04/29/2026
We’ve known for decades that beans have an exceptionally low glycemic index.
When you eat lentils (or other legumes) for dinner, then you have better glycemic control at breakfast, even if you drink sugar water. Beans help moderate your blood sugar, not just during the meal you eat them, but even the next day. Why does this "second-meal effect" happen?
When we feed our good bacteria, they feed us back. The morning after eating a bean burrito for dinner, our gut bacteria are eating that same burrito. The byproducts the bacteria create from the beans may affect how our breakfast the next morning is digested.
When we eat whole plant foods, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, along with nuts and seeds, our gut flora can take certain components in them (fiber and resistant starch) and produce short-chain fatty acids, which can set us up for the prevention of some diseases. Short-chain fatty acids, like butyrate, can help seal up a leaky gut, fight inflammation, prevent weight gain, improve insulin sensitivity, accelerate weight loss, and fight cancer. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/beans-and-the-second-meal-effect/
