Red Kidney Beans & Weight Loss

Red kidney beans are extremely healthy. They contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals that are absolutely essential for the human body. They are also incredibly useful when it comes to weight loss and weight control. Red kidney beans can offer many advantages to the person who is trying to lose weight.

Low in Calories

Red beans are very low in calories. What calories they do have are dedicated mostly to vitamins and minerals. Red kidney beans are filled with dietary fiber, protein, and have 99 percent of vitamin B9, 14 percent of calcium, 64 percent of iron, 38 percent of magnesium and a minor amount of zinc. All of these vitamins and minerals are essential to your body's functioning. When your body is functioning properly, it will also digest food easier and have a higher metabolic rate. A properly functioning body is a body that will burn weight quicker.

High in Protein

Kidney beans are also incredibly high in protein. Protein helps the body function by providing you with a high source of energy. Protein can also be found in meat. However, unlike meat, kidney beans are low in fat. People who eat too much meat often end up gaining a lot of weight. However, you must eat an incredibly large amount of kidney beans before they begin making you gain weight the way that meat does. Substituting meat with kidney beans in a diet will help you lose weight quickly.

Rich in Fiber

Kidney beans are also an excellent source of fiber. Fiber is one of the most important aids in digestion. Fiber is a tough, and difficult to digest substance. Because of this toughness, it slows down digestion as the stomach and intestines take their time digesting the fiber. As a result, more vitamins and minerals will be absorbed from the food because it will be more fully digested than if there wasn't fiber. As a result of this, your body will have more of the important vitamins and minerals that it needs to run smoothly.

High Potassium

Kidney beans are loaded with potassium. Potassium is an important substance in the human body that helps regulate heart and kidney function, reduces blood pressure, and is essential in converting glucose into glycogen. Glycogen is the fuel for your muscles. When your muscles are properly functioning, they burn calories. Even at rest, muscles will burn calories. More potassium means that more glucose will be converted, which will give your muscles more energy to work. With this energy, it will be easier to exercise--also vital to losing weight.

Low Sodium

Red beans are low in sodium. Sodium is essentially salt and although sodium is an essential part of our body processes, too much sodium can be a problem and can lead to weight gain. Sodium retains water. Too much sodium will retain large amounts of water. This retained water will lead to weight gains as the body bloats out to accept this water. In fact, when people go on a diet, much of the initial weight they lose so quickly is water they have been retaining. Eating a diet that is filled with kidney beans can help lower sodium and lower your water retention.