Replacing Protein Foods for Canned Beans Increases Shortfall Nutrient Intakes and Improves Diet Quality in Adults
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Limited research has assessed nutrient and diet quality implications resulting from the replacement of protein-rich foods with canned beans.
Objective: The purpose of the present modeling analysis was to examine shortfall nutrient intakes and diet quality when isocalorically substituting protein foods with canned beans, including kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, and pinto beans.
Methods: A modeling analysis was completed in free-living American adults using data from What We Eat in American 2001-2018, the dietary component of the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Results: The isocaloric substitution of protein foods with 1 and 2 servings of canned beans daily to the US typical dietary pattern significantly improved shortfall nutrient intakes. Intake of dietary fiber increased by 30% and 51%, respectively, with replacement of protein foods with 1 and 2 serving of canned beans, relative to the US typical dietary pattern (p<0.0001). Intake of iron, magnesium, potassium, and folate increased in the range of approximately 6-7% and 10-13% with replacement of protein foods with 1 and 2 servings of canned beans compared to the US typical dietary pattern (p<0.0001). Isocaloric substitution of protein foods with 1 and 2 servings of canned beans with the US typical dietary pattern led to 12% and 15% higher total Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores, respectively (p<0.0001).
Conclusions: Replacing commonly consumed protein foods with canned beans significantly increased shortfall nutrient intakes and improved diet quality. Greater canned bean consumption should be considered within future dietary recommendations as a strategy to promote nutrient intake shortfalls and improve deficits with current diet quality scores.
Keywords:
canned beans; shortfall nutrients; diet quality; protein;
Article Details
How to Cite
PAPANIKOLAOU, Yanni; PAPANIKOLAOU, Ava; SLAVIN, Joanne.
Replacing Protein Foods for Canned Beans Increases Shortfall Nutrient Intakes and Improves Diet Quality in Adults.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 9, oct. 2025.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6993>. Date accessed: 05 dec. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i9.6993.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
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19. Moshfegh AJ, Rhodes DG, Baer DJ, Murayi T, Clemens JC, Rumpler WV, Paul DR, Sebastian RS, Kuczynski KC, Ingwersen LA et al. The USDA Automated Multiple-Pass Method reduces bias in the collection of energy intakes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008; 88:324–332.
20. National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences. Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program. Developing the Healthy Eating Index. Available online:
https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/hei/developing.html (Accessed 22 April 2025).
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22. Reedy J, Lerman JL, Krebs-Smith SM, Kirkpatrick SI, Pannucci TE, Wilson MM, Subar AF, Kahle LL, Tooze JA. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2015. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2018;118:1622-1633.
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https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/FoodPatternModeling_Report_2YearsandOlder.pdf (Accessed on 25 August 2025).
24. American Heart Association. How Potassium Can Help Control High Blood Pressure. Available online: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/how-potassium-can-help-control-high-blood-pressure (Accessed 25 May 2025).
25. Bailey RL, Parker EA, Rhodes DG, Goldman JD, Clemens JC, Moshfegh AJ, Thuppal SV, Weaver CM. Estimating sodium and potassium intakes and their ratio in the American diet: data from the 2011–2012 NHANES. J Nutr. 2015;146:745–750.
26. Papanikolaou Y, Slavin J, Papanikolaou S, Fulgoni VL III (2024) Adding more beans to the US typical dietary pattern can lead to greater intake of shortfall nutrients and a higher diet quality in younger and older adults. Maturitas 2024;186, https://doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2024.108012.
27. Zargarzadeh N, Mohammad Mousavi S, Santos HO, Aune D, Hasani-Ranjbar S, Bagher Larijani B, Esmaillzadeh A. Legume consumption and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Adv Nutr. 2023;14:64-76.
28. Luhovyy BI, Mollard RC, Panahi S, Nunez MF, Cho F, Anderson GH. Canned navy bean consumption reduces metabolic risk factors associated with obesity. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2015;76:33-37.
29. Doma KM, Dolinar KF, Ramdath DD, Wolever TMS, Duncan AM. Canned beans decrease serum total and LDL cholesterol in adults with elevated LCL cholesterol in a 4-wk multicenter, randomized, crossover study. J Nutr. 2021;151:3701-3709.
30. Trichopoulou A, Costacou T, Bamia C, Trichopoulos D. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet and survival in a Greek population. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:2599-2608.
31. Tsuzaki J, Maskarinec G, Mapa V, Shvetson YB, Park, S-Y, Monroe KR, Lim U, Le Marchand L, Boushey CJ. Diet quality and body mass index over 20 years in the multiethnic cohort. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2024; 124:194-204.
