It’s True! Beans Really ARE Good for Your Heart
Abstract & Commentary
Synopsis: There is a significant inverse relationship between eating legumes and the risk of coronary heart disease.
Source: Bazzano LA, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:2573-2578.
This was a 19-year prospective study of 9632 people. At baseline (1971-1975), subjects were 25-74 years old and free of cardiovascular disease. Legume consumption was assessed by 3-month food diaries. People were asked how often they ate "dry beans and peas like pinto beans, red beans, black-eye peas, peanuts, and peanut butter." Data about lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors including smoking, age, gender, diabetes, activity level, education, alcohol use, and total energy intake were collected and controlled for. Cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease (CHD) data were collected from nursing home and hospital records and from death certificates.
Some interesting facts about legume eaters emerged: people with high bean intake tended to be younger, male, more physically active, less overweight, and less educated than people with low bean intake. High bean eaters were also more likely to smoke and to eat more saturated fat, but tended to have lower cholesterol levels, less hypertension, and lower rates of diabetes than their bean-eschewing counterparts.
Controlling for all these risk factors, frequency of bean consumption was significantly and inversely related to the risk of CHD (P = 0.002). People who ate beans at least 4 times a week had a 22% lower risk of CHD compared with those who ate beans less than once a week. There was also a significant inverse relationship between eating beans and cardiovascular disease; eating beans 4 times a week lowered this risk by 11%. The protective effect of bean eating was more important in those older than 60 than in those younger than 60 at baseline.
Comment by Barbara A. Phillips, MD, MSPH
Talk about bean counting! The NHANES study is an important, ambitious project, which tells us a lot about the lifestyle and health of Americans.1 Because of the wealth of data collected at baseline and the long follow-up, products of this study are worth serious consideration. It also includes both men and women, which many previous studies of cardiovascular disease failed to do.
Since CHD is the No. 1 killer of Americans, interventions that reduce its risk are noteworthy. What I found interesting about bean eating is that it seems to be something that people who may not have sterling health habits to begin with (smokers, those with less education, higher unsaturated fat consumers) seem to be likely to do. Further, beans are inexpensive and quite filling.
Bazzano and colleagues speculate that increased fiber,2,3 soybean protein,4 folate,5 or some other component of beans may contribute to their protective effect. For now, maybe we just need to encourage folks to remember that beans are "The magical fruit."
References
1. Engel A, Murphy RS, Maurer K, Collins E. Plan and operation of the NHANES I Augmentation Survey of Adults 25-74 Years: United States, 1974-1975. Hyattsville, Md: National Center for Health Statistics; 1978. Data from Vital and Health Statistics, No. 1(14).
2. Anderson JW, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;70: 464S-474S.
3. Van Horn L. Circulation. 1997;95:2701-2704.
4. Anderson JW, et al. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:276-282.
5. Stampfer MJ, et al. JAMA. 1992;268:877-881.
Dr. Phillips, Professor of Medicine, University of Kentucky; Director, Sleep Disorders Center, Samaritan Hospital, Lexington, KY, is Associate Editor of Internal Medicine Alert.
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