Have you ever wanted to eat beans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Our bodies can do incredible things and may alert us about vitamin deficiencies by inducing weird food cravings.
Food cravings are normal. But, if you experience a sudden urge for one specific food that lasts for weeks, it may be time to pay attention to your body to see what it is trying to convey.
So, if you’re wondering why am I craving beans so bad, keep reading to learn about the possible causes of your bean cravings.
Here are a few messages your body may send you by making you crave beans.
Did you know that one tablespoon of beans contains approximately 42 calories (1)? If you desire beans, consider whether you’re on a restricted or low-carb diet.
People striving to live a healthier lifestyle or lose weight may crave beans as it is a way for their bodies to signal that they need more carbohydrates.
If you are on a strict nutrition plan, it is usually a good idea to give in to your cravings to provide your body with the appropriate amount of carbohydrates.
Yet, everything in excess harms your health, so consume just the recommended amount of beans.
According to the U.S. Dietary Guideline Recommendations, a weekly serving of three cups of legumes, such as kidney, cranberry, or black beans, is a substantial amount per person (2).
You will consume enough beans to achieve the weekly Dietary Recommendations if you consume roughly 12 cups of beans per day.
Bean cravings might also be a way for your body to indicate low blood sugar. Beans are in charge of supplying your body with necessary glucose since they include carbs that convert to sugar (3).
When you start to crave high-carb foods like beans, it may indicate that your body is attempting to make up for a shortage in sugar.
An additional sign of low blood sugar is fatigue, weakness, and lightheadedness (4). Get your blood sugar level examined if you have a history of low blood sugar and are experiencing a bean craving in addition to the symptoms mentioned above.
Beans are a favorite treat and comfort food for some individuals, who like to eat them while curled up on their couch after a long day at work.
If you fall into this group, it makes sense why you have such a strong appetite for beans; after all, your taste buds are just itching for another flavor.
But, if you’ve never liked beans and now are suddenly desiring them, you might want to check the cause of the sudden craving.
Throughout their menstrual cycles, women typically seek sweets and carbohydrates-rich foods.
You could even have strange food cravings before or during your period. Therefore, a hormonal change may cause a sudden desire to eat beans (5). So, if you crave beans around the time of your menstrual flow, try making fun recipes incorporating beans to keep your body and taste buds happy.
Beans are a great source of protein, nutrients, and vitamins that can keep you strong when your body sheds its uterine lining. Beans can also help women who experience heavy menstrual flows manage symptoms like fatigue and dizziness since they provide the extra energy our bodies require.
Your body may attempt to signal a protein deficiency by making you crave beans.
Protein is essential for our body to operate effectively and generate muscle. However, it is challenging to consume enough protein if one has an unhealthy and inactive life due to reasons like a desk job.
A male who leads an inactive lifestyle needs 56 grams of protein daily. In contrast, the daily requirement of protein for females is 46 grams.
Beans offer around 2.6 grams of protein per teaspoon. Hence, you can significantly enhance the amount of protein you get in your diet by eating a bowl of beans. Protein deficiency can result in severe conditions such as fatty liver, extreme weakness, and stunted development in children.
Therefore, it is crucial to maintain a well-balanced and healthy diet with foods rich in protein such as eggs, fish and dairy products, etc.
One of the causes of your bean cravings may be pregnancy, which induces strange food desires. The bodies of pregnant women require more protein than normal.
The primary reason behind this is that protein protects against low birth weights and is essential for the proper growth of the fetus throughout pregnancy.
Beans are an excellent protein source and offer essential minerals like folate, potassium, iron, and magnesium. So pregnant individuals should include beans like black beans, legumes, peanuts, and lentils in their diet, as they are all significant (6).
Also, beans have a more significant proportion of beneficial plant-based proteins than other meals. The body may start to desire them during pregnancy to fulfill the growing nutritional needs of both the mother and the unborn child.
You may notice that when you’re under stress, you start craving certain things you enjoy.
Your brain will do anything to reduce stress. One way it does that is by looking for a positive experience to minimize the stress. Some individuals’ brains may make them crave sweets, spicy snacks, or doughnuts.
On the other hand, others may crave beans.
This is due to the possibility that you have a pleasant memory or feelings that you link with beans. While you eat beans when you’re anxious, your brain attempts to make you feel better by promoting relaxation.
So, the next time you need beans after a stressful day, don’t second-guess yourself; indulge.
A absence of fiber in your diet may be the explanation for your bean cravings. Adults must consume at least 28 grams of fiber daily because it is an essential component of our bodies.
As per the findings of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the recommended daily fiber intake for children between the ages of one and eighteen is between 14 and 31 grams, depending on factors like sex and age (7).
Since beans are a great source of dietary fiber, your body may start to crave them intensely to ensure it gets enough fiber. With one cup of beans, you can get 15 grams of fiber.
Getting the required fiber is crucial to maintaining a healthy digestive tract. Additional health advantages of fiber include its ability to balance gut bacteria.
Lastly, a phosphorus deficiency may contribute to your intense cravings for beans (8). Phosphorus is crucial for maintaining the balance of other vitamins and ensuring our bones’ health. Phosphorous also helps build calcium to help create strong bones.
There are a few symptoms of phosphorous deficiencies that you may look out for.
One of the earliest symptoms is muscular injury and weakness. Additionally, individuals with a phosphorus deficiency may also experience feelings of confusion or have respiratory issues.
Beans have phosphorus in them. Your body can inform your brain that it needs phosphorus by making it crave beans.
So, check your phosphorus levels if you are craving more beans than usual and have some of the symptoms mentioned above. Normal phosphorus levels should be between 2.8 and 4.5 for adults (9).
Eating boiling beans might sometimes become boring, and our taste buds may want something new.
Several unique recipes and methods for incorporating beans into your daily diet exist. Here are a few tasty ways to include more beans into your diet:
So, the next time you wonder why am I craving beans so bad, consider the factors listed above. The suggestions for introducing beans into your diet mentioned in this text can help you stay fit and healthy and make better food choices.
Lastly, always listen to your body because you never know what it is trying to tell you. Doing so can help you catch issues like nutritional deficiencies and handle them before they cause severe damage.
Further reading: Craving tacos
Even though the fiber in beans usually works to move food through your intestines and avoid issues like constipation. If you consume a lot of beans, the fiber in beans can trigger the opposite effect and delay bowel movements, causing cramps or gas.
Here are some of the healthiest types of beans that one should include in their day-to-day diet:
Beans are an excellent staple food and are loved by many worldwide. One of the reasons why they are incorporated into recipes worldwide is that they are a rich source of protein and healthy nutrients. They also come in a huge variety. Currently, there are 400 different kinds of beans.
Many individuals believe that the preservative added to canned beans makes them unhealthy. However, they provide a great deal of potassium, plant-based protein, and other necessary elements like folate and fiber. Although there is a chance of contamination, canned beans are typically safe to eat and serve as a handy and wholesome substitute for dried beans.
To keep beans fresh for longer, keep dry beans in a cool, dry location away from extreme heat and humidity. Dry beans can be kept in a firmly closed container (non-metal) or a sealed plastic bag for approximately a year.
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