Green Beans, Better Than You Remember?

A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Waistline

Photo by Ben Ashby on Unsplash

Do you remember being a kid and dreading when it was green beans for dinner? Often using the canned version, they were mushy and maybe had a strange flavor because of the liquid in the can? Yep! That was probably enough to ruin green beans for you but maybe they’re worth another look.

Green beans are packed with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. What’s more, they can be super delicious too! When we look at the nutritional value, a cup of green beans has about 32 calories, 2g of protein, no fat, 6g of carbs, along with 2g of fiber and 2g of sugar. We get about 12mg of vitamin C, which is good for our immune health and produces collagen for protecting our skin from oxidative stress especially in the summer. In a cup of raw green beans we get 690IU (international units) of vitamin A, which supports immune health, skin health, vision, and even our reproductive health. These are the big ones, and in addition, we also get a bit of vitamin K, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin E. As for the minerals, we get 37mg of calcium, 1mg of iron, 25mg of magnesium, 38mg of phosphorus, 211mg of potassium and a quarter of a milligram of zinc. Bottom line, green beans offer both macronutrients and micronutrients that support our health.