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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Adrienne Matei

Beans, beans, the magical fruit: how healthy are they really?

Illustration of six different, pretty beans on a green background.
‘Thanks to enormous diversity, more than 400 varieties are used in culinary contexts, some of which are gorgeous to boot.’ Illustration: Olivia Heller/The Guardian

Beans are affordable, accessible and versatile – delicious in dense salads and creamy sauces alike.

They grow worldwide and are good for the planet, enriching the soil they sprout from with nitrogen while emitting fewer greenhouse gases and requiring significantly less land and water per gram of protein than any animal source. Thanks to enormous diversity, more than 400 varieties are used in culinary contexts, some of which are gorgeous to boot.

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