A lowly vegetable typically associated with flatulence has hit the big time. No longer will beans be infamous only for their fiber content — as in the children’s song “Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot” — they’ll also be known for their role as a major source of protein.
Beans and their legume cousins, peas and lentils, entered the nutritional spotlight when the 2025 US Dietary Advisory Committee released scientific guidance that could shape federal nutrition advice for the next five years. The committee found that when one animal source of saturated fat was swapped for another animal source with less saturated fat, there was little benefit to health, but when one animal source was swapped for beans, peas, and lentils or grains and veggies, there was a much greater benefit to health.
The advisory committee recommended that the protein section of MyPlate, the government’s food guide on how to eat a healthy diet, start with beans, peas, and lentils. They also suggested that meat, including lean meat, be moved to the end of the protein list. Members of the panel believe that legumes have a unique nutritional profile, with no fiber in meat, but a lot of fiber in legumes, leading to a greater benefit to health.
In addition to their nutritional benefits, legumes are also good for the planet, with fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less land use required to produce them compared to meat. Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine, notes that if most Americans were to swap out beef for beans in their diets, it would achieve nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emission reduction pledged by the Paris Agreement.
The advisory committee also recommended cutting back on red and processed meats, salt, saturated fat, sugar-sweetened foods and drinks, and refined grains, and increasing consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fish and other seafood, and plant-based foods. Dr. Marion Nestle, a molecular biologist and nutrition scientist, notes that the committee’s recommendation is to “eat more plants, balance calories, and don’t eat too much sodium, sugar, and saturated fat.”