32. Tessier AJ, Wang F, Korat AA, Eliassen AH, Chavarro J, Grodstein F, Li J, Liang L, Willett WC, Sun Q, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Guasch-Ferré M. Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging. Nat. Med. 2025; doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03570-5.
33. Sundararajan K, Campbell MK, Choi Y-H, Sarma S. The relationship between diet quality and adult obesity: Evidence from Canada. J Am Coll Nutr. 2014;33:1-17.
34. Papavagelis C, Avgeraki E, Augoulea A, Stamatelopoulos K, Lambrinoudaki I, Yannakoulia M. Dietary patterns, Mediterranean diet and obesity in postmenopausal women. Maturitas 2018;110: 79-85.
35. Ahluwalia N, Dwyer J, Terry A, Moshfegh A, Johnson C. Update on NHANES Dietary Data: Focus on Collection, Release, Analytical Considerations, and Uses to Inform Public Policy. Adv Nutr Int J. 2016;7:121–134.
36. Grandjean AC. Dietary intake data collection: Challenges and limitations. Nutr. Rev. 2012;70:S101–S104.
2. US Department of Agriculture; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, 9th ed.; 2020. Available online: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf (accessed on 28 May 2025).
3. 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2024. Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (accessed on 27 May 2025).
4. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central Food Details. Kidney beans, from canned, no added fat - Nutrients - Survey (FNDDS) | USDA FoodData Central https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2707383/nutrients (accessed on 21 March 2025).
5. Comerford KB, Papanikolaou Y, Jones JM, Rodriguez J, Slavin J, Angadi S, Drewnowski, A. Toward an evidence-based definition of and classification of carbohydrate food quality: An expert panel report. Nutrients 2021;13, 2667 https://doi:10.3390/nu13082667.
6. Drewnowski A, Maillot M, Papanikolaou Y, Jones JM, Rodriguez J, Slavin J, Angadi S, Comerford KB. A new carbohydrate food quality scoring system to reflect dietary guidelines: An expert panel report. Nutrients 2022;14, 1485 https://doi:10.3390/nu14071485.
7. Comerford KB, Drewnowski A, Papanikolaou Y, Jones JM, Slavin J, Angadi S, Rodriguez J. Application of a new carbohydrate food quality scoring system: An expert panel report. Nutrients 2023;15, 1288 https://doi: 10.3390/nu15051288.
8. US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Food Patterns Equivalents Intakes from Food: Mean Amounts Consumed per Individual, by Gender and Age, What We Eat in America, NHANES 2015-2016. 2018.
9. Proprietary data calculated by Bush’s Best and based in part on data reported by NIQ through its Syndicated database for the Bean category (branded only) for the Latest 52 weeks ending 4/29/23, for Total US xAOC (sales in the Food, Drug, Mass, Club, Dollar, and Military channels), according to the NIQ standard product hierarchy. Copyright © 2023, Nielsen Consumer LLC.
10. Papanikolaou Y, Fulgoni VLF. Bean consumption is associated with greater nutrient intake, reduced systolic blood pressure, lower body weight, and a smaller waist circumference in adults: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008;27:569-576.
11. Papanikolaou Y, Slavin J, Fulgoni VLF 3rd. Adult dietary patterns with increased bean consumption are associated with greater overall shortfall nutrient intakes, lower added sugar, improved weight-related outcomes and better diet quality. Nutr J. 2024;23, 36 https://doi:10.1186/s12937-024-00937-1.
12. López-González L, Becerra-Tomás N, Babio N, Martínez-González M, Díaz-López A, Corella D et al. Variety in fruits and vegetables, diet quality and lifestyle in an older adult Mediterranean population. Clin Nutr. 2021;40:1510-1518.
13. Zargarzadeh N, Mousavi S, Santos HO, Aune D, Hasani-Ranjbar S, Bagher Larijani B, Esmaillzadeh A. Legume consumption and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Adv Nutr. 2023;14:64-76.
14. Marventano S, Izquierdo Pulido M, Sánchez-González C, Godos J, Speciani A, Galvano F, Grosso G. Legume consumption and CVD risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Health Nutr. 2017; 20:245-254.
15. Agarwal S, Fulgoni VLF III. Effect of adding pulses to replace protein foods and refined grains in healthy dietary patterns. Nutrients 2023;15, 4355 http://doi.org/10.3390/nu15204355
16. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Health Statistics; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. NHANES—National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Homepage. Available online: Cdc.gov (Accessed 17 April 2025).
17. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Health Statistics; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. NHANES—National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Homepage. Available online: Cdc.gov (Accessed 15 April 2025).
