The Nutritional Bean

In calories, both hamburger and dried beans are about 25 percent protein. But about 60 percent of the remaining hamburger’s calories are fat and only 4 percent of the bean’s calories are fat, and that little bit of fat is unsaturated—the cholesterol-lowering kind. The remaining calories in beans are complex carbohydrates, which experts tout as all important in reducing cholesterol and trimming fat. Dried beans also provide healthy amounts of vitamins A and B, iron, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.