Beans on toast might help you lose weight (yes, really!)

Bean toast can do wonders for your waistline, study suggests.

People who lost weight on a diet containing 40 g of resistant starch daily lost about 6 pounds in eight weeks.

Some Chinese researchers found that some were shredded even further.

Resistant starch is abundant in oats, green bananas, and beans, including those canned by Heinz.

It’s also found in whole grains, which means roasted beans (as long as they’re served with whole wheat bread) could be an easy weight-loss trick.

The study itself, conducted by academics at the Shanghai Diabetes Clinical Center, did not look at beans or toast.

Instead, 37 overweight volunteers were given three ready-to-eat meals every day for 16 weeks in total.

Participants were also asked to consume powdered starch mixed with 300 ml of water twice a day.

In the first part of the study, it contained 40 g of resistant corn starch. While the second branch was given to the volunteers a less beneficial type.

Results published in the magazine. nature metabolism revealed “no significant change” in the weight of the standard starch group, in contrast to those who consumed resistant starch and lost weight.

The researchers concluded: ‘We show that resistant starch can facilitate weight loss.

“The benefits are associated with changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota.”

Unlike normal starch, which is easily digested in the small intestine, resistant starch survives this process.

Instead, it passes directly into the large intestine, where it ferments and provides fuel for the billions of insects that live inside, essentially feeding the bacteria instead of the person.

Chinese researchers theorize that this reaction is behind the weight loss results.

Studies have long shown that resistant starch can make people feel fuller, as can fiber.

The amount of resistant starch in foods varies depending on how it is made, prepared, and cooked, as well as whether it is reheated.

Legumes are one of the “best sources” of resistant starch, according to a Harvard dietitian. Even when cooked, they still contain something.

Other sources of resistant starch include whole wheat bread, beets, hazelnuts, and artichokes.

Award-winning nutritionist Rob Hobson, author of Unprocess Your Life, said beans could, in theory, help people lose weight.

However, spreading the toast with butter would “nullify any effect.”

He told MailOnline: ‘Of course, much of this won’t happen from eating one serving.

“But if you ate it every day, it might have an impact, depending on what the rest of your diet was like.”

Hobson added: “You can include resistant starches in your diet by eating foods such as beans, lentils, starchy vegetables and seeds.”

The Chinese researchers who published the recent study acknowledged that one limitation was the small number of participants, which could limit the impact of the results on the general population.

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?

Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains, according to the NHS.

• Eat at least 5 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried, and canned fruits and vegetables count

• Base meals are based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains.

• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is equivalent to eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole grain crackers, 2 thick slices of whole wheat bread, and one large baked potato with skin.

• Eat some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks) by choosing low-fat, low-sugar options.

• Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 servings of fish each week, one of which should be fatty).

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small quantities

• Drink 6 to 8 cups/glasses of water a day

• Adults should consume less than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fat for women or 30 g for men per day.

Fountain: NHS Eatwell Guide