Beans and Peas.

Bristol Diabetes . Access . Diet
All the beans and peas shown on this page are high in fibre and low in fat. Like fruit they are recommended sources of carbohydrate for most people, diabetic or not.

Peter

Flatulence, Wind or Gas

... and how to reduce it.

  1. Build up how much beans and other high fibre foods you eat gradually.
  2. Drink plenty of water or fluids.
  3. Rinse canned beans or peas in fresh water. This also reduces any added sugar and salt.
  4. After soaking dried beans or peas use fresh water to cook with.
  5. Not all beans are the same! Black eyed beans may affect you less than most.

Added Sugar & Salt.

Canned beans and peas often have added sugar and salt. Rinse the non sauce products off to reduce this.

Sugar even at the highest level of 6% shown in the tables below is usually not a problem.

Salt or Sodium may be a problem on canned produce. Fresh is better but canned much more convenient!

In the tables below, only one product baked beans was just in the high sodium (above 0.4%) range.

External Links
Beans and PeasSugar Absorption Rate Notes
Canned Baked Beans.
Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce		Medium Baked Beans in tomato sauce despite the added sugar a recommended source of carbohydrate. Not too high in carbohydrate or calories either.
Black Eyed BeansSlow Very high in fibre and perhaps causing less wind than some other beans.
Broad (or Fava) Beans Quick The only high rated bean I have found, with so much other choice try the other beans and avoid this one.
Butter Beans Slow  
Chick Peas Slow  
Green Beans
Green Beans		 Slow Small beans in the pod, they are much lower in carbohydrate than shelled peas and beans.
Haricot (or Navy) Beans Slow  
Kidney Beans Slow I recently had some where you don't need to remove the strings on the edges. More expensive though.

Thinking about this its less waste too, so maybe worth while.

Lentils Slow  
Peas
Peas		 Slow to Medium Most types of Pea are low rated but green peas are medium rated.
Peas in pods
Peas in the Pod		 Slow Young peas or Mange Tout.
Soya Beans
Soya Beans		 Very Slow Relatively high in polyunsaturated fat and calories. Included in many processed foods.

Sweet Corn		 Medium Botanically a grain and not a Bean or Pea but it seems to fit in on this page too.

Canned Beans & Peas: Typical Food Group, Fibre & Sodium Content

These are normal products all from Asda (Walmart) not products with reduced salt or sugar. Percentages are based on drained weights apart from beans in sauce and are from the product labels.

Taken between Jan and April 2005.

NameCalories in 100g (3½oz)Protein Carbohydrate
(sugars)		    Total Fat
(Saturated)		 Fibre
*		 Sodium
**
Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce692.5% 14.0%
(6.0%)		 0.2%
(0.1%)		 3.7% 0.5%
Black Eyed Beans1149.0% 18.0%
(1.0%)		 0.7%
(0.2%)		 7.0% 0.3%
Borlotti Beans1138.0% 19.0%
(2.0%)		 0.5%
(Trace)		 7.0% 0.3%
Broad Beans828.0% 11.0%
(0.6%)		 0.7%
(0.1%)		 5.0% 0.4%
Butter Beans846.0% 14.0%
(1.1%)		 0.4%
(0.1%)		 4.6% 0.4%
Chick Peas1107.0% 14.0%
(0.4%)		 2.9%
(0.3%)		 4.1% 0.2%
Chilli Beans (Red Kidney) in Sauce1144.8% 14.0%
(4.9%)		 0.5%
(0.1%)		 3.7% 0.3%
Flageolet Beans1136.0% 13.0%
(1.6%)		 0.4%
(0.1%)		 4.3% 0.4%
Green Beans241.5% 3.8%
(0.1%)		 0.3%
(0.1%)		 2.6% 0.3%
Lentils (Green)726.0% 11.0%
(0.9%)		 0.4%
(Trace)		 6.0% 0.4%
Peas (green)604.0% 11.0%
(1.9%)		 Trace
(Trace)		 5.0% 0.2%
Pinto Beans857.0% 13.0%
(2.6%)		 0.5%
(0.1%)		 8.0% 0.3%
Sweet Corn883.2% 17.0%
(6.0%)		 0.8%
(Nil)		 3.7% 0.1%
NameCalories in 100g (3½oz)Protein Carbohydrate
(sugars)		    Total Fat
(Saturated)		 Fibre
*		 Sodium
**

 * In the UK fibre is not included in with the carbohydrate figures.
** Multiple the Sodium value by 2.5 to get the Salt equivalent.