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  1. Health and Nutrition News

  2. Apr 8, 2014

Beans Benefit Heart Health

Adding just half a cup of beans a day to the diet can significantly reduce LDL (or "bad") cholesterol levels, according to a new meta-analysis published by the Canadian Medical Association.
Researchers analyzed data from 26 randomized control trials, which included 1,037 participants, and found that LDL cholesterol dropped an average of 5 percent after consuming half a cup of beans per day over an average of six weeks. They go on to suggest that adding beans to the diet can be a simple way to benefit heart health.

References

  1. Ha V, Sievenpiper JL, de Souza RJ, et al.  Effect of dietary pulse intake on established therapeutic lipid targets for cardiovascular risk reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. CMAJ. Published ahead of print April 7, 2014.

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