Harvard Medical School recommends adding legumes — beans, lentils and peas — to your regular diet, for their fiber content and low glycemic index, two traits that can help both protect the heart and control blood sugar.
According to Harvard, adding legumes to your diet can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, since their low glycemic index helps avoid sharp glucose spikes after meals. Type 2 diabetes itself is, in turn, one of the factors that most increases the risk of heart disease, so both benefits are related.
One reason many people stop including legumes in their meals is digestive discomfort, like gas or bloating, typical of high-fiber foods. Experts note that with regular consumption, gut microbiota usually adapts to that added fiber, and the discomfort tends to fade over time.