Beans means ... losing weight, according to researchers investigating the slimming potential of pulses.
A daily 130g serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can help you stay trim without making any other dietary changes, new findings have shown.
Scientists analysed the results of 21 clinical trials involving 940 men and women.
They found that adding a single serving of pulses to the diet led participants to lose an average 0.34kg over six weeks.
"Though the weight loss was small, our findings suggest that simply including pulses in your diet may help you lose weight, and we think, more importantly, prevent you from gaining it back after you lose it," lead researcher Dr Russell de Souza, from St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said.
Previous work by scientists at the hospital had shown that meals containing pulses increased the feeling of "fullness" by 31 per cent.
Pulses are also said to be good for the heart, since they significantly reduce levels of "bad" cholesterol.
Beans, lentils and similar foods have a low glycaemic index, which means they are digested slowly and do not cause potentially harmful "spikes" of the hormone insulin.
Sharp surges of insulin, caused by high glycaemic sugary foods, are linked to diabetes and weight gain. High glycaemic foods include white rice, white bread, and refined breakfast cereal.
The research was published in The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition.
