Beans on toast may be ultra-processed but is still healthy (2024)

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Beans on toast may be ultra-processed but is still healthy? ›

Beans on toast can be part of a healthy balanced diet, say nutritionists. People worried about ultra-processed foods should not dismiss beans on toast as part of a healthy, balanced diet, nutritionists have said.

Individuals wanting to lose weight should start regularly eating beans on toast, academics have said. Researchers from the Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes have found that the resistant starch in Heinz baked beans and the wholegrains in brown bread are good for weight loss.

The consensus is that ultra-processed food is unhealthy. Diets high in ultra-processed foods have been linked with increased risk of heart disease, weight gain, cancer, and even mortality — but why? Processing changes the complex structure of nutrients in a food, which scientists call the food matrix.

It's also important to remember that not all ultra-processed foods are equal. When you do include ultra-processed foods in your diet, choose those with more nutritional benefit – wholegrain bread and cereals or baked beans for example, instead of crisps, sweets or pizzas.

For example, bread made from wheat flour, water, salt and yeast is a processed food. However, if emulsifiers, colourings or preservatives were added, the bread would be ultra-processed.

Scrambled eggs without butter and baked beans with reduced salt and sugar are also healthy cooked breakfast options. If you do go for the full English every once in a while as a treat, remember to make a few tweaks to your cooking methods to reduce the amount of saturated fat and salt on your plate.

Beans and toast is a breakfast tradition in the UK (it's both adored and loathed) that has stood the test of time. The story goes that in 1927 an executive at Heinz decided to create a national dish in order to sell more canned beans and an iconic dish was born.

One of the simplest ways to reduce your intake of processed foods is to start trading them for healthier whole foods. In particular, you can swap refined grains like white pasta, rice, bread, and tortillas for whole grain alternatives, such as brown rice and whole grain pasta, bread, and tortillas.

Are eggs ultra-processed? ›

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Think vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, meats, seafood, herbs, spices, garlic, eggs and milk. Make these real, whole foods the basis of your diet.

You could just crush up peanuts and get peanut butter that's minimally processed. You could add salt, sugar, and oil and get a processed version. Or some of the peanut butter you find at the store could contain preservatives or emulsifiers, and that makes it ultraprocessed.

It provides complete proteins, fibre, complex carbohydrates, and some vitamins and minerals, So, yes it's a healthy dinner. Also, cheep and easy to make. Adding grated cheese to the beans and having a glass of orange juice will make it more nutritious.

Additionally, remember to rinse any canned beans, as the liquids they're stored in are where most of the sodium content resides. Regardless of how they're prepared, beans are a great source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals like potassium, iron and magnesium. Simply put, they're a great addition to your diet.

BEANS on toast could help you lose weight, a study suggests. The playground rhyme says beans are good for your heart — and they could be good for your waistline too. People who ate 40g per day of resistant starch, found in beans, chickpeas and lentils, lost 3kg (7lbs) after eight weeks, Chinese researchers found.

The benefits: Beans are a good plant-based protein source and provide a solid dose of carbohydrates for fueling. “When we break down muscle during exercise, the protein we eat helps to build it back up so we come back stronger, leaner, and faster,” Smith says.