Beans, beans, they’re good for your stride

Beans, beans the musical fruit, the more you eat the more you – well, may become a healthier runner. Best known for their flatulence potential, beans are magnificently high in a lot of running must-haves, including protein, electrolytes and minerals. Many runners avoid beans because they fear becoming a bit too “regular” and don’t want to risk a bathroom emergency in the middle of a run, but it’s often just a case of getting your body used to the extra fibre.

Beans – kidney, chickpeas, roma, and so on – are bursting with blood-fortifying and bone-strengthening nutrients such as folate, iron and magnesium. One half-cup serving of beans gives you a third of your daily folic acid needs. Folic acid not only helps prevent heart disease and cancer, but it also builds red blood cells to carry oxygen to your muscles.

Working muscles also need protein, and beans are an excellent source. Although beans are low in the amino acid methionine, you can make up for that by eating whole-grain bread and pastas, which are high in this essential protein building block. As long as your diet includes foods from every food group and you stick to whole grains, your muscles won’t wither if beans are your only source of protein. With one serving of beans carrying five to 10 grams of protein, it’s easy to see why vegetarians keep them as a staple of their diet.

Beans also pump iron. In your red blood cells, iron carries the oxygen molecule to contracting muscles, where energy is burned, helping you propel your legs through the next kilometre. The iron in beans is of the non-heme variety, meaning it must be converted to heme iron to be efficiently absorbed. To do this, combine beans with heme-converting citrus fruits or tomatoes. Chase your chili with a glass of orange juice, put tomato slices on your hummus sandwich or sprinkle lemon juice and olive oil dressing on your black bean salad.

Even with folate, iron and protein, you wouldn’t cover that kilometre at top speed without magnesium, which is an integral component of bones and contracting muscles. For runners suffering from crippling cramps, increasing magnesium intake is often a saviour. Each serving of beans contains a quarter of your daily magnesium needs, making them one of the best sources of magnesium you can eat.

Beans are also packed with the electrolyte potassium, which is also a factor in cramping. While potassium is found in a wide variety of plant foods, a serving of beans gives you roughly 300 mg. Considering that high-mileage runners need at least 4,700 milligrams per day, beans play a crucial role in power-packed nutrition.

Full of intestine-cleansing insoluble fibre and cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre, one cup of beans has a third of the fibre you need in a day – about eight grams. Beans will help you maintain weight, ward off chronic disease, and yes, keep your bowels consistent. If you skip the musical fruit because of its toot potential, consider that as you eat beans more frequently, the bacteria in your gut adapts to new levels of fibre. After a couple of weeks, the bugs are busy enough to break down your bean burger without room-clearing effects. So let’s cue the music – the more beans you eat, the better you’ll run.

Bean and Fennel Salad with Raspberry-Orange Dressing

In a large bowl, combine white pea beans, fennel, snow peas, red pepper, apricots and cranberries; set aside. In a one-cup measure, combine vinegar, orange juice, honey, oil and garlic; mix well. Pour dressing over beans and vegetables; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or until ready to serve.

Serves 6

For the White Bean Fiesta Salad recipe, please visit our recipe archive.

Recipes reprinted with the permission of the Ontario Bean Producers’ Marketing Board. For more information, visit: www.ontariobeans.on.ca.