbohydrate metabolism after a mixed meal in healthy humans. Mayo Clin Proc 1987;62:249–55.
Bo-Linn GW, Santa Ana CA, Morawski SG, Fordtran JS. Starch blockers—their effect on calorie absorption from a high-starch meal. N Engl J Med 1982;307:1413–6.
Brugge WR, Rosenfeld MS. Impairment of starch absorption by a potent amylase inhibitor. Am J Gastroenterol 1987;82:718–22.
Carlson GL, Li BU, Bass P, Olsen WA. A bean alpha-amylase inhibitor formulation (starch blocker) is ineffective in man. Science 1983;219:393–5.
Celleno L, Tolaini MV, D'Amore A, Perricone NV, Preuss HG. A Dietary supplement containing standardized Phaseolus vulgaris extract influences body composition of overweight men and women. Int J Med Sci. 2007 Jan 24;4(1):45-52.
Higgins JA. Resistant starch: metabolic effects and potential health benefits. J AOAC Int. 2004 May-Jun;87(3):761-8. Review.
Johnston KL, Thomas EL, Bell JD, Frost GS, Robertson MD. Resistant starch improves insulin sensitivity in metabolic syndrome. Diabet Med. 2010 Apr;27(4):391-7.
Keenan MJ, Zhou J, McCutcheon KL, Raggio AM, Bateman HG, Todd E, Jones CK, Tulley RT, Melton S, Martin RJ, Hegsted M. Effects of resistant starch, a non-digestible fermentable fiber, on reducing body fat. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 Sep;14(9):1523-34.
Kendall CW, Emam A, Augustin LS, Jenkins DJ. Resistant starches and health. J AOAC Int. 2004 May-Jun;87(3):769-74. Review.
Preuss HG. Bean amylase inhibitor and other carbohydrate absorption blockers: effects on diabesity and general health. J Am Coll Nutr. 2009 Jun;28(3):266-76.
So PW, Yu WS, Kuo YT, Wasserfall C, Goldstone AP, Bell JD, Frost G. Impact of resistant starch on body fat patterning and central appetite regulation. PLoS One. 2007 Dec 12;2(12):e1309.
Tucci SA, Boyland EJ, Halford JC. The role of lipid and carbohydrate digestive enzyme inhibitors in the management of obesity: a review of current and emerging therapeutic agents. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2010 May 10;3:125-43.
Udani J, Hardy M, Madsen DC. Blocking carbohydrate absorption and weight loss: a clinical trial using Phase 2 brand proprietary fractionated white bean extract. Altern Med Rev. 2004 Mar;9(1):63-9.
Udani J, Singh BB. Blocking carbohydrate absorption and weight loss: a clinical trial using a proprietary fractionated white bean extract. Altern Ther Health Med. 2007 Jul-Aug;13(4):32-7.
Udani JK, Singh BB, Barrett ML, Preuss HG. Lowering the glycemic index of white bread using a white bean extract. Nutr J. 2009 Oct 28;8:52.
No comments:
Post a Comment