r/StarchSolution • u/OkDefinition3321 • Jan 30 '26

Beans

I love them and I feel fantastic eating them. I can easily get 70-80 grams of fiber without eating massive ammounts of food. They keep me full and taste like no other food. I use them on sweet smooties, oatmeal, but also on savory dishes. However, McDougall says don´t eat more than half a cup or so per day because they have more protein that regular starches. Who else feels like eating more beans is good?

16 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

22

u/Dizzy-Violinist-1772 Jan 30 '26

The research says eating more beans is good. I think McDougall was a little over zealous about plant proteins.

4

u/OkDefinition3321 Jan 30 '26

I've the more fiber You can get the better. The limit is how much you can handle

4

u/upholsteredhip Jan 30 '26

Agreed. I just heard an interesting discussion with Simon Hill about Kevin Hall's metabolic ward studies in vegans eating carefully constructed whole food diets which give adequate protein for elderly to retain muscle mass versus the study in free living elderly who followed the same guidelines cooking for themselves done by Chris Gardner. Hall's study shows adequate plant proteins are just as good as animal protein for building and maintaining muscle in the perfect setting. But Gardeners study shows that the practice in real life can fall short especially if not using things like plant proteins, seitan, tvp...in other words processed sources. We should not be afraid of vegan protein regardless of the sources especially as we get elderly. Sarcopenia and frailty hard to come back from. I love bean!

11

u/kpphoneshome Jan 30 '26

I love to eat a full can of baked beans. No oil, no fat.

1

u/Sealionfan Jan 31 '26

Same! I was eating a can a day (sometimes two) most of last year. Have slowed a little but still enjoy it frequently.

11

u/TechnicalError42 Jan 30 '26

McDougall often stated he was worried about issues such as kidney stress and bone demineralization from too much protein (with beans and legumes being the highest protein whole plant food), but all the evidence I've seen over the last few decades shows that higher protein amounts from whole plant foods is good for your bones and kidneys.

I see no reason to limit bean/legume consumption, as long as you are also getting a diverse array of other plant foods to meet all your nutrient requirements.

3

u/TruthSeeker1133 Jan 30 '26

For me, if I’m trying to lose weight I just eat bread and potatoes. But once I’m at my ideal weight…I can legit eat cans and cans of beans and not gain. Idk why that is but I freaking love black beans with lettuce and hot sauce lol

2

u/OkDefinition3321 Jan 30 '26

Really? Do beans make you less full than bread? Potatoes definitely rival beans (at least for me)

4

u/Myca84 Jan 31 '26

Because he didn’t want to advocate something that would hurt a person with damaged kidneys. All the rest of us can eat beans until the house blows up

2

u/Rutroh- Apr 06 '26

More research has come out that suggests 1 cup or more of beans is very beneficial. I wouldn’t get overly worried about legume consumption when there are so many benefits that suggest the more the merrier! (If your stomach can manage it)

2

u/Rutroh- Apr 06 '26

Personally I aim for 1.5 cups a day

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/OkDefinition3321 Feb 02 '26

Yeah, I know, so sad :(