The Underrated Bean That's High-Fiber And Good For Your Cholesterol

It's time for lima beans to come out from under the shadow of other popular bean varieties like pintos, Great Northerns, and kidneys. Rather than just being another ingredient in classic succotash, lima beans deserve to be recipe headliners. After all, they're a surprisingly nutrient-dense and good-for-you legume.

According to registered dietitian Angel Luk, lima beans contain a serious amount of nutritional value. Explains Luk, "Lima beans are . . . rich in fibre, protein, [and] carbohydrates, as well as being a good source of manganese, copper, magnesium, and iron," Luk shared in an exclusive interview with Health Digest.

Data on lima beans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture backs up Luk. A single cup of mature, boiled lima beans offers 13.2 grams of dietary fiber, 14.7 grams of protein, 0.442 milligrams of copper, and 4.49 milligrams of iron. Plus, they contain less than 1 gram of fat. These facts point to lima beans as especially helpful if you're trying to increase your fiber intake in an effort to lower your cholesterol (and thereby lessen your risk of developing cardiovascular disease).

Although eating any fiber can be an asset when you're trying to keep your cholesterol levels from climbing, the fiber in lima beans — soluble fiber — is particularly helpful. "Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a thick gel-like material in our intestines, which then slows digestion and helps to trap fats we've eaten so they can't all be absorbed," says Angel Luk. "In this way, having a soluble fiber rich diet can not only lower inflammation in the body, but also lower low-density lipoprotein [LDL] or 'lousy' cholesterol levels."

A 2023 review in Advances in Nutrition studied the purported relationship between an increased consumption of soluble fiber and a decrease in cholesterol readings. After looking through trials, the researchers concluded that for every 5 grams of soluble fiber ingested, total and LDL cholesterol numbers fell by anywhere from 3.69 to 7.61 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Meanwhile, a 2016 study in Current Atherosclerosis Reports resulted in similar findings. The authors found that eating fiber-packed foods, including legumes, could lead to a 5% to 10% drop in LDL cholesterol.

Even if you're not unfamiliar with lima beans, you may wonder how to include them in more of your meals. Angel Luk recommends boiling or steaming lima beans in broth so they can absorb the flavors of the liquid. (Just go with a low-sodium broth to avoid going beyond the American Heart Association's daily sodium limits of 2,300 milligrams.) Luk adds another fast way to incorporate lima beans into your kitchen: Scatter a handful of them into your favorite soups and stews that could benefit from lima beans' buttery, creamy texture. 

You can eat lima beans in colder dishes, too. For example, they're easy to toss into a fresh green salad to perk up its visual appeal and flavor profile (and increase the salad's nutritional value). And if you're seeking more ways to show lima beans a little culinary love, consider buying a cookbook dedicated to this underrated but cholesterol-friendly food.