18. US Department of Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service; Food Surveys Research Group. Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies. Available online:
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-bhnrc/beltsville-human-nutrition-research-center/food-surveys-research-group/docs/fndds-download-databases/ (Accessed 15 April 2025).
19. Moshfegh AJ, Rhodes DG, Baer DJ, Murayi T, Clemens JC, Rumpler WV, Paul DR, Sebastian RS, Kuczynski KC, Ingwersen LA et al. The USDA Automated Multiple-Pass Method reduces bias in the collection of energy intakes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008; 88:324–332.
20. National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Control & Population Sciences. Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program. Developing the Healthy Eating Index. Available online:
https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/hei/developing.html (Accessed 22 April 2025).
21. Krebs-Smith SM, Pannucci TE, Subar AF, Kirkpatrick SI, Lerman, JL Tooze JA, Wilson MM, Reedy J. Update of the Healthy Eating Index: HEI-2015. J Acad Nutr Diet 2018;118:1591-1602.
22. Reedy J, Lerman JL, Krebs-Smith SM, Kirkpatrick SI, Pannucci TE, Wilson MM, Subar AF, Kahle LL, Tooze JA. Evaluation of the Healthy Eating Index-2015. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2018;118:1622-1633.
23. 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and Food Pattern Modeling Team. Food Pattern Modeling: Ages 2 Years and Older. 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Project. U.S. Department of Agriculture; Washington, DC, USA: 2020. Available online:
https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/FoodPatternModeling_Report_2YearsandOlder.pdf (Accessed on 25 August 2025).
24. American Heart Association. How Potassium Can Help Control High Blood Pressure. Available online: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/how-potassium-can-help-control-high-blood-pressure (Accessed 25 May 2025).
25. Bailey RL, Parker EA, Rhodes DG, Goldman JD, Clemens JC, Moshfegh AJ, Thuppal SV, Weaver CM. Estimating sodium and potassium intakes and their ratio in the American diet: data from the 2011–2012 NHANES. J Nutr. 2015;146:745–750.
26. Papanikolaou Y, Slavin J, Papanikolaou S, Fulgoni VL III (2024) Adding more beans to the US typical dietary pattern can lead to greater intake of shortfall nutrients and a higher diet quality in younger and older adults. Maturitas 2024;186, https://doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2024.108012.
27. Zargarzadeh N, Mohammad Mousavi S, Santos HO, Aune D, Hasani-Ranjbar S, Bagher Larijani B, Esmaillzadeh A. Legume consumption and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Adv Nutr. 2023;14:64-76.
28. Luhovyy BI, Mollard RC, Panahi S, Nunez MF, Cho F, Anderson GH. Canned navy bean consumption reduces metabolic risk factors associated with obesity. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2015;76:33-37.
29. Doma KM, Dolinar KF, Ramdath DD, Wolever TMS, Duncan AM. Canned beans decrease serum total and LDL cholesterol in adults with elevated LCL cholesterol in a 4-wk multicenter, randomized, crossover study. J Nutr. 2021;151:3701-3709.
30. Trichopoulou A, Costacou T, Bamia C, Trichopoulos D. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet and survival in a Greek population. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:2599-2608.
31. Tsuzaki J, Maskarinec G, Mapa V, Shvetson YB, Park, S-Y, Monroe KR, Lim U, Le Marchand L, Boushey CJ. Diet quality and body mass index over 20 years in the multiethnic cohort. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2024; 124:194-204.
32. Tessier AJ, Wang F, Korat AA, Eliassen AH, Chavarro J, Grodstein F, Li J, Liang L, Willett WC, Sun Q, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Guasch-Ferré M. Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging. Nat. Med. 2025; doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03570-5.
33. Sundararajan K, Campbell MK, Choi Y-H, Sarma S. The relationship between diet quality and adult obesity: Evidence from Canada. J Am Coll Nutr. 2014;33:1-17.
34. Papavagelis C, Avgeraki E, Augoulea A, Stamatelopoulos K, Lambrinoudaki I, Yannakoulia M. Dietary patterns, Mediterranean diet and obesity in postmenopausal women. Maturitas 2018;110: 79-85.
35. Ahluwalia N, Dwyer J, Terry A, Moshfegh A, Johnson C. Update on NHANES Dietary Data: Focus on Collection, Release, Analytical Considerations, and Uses to Inform Public Policy. Adv Nutr Int J. 2016;7:121–134.
36. Grandjean AC. Dietary intake data collection: Challenges and limitations. Nutr. Rev. 2012;70:S101–S104.