What are navy beans used for are they good for cholesterol?

Question

apparently if you eat one navy bean a day it is good for cholesterol

Answer 1

You sure it's not just one serving?  1 bean is really small - like 1/2 the size of your pinky's fingernail.

Navy beans are good when made as a soup, or they can be used to make (Boston) Baked Beans.

Answer 2

Navy beans are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other beans. In addition to lowering cholesterol, navy beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. When combined with whole grains such as brown rice, navy beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. But this is far from all navy beans have to offer. Navy beans are a very good source of folate and manganese and a good source of protein and vitamin B1 as well as the minerals phosphorous, copper, magnesium and iron.

A Fiber All Star

Check a chart of the fiber content in foods and you'll see legumes leading the pack. Navy beans, like other beans, are rich in dietary fiber. A cup of cooked navy beans provides 46.6% of the recommended daily intake for fiber. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract that combines with bile (which contains cholesterol) and ferries it out of the body. Research studies have shown that insoluble fiber not only helps to increase stool bulk and prevent constipation, but also helps prevent digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname...

Answer 3

Navy beans can be substituted for any recipe requiring beans, such as soup, chili, hummus, etc.  

Here is an article regarding benefits of beans:

Eating Beans Helps Lower Cholesterol

By Rosalie Marion Bliss

November 28, 2007

Consuming as little as one-half cup of cooked dry beans every day helped volunteers lower their total cholesterol levels in an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study in North Dakota. These results, published in the November issue of the Journal of Nutrition by the ARS scientists and their colleagues, add to a growing—and convincing—body of evidence that beans are a heart healthy food choice.

The lead authors, chemist Philip Reeves and nutritionist John Finley (no longer with ARS), conducted the study at the agency's Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.

Experts consider a lipid profile, which provides a complete cholesterol count based on blood tests, to be a valid biomarker for the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because cardiovascular disease is a lifestyle-related disease, interventions that improve cholesterol profiles are considered beneficial to health. Positive changes in physical activity and diet may result in substantial improvements.

The researchers tested 80 volunteers aged 18 to 55 years. Half were healthy, while half had at least two symptoms that lead to metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that signal a risk for cardiovascular disease. Those with "pre-metabolic-syndrome" had abdominal obesity and either high triglyceride levels, low HDL "good" cholesterol, high blood sugar, or high blood pressure.

For 12 weeks, half of the group was randomly selected to eat one-half cup of cooked dry pinto beans daily along with their regular daily diet. The others ate a replacement serving of chicken soup instead of the pinto beans. The findings show that, compared to measures taken prior to the 12-week test phase, all the volunteers—the healthy ones as well as those with symptoms—who ate pinto beans saw a reduction in their cholesterol levels.

Answer 4

I think it would be one serving a day, not one bean.

It makes great soup..