Updated

Updated · Tasting Table · Aug 8

Dietitian Angel Luk Recommends Soybeans, Says Canned Beans Need Less Sodium and a Rinse

Updated

Updated · Tasting Table · Aug 8

Dietitian Angel Luk Recommends Soybeans, Says Canned Beans Need Less Sodium and a Rinse

Q: Are you unknowingly washing away vital nutrients when you rinse canned beans to lower your daily sodium intake?

No. Rinsing canned beans to cut sodium does not wash away “vital” nutrition in any meaningful way. Most of the important nutrients in beans — protein, fiber, iron, folate, magnesium, and potassium — remain in the beans themselves, not in the canning liquid. Nutritionally, canned and dried beans are very similar overall. The biggest difference is usually sodium, which is added during processing. Rinsing canned beans is widely recommended because it can lower the sodium that clings to the beans and sits in the liquid. That makes it a practical step for people with high blood pressure or anyone trying to reduce salt without giving up convenience. Choosing low-sodium or no-salt-added canned beans strengthens that benefit. There can be some small loss of water-soluble compounds in the liquid, but for most people that tradeoff is minor compared with the sodium reduction. In some recipes, such as soups or bean stews, people may keep the liquid for texture or flavor, but that also keeps more sodium unless the product is no-salt-added. If sodium is not a concern, using the liquid is not necessarily harmful. But if the goal is heart health or blood pressure control, rinsing is a sensible move and does not make canned beans nutritionally poor. The practical takeaway from dietitians is simple: eat the beans in the form you will use consistently. If canned beans help you eat more legumes, rinsed low-sodium canned beans are still a highly nutritious choice.

1 articles · Updated · Tasting Table · Aug 8

Angel Luk said canned and dried beans are nutritionally very similar, with sodium the main drawback in canned versions because processing keeps them shelf-stable.
Rinsing canned beans and choosing lower-sodium options can cut that concern without forcing people into soaking dry beans, which Luk said can be too cumbersome for busy or inexperienced cooks.
Soybeans were Luk’s top pick because they provide a complete amino acid profile along with high iron, protein and fiber, and can be eaten in forms such as tofu and soy milk.
Soy protein also fits the Portfolio Eating Approach, which Luk said can reduce LDL cholesterol by as much as 30%, underscoring her focus on practical foods people will actually keep eating.

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Tasting Table75d ago

Dietitian Angel Luk Compares Canned and Dried Beans, Recommends Soybeans

Are you unknowingly washing away vital nutrients when you rinse canned beans to lower your daily sodium intake?

Does the hidden energy cost of boiling dried legumes secretly erase their massive price advantage over canned beans?

Why do so many people still fear the very bean that could naturally slash their cholesterol by 30 percent?

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1 total

Tasting Table75d ago

Dietitian Angel Luk Compares Canned and Dried Beans, Recommends Soybeans

Dietitian Angel Luk Recommends Soybeans, Says Canned Beans Need Less Sodium and a Rinse

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