A half cup of kidney beans contains 5 times more soluble fiber than a half cup of lentils.(REMEMBER: Soluble fiber is helpful for achieving a feeling of fullness more quickly, while insoluble fiber helps speed up the transit of food in the digestive system).
A half cup of kidney beans provides 5.7 grams of fiber, of which 2.9 grams are soluble.
That same amount of lentils, meanwhile, offers a total of 7.8 grams of fiber, of which 0.6 grams are soluble.
Don't cast lentils aside, though. A mere half cup of them packs 7.2 grams of insoluble fiber -- significantly higher than kidney beans' 2.8 grams.
Although both types of fiber are beneficial and part of a healthy diet, it's wise to become familiar with foods that are good sources of each one.
Therefore, if you're looking to fill yourself up more quickly with fewer calories, add kidney beans -- rather than lentils -- to salads, wraps, and chili recipes.
When you want to speed up movement in your digestive system, though, you are certainly better off with lentil-based dishes.
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2 comments:
My husband is not a big fan of kidney beans and even less so when it comes to lentils. I keep hiding them in all sorts of dishes and hope for the best :)
Thanks for this interesting investigation about kidney beans vs. lentils! I'm interested to know more about the differences between the two types of fiber. I am a 19 year old woman, and have read that I should get about 25-30 g of fiber a day. Should I then be getting about 10-15 g of soluble fiber, and 10-15 g of insoluble fiber? Is the ratio half and half?
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