Green beans on a keto diet
Green beans are a low-calorie, nutritious vegetable that can be a part of your healthy diet. One cup of green beans contains almost 7 grams of carbohydrates so they can easily fit into a daily allowance of fewer than 50 grams in a keto diet.
Green beans are a low-calorie, nutritious vegetable that can be a part of your healthy diet. However, if you're on a low-carb diet, you may wonder if you can still enjoy green beans as part of your diet. The good news is green beans are also low-carb, so they can be incorporated into a keto-friendly diet.
A strict keto diet limits carbs to less than 50 grams daily. A keto-friendly diet may include a full 50 net grams of carbs per day or more. Net carbs are the carbs left after subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from the total number of carbs.
One cup of green beans contains almost 7 grams of carbohydrates and 2.7 grams of fiber, for a total of 4.3 grams of net carbs. With so few net carbs, green beans can easily fit into a daily allowance of fewer than 50 grams.
Types of green beans
Green beans are also called snap beans or string beans. The part that you eat is the pod containing the immature seeds. Although they're called green beans, these pods can be green, purple, or yellow. Green beans with yellow pods are called wax beans. Green beans can be rounded or flat.
Green beans can grow on bushes or vines. The vines are either pole beans or half-runners. Half-runners are shorter than pole beans. Bush beans produce all of their beans in one to three weeks, while pole beans have pods continuously throughout the growing season.
Regardless of which type of green bean you choose, they're all low in carbs and calories and high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Green beans are technically members of the bean and legume food group, but their edible pods make them lighter in carbs and calories. They contain many of the same nutritional benefits as other true vegetables.
Carbs in green beans
Although keto and low-carb diets limit the carbs you can eat, not all carbs are bad for you. There are three different types of carbs:
- Sugar
- Fiber
- Starch
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, while starches and fiber are complex carbohydrates. Sugar breaks down quickly in your body, which causes your blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly. Starches digest much more slowly, and fiber doesn't break down, which helps your body maintain steady blood sugar levels. The carbohydrates in green beans provide many health benefits.
Nutritional benefits of green beans in a low-carb diet
Low-carb diets can often be low in healthy, fiber-rich foods. Green beans provide many nutrients without being high in carbs, including:
Fiber
Fiber passes through your body undigested, but that doesn't mean you don't get any benefits from it. Fiber makes you feel fuller for longer and reduces your hunger, a benefit when trying to control your weight. Eating fiber helps maintain the healthy bacteria in your gut and may have an anti-inflammatory effect. Eating a diet high in fiber is associated with a lower risk of conditions such as:
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Colorectal cancer
- Breast cancer
- Constipation
- Diverticular disease
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body make certain proteins. These proteins assist with blood clotting and building your bones. Your brain, liver, heart, pancreas, and bones all contain vitamin K. Vitamin K may also help prevent your heart arteries from hardening, which can contribute to heart disease.
Folate
Folate is vitamin B9. Your body uses it to produce red blood cells during rapid growth, such as pregnancy. It also helps break down hom*ocysteine, an amino acid that can cause harm in high amounts. Folate plays a role in forming DNA and RNA in your body's cells.
Antioxidants
Green beans are high in carotenoids, a type of antioxidant generally associated with plants' red, orange, and yellow color. Because they have so much chlorophyll, the orange color typically associated with carotenoids isn't visible in green beans. Carotenoids are absorbed by the macula, a part of your eye, where it helps maintain your vision.
Diets high in carotenoids have been associated with reduced risks of heart disease and some types of cancers, although carotenoid supplements haven't had the same effect.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is important in preventing infections and healing wounds. It's also used to make collagen, a protein used in many of your body's systems, including:
- The nervous system
- The immune system
- Bones
- Cartilage
- Blood
Vitamin C helps make some hormones and chemicals your brain and nerves need. It's an antioxidant that plays a role in preventing damage to your cells. Your body can't store vitamin C, so you must consume it daily.
Manganese
Manganese is a trace mineral, which means you only need it in small amounts. You need manganese for normal brain and nerve function. It also helps your body metabolize fat and carbohydrate, absorb calcium, and regulate blood sugar. It's an important part of an antioxidant called superoxide dismutase (SOD).
If you don't have enough manganese in your body, you may develop:
- Infertility
- Malformed bones
- Seizures
- Weakness
Including green beans in a keto-friendly diet
To preserve the most nutrients in your green beans and maximize flavor, you should quick-steam them. This method follows three guidelines for maintaining nutrients in vegetables:
- Expose them to a minimum amount of heat
- Don't cook them any longer than necessary
- Expose them to as little liquid as possible
Use a steamer pot filled with two inches of water to quick-steam your green beans. Cook them whole to make sure they cook evenly. After seven minutes, pierce them with a fork to check for doneness. You can toss them with a healthy dressing and serve. Make sure the dressing you use doesn't contain excessive sugar or carbs that aren't compatible with your low-carb diet.
You can also saute green beans for a healthy side dish. You can sautee them with mushrooms or sprinkle them with slivered almonds to make green beans almondine.
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Medically Reviewed on 11/9/2022
References
SOURCES:
FoodData Central: "Beans, snap, green, raw."
Mayo Clinic: "How to make the keto diet healthy."
Mount Sinai: "Manganese."
The Nutrition Source: "Fiber," "Folate," "Vitamin C," "Vitamin K."
Oregon State University: "Carotenoids."
WHFoods.org: "Green beans."
