There are many varieties of beans that we may or may not know. I will ask you a question then, have you stumbled upon a lima bean? Do you know it? If yes, how lucky are you to be able to eat this bean and gets what it offers? But if the answer of yours is no, you still considered being lucky because we will discuss the health benefits of lima beans in this article. To add another bean to our knowledge, let us continue to read this article below.
Wait, What?
The lima bean which has the scientific name Phaseolus lunatus that is also commonly known as butter bean, Madagascar bean, and sieve bean. This is legume that is in culitivation because of its edible beans or seeds.
This bean is often to be associated with succotash which is a Native American dish where it is combined with corn. Because of that, many think that this bean is native to the United States. But one of the places proposed to be the origin of this bean is the “Lima”. This is the capital of Peru, in which the name of it is reflected from. Spanish explorers, who noticed the different varieties of this bean in the Central, South America and Caribbean, introduced the beans to Europe and Asia. The Portuguese explorers are the one who introduced this beans to Africa. This beans can withstand the humid tropical weather so they become a crop that is important in the areas of Asia and Africa. The beans were introduced during the 19th century to the United States and California is where the majority of the domestic commercial production.
Even though their many varieties of this bean, Fordhook which is commonly known as baby lima bean is the most popular one in the United States. The pod of the bean is slightly curved, oblong and flat that is about 3 inches in length. There are 2 to 4 flat kidney-shaped seed that is generally popular as the lima beans that resides within the pod. The color of the seeds is generally cream and green but there are more varieties now like the colors white, purple, brown, red and black. The beans have the potato-like, starchy taste with a slightly buttery texture.
Nutritional Value
This vegetable contains a very low amount of Saturated Fats, Sodium, and Cholesterol. This is a good source of Protein, Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Dietary Fiber, Manganese, and Folate.
We listed the nutrients that this bean will give us. Below is the table of the nutritional value of one cup (178 g) of this bean.
| Principle | Nutrient Value | % of the Recommended Dietary Allowance |
| Calories | 602 | 30% |
| Carbohydrates | 113 grams | 38% |
| Dietary Fiber | 33.8 grams | 135% |
| Total Fat | 1.2 grams | 2% |
| Proteins | 38.2 grams | 76% |
| Vitamin E | 1.3 milligrams | 6% |
| Vitamin K | 10.7 micrograms | 13% |
| Thiamin | 0.9 milligrams | 60% |
| Riboflavin | 0.4 milligrams | 21% |
| Niacin | 2.7 milligrams | 14% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.9 milligrams | 46% |
| Folate | 703 micrograms | 176% |
| Calcium | 144 milligrams | 14% |
| Iron | 13.4 milligrams | 74% |
| Magnesium | 399 milligrams | 100% |
| Phosphorus | 685 milligrams | 69% |
| Potassium | 3096 milligrams | 88% |
| Sodium | 32 milligrams | 1% |
| Zinc | 5 milligrams | 34% |
| Copper | 1.3 milligrams | 66% |
| Manganese | 3.0 milligrams | 149% |
Health Benefits of Lima Beans
Because of the many vitamins and minerals that we can get from this bean, we surely will get also a number of health benefits. We list the major health benefits of lima beans we can get from this bean below.
- Helps in improving the heart health. This bean has an amount of magnesium that is efficient in decreasing the strain in the heart. This is by relaxing the blood vessels and to improve the flow of the blood in the body. Because of that, it prevents the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
- Helps in preventing cancer. This bean contains what they called isoflavone. Isoflavin is a widely popular compound that is effective to lower the risk of having diseases like breast cancer. This is one of the best health benefits of lima beans.
- Supply the energy. This bean contains a large amount of protein which will be stored in the body as a volatile. This will gradually be transferred to an accessible energy that is used in the normal activities.
- Gives benefits to the digestive This bean contains fiber which is effective to prevent the digestive tract to have any associated diseases like constipation. Fiber aids to maintain the existence of the healthy bacteria while preventing the bad bacteria. The healthy bacteria boost the immune system. As well as protecting the intestinal tract from the irritable bowel syndrome that might lead to colon cancer.
- Helps in overcoming the sulfite sensitivity. Many are sensitive to the sulfite which is a common preservative in the food. Wines, salad bars, dried fruit and also some vegetable contains this preservative that causes people who are sensitive to this a headache, disorientation or rapid heartbeat few minutes after eating it. These beans contain molybdenum which is responsible for detoxifying the sulfite.
Conclusion
We really can say that there are many foods whether it is a fruit or vegetable that we can’t list. There are many varieties of the beans that we might have eaten already or we might eat in the future. Lima beans is very popular to many people not only because of what it taste like. But also because of what it gives. So why not try one right now?
