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Beaneficial Recipes
Beans are a wonderful source of protein and we are just now starting to understand the health benefits or should we say beanefits in relation to chronic disease prevention. We have received a number of requests for bean recipes. The Crops For Health team is proud to release Beanefical Recipes, a collection of over 50 bean recipes. Enjoy!
Bean Cuisine by Chelsea Didinger
Plants that provide foods consumed by human beings arose at different times during evolution. This relational tree shows the relationships that exist among commonly eaten foods. Foods on the same branches of the tree share more similarities, genetically and chemically than foods that are further separated on the tree. The relationships shown are based on Linnean classification and were determined based on information available from the tree of life web project (http://tolweb.org/tree/). Only angiosperms are shown (does not include gymnosperms, seedless vascular and seedless non-vascular with the exception of pinaceae).
Variety and moderation are necessary for achieving dietary diversity – the foundation of a nutritious, well-balanced diet that may promote health and prevent disease. However, an evidence-based consensus does not exist regarding food combinations that reduce chronic disease risk. In an effort to better deal with this impasse, we recommend the guidelines promoting plant food-rich diets provide more detail about achieving variety and moderation. A rationale is presented for using botanical families as a tool to systematically increase the phytochemical diversity of the diet. Acknowledging the rapidly changing cultural norms with respect to foods, including the impact of the global market place and advances in food science and technology, the method proposed here uses the botanical family concept to design patterns of food consumption that capitalize on the richness of potentially beneficial chemicals in widely available plant-based foods.
Commentaries from around the world
Pulses: Dietitian Toolkit
Educational resources, recipes and more.
A recent study published by Colorado State University professor, Henry J. Thompson et al, showed that bean consumption...
Posted by Crops For Health at Colorado State University on Monday, September 11, 2017
2016 International Year of Pulses: Bean There, Done That!
Highlights of the International Year of Pulses.
Pulses: Nutritious seeds for a sustainable future
Information on pulses in an easily digestible format plus 30 pulse recipes.
International Year of Pulses Ends
The International Year of Pulses (IYP) has officially ended, but the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) vows to keep the momentum going.
Popularity of Pulse Crops Posied to Grow
Farmers are beginning to see the benefit of adding pulses to crops rotations.
Want Great Longevity and Health? It Takes a Village
WSJ article – “The cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world was the humble bean”.
Your Contribution to the California Drought
NY Times article comparing water requirements of various foods. Beans have one of the lowest water requirements. Yet another reason to eat beans!
January 18th #GlobalPulseDay
2016 Bean Field Day
The Other Inconvenient Truth
Not only can you eat beans, but now you can drink them them too. A new company has brought to market bean milk (navy beans and water) drinks in a variety of flavors. These drinks are currently being marketed in select Whole Foods Market locations on the west coast. To view the nutritional information, click on the image to expand.
Previous Breeding Beans to Fight Breast Cancer: An Interview with Dr. Henry Thompson and Mark Brick
IFT interviews Colorado State Univeristy breast cancer researcher, Dr. Henry Thompson and plant breeder, Dr. Mark Brick regaring their collaborative research on beans and cancer prevention.
30 Heat-Tolerant Beans Identified, Poised to Endure Warming World
Recent climate change models estimate that warmer temperatures could decrease the global growing area for beans as much as 50% by 2050. CIAT looked at more than 1000 varieties of beans and found 30 that thrive in warmer temperatures.
Developing Beans that can Beat the Heat
Famers see growth potential for ‘functional’ vegetables
Researchers from the agricultural department at Tamagawa University in Japan are using LED technology to produce “functional” (enhanced nutrition) vegetables. Exposure to different LED lighting conditions can alter both the nutritional value and taste of vegetables. In addition, the plants grow faster, thus enabling harvest in as little as two weeks.
World Interest in Nutrition Builds Momentum for International Year of Pulses (IYOP)
Cancer Researcher, Dr. Henry Thompson on pulses. “Food has very powerful effects on our health. I think we’ve lost sight of that. If you look at the American plate today, pulse crops have pretty much disappeared, and that’s not okay.” He sums up by saying, “My mission is to get people to focus on the importance of food and to get agriculture to produce the best foods that can possibly be put on the table.”
The Cancer Prevention Properties of Beans
CSA News Magazine article – Dr. Henry Thompson and Dr. Mark Brick discuss the
health benefits and cancer prevention properties of dry beans.
Crops For Health: A Vision for Agriculture as An Instrument of Public Health Can It Save Your Life?
“Ancient solutions could help in fight against cancer”
Henry’s Top 10 List (eat healthy/live healthy)
Crops For Health® is a unique transdisciplinary research program the goal of which is to improve the disease prevention characteristics of food crops, thereby reducing chronic disease morbidity and mortality. The focus of the program is on the major staple crops of the world’s population: dry beans, corn, potatoes, rice, and wheat. Specialty crops are also investigated.