This $2 Pantry Staple Can Lower Cholesterol And Reduce Inflammation, Per New Study

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After years of being overlooked as a prime protein source, one of the grocery aisle’s unsexiest canned goods is finally getting its well-deserved “health halo” moment. Yep, beans (and specifically bean salads) are all over TikTok, and the latest proposed dietary guidelines recommend that people eat at least 2.5 cups of beans and lentils a week—a big jump from the currently recommended 1.5 cups a week.

And most recently, new research presented at Nutrition 2025, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, suggests that getting a solid daily dose of beans could even improve your cholesterol levels and reduce inflammation, making those TikTok salads look even more appealing. And, while the study hasn’t been published just yet, it’s already getting plenty of attention for its interesting findings.

So, can you actually boost your cholesterol and tamp down on bodily inflammation by adding more beans to your life? Here’s what the study found, plus what dietitians want you to keep in mind.

Meet the experts: Scott Keatley, RD, is co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy; Jessica Cording, RD, is the author of The Little Book of Game-Changers; Keri Gans, RDN, is a dietitian and host of The Keri Report podcast.

What did the study find?

For the study, researchers recruited 72 participants with prediabetes and randomly assigned them to eat a cup of black beans, chickpeas, or rice for 12 weeks. The researchers took blood samples at the start of the study, after six weeks, and after 12 weeks to track the participants’ cholesterol, inflammation, and blood sugar levels. The participants were also given glucose tolerance tests at the beginning and end of the study to see how well their bodies broke down glucose.

The researchers found that for those eating chickpeas, total cholesterol levels dropped from an average of 200.4 milligrams per deciliter at the beginning of the study to 185.8 milligrams per deciliter after 12 weeks. For the black bean group, the average level of cytokine interleukin-6, a marker of inflammation, dropped from 2.57 picograms per milliliter at baseline to 1.88 picograms per milliliter at the end of the study. (Both cholesterol and bodily inflammation are linked with a higher risk of heart disease and other health complications.) The beans didn’t seem to have an impact on blood sugar control, but previous research has found beans can be helpful for this.

“Our study showed the benefits of consuming beans in adults with pre-diabetes, but they are a great option for everyone,” study co-author Morganne Smith, a doctoral candidate at Illinois Institute of Technology, said in a statement. “These findings could be used to inform dietary guidelines, clinicians or public health programs focused on preventing heart disease and diabetes.”

Why are beans effective at lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation?

There are a few possible things behind this. “Beans like chickpeas and black beans are rich in soluble fiber, particularly a type called viscous fiber, which binds to bile acids in the digestive tract,” explains Scott Keatley, RD, co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.

Bile acids are made from LDL (bad) cholesterol, and when you eat beans, its fiber content binds to these acids, forcing the liver to use more circulating LDL cholesterol to make new bile, he says. That ultimately lowers the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood.

“On the inflammation side, beans deliver a strong one-two punch,” he adds. “Their fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria, which produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate that calm systemic inflammation.”

But that’s not all. Beans also contain polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation by lowering oxidative stress and supporting the body’s natural inflammatory response, says Keri Gans, RDN, dietitian and host of The Keri Report podcast.

How much do I need to eat each day to see these effects?

This particular study looked at the health impact of eating a cup of beans per day. So, if lowering your cholesterol and inflammation is the goal, this may be one way to go. However, not everyone tolerates beans well, points out Jessica Cording, RD, author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. (They can cause bloating and gas, among other issues.) “I recommend increasing your bean intake slowly,” she says.

What else can beans do for my health?

These little veggies are overflowing with great health benefits, which is why Keatley calls them “a nutritional powerhouse.” Yep, these foods deliver a great plant-based source of protein, serve as high-quality carbs, and provide iron, magnesium, potassium, and folate. Beans may help with weight management, according to Keatley, and Gans points out that they also support gut health by fueling healthy gut bacteria.

Other research has found that eating more beans is linked with a lowered risk of developing chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease. And a 2023 Advances in Nutrition study found that people who consistently ate beans had a lower risk of death from any cause.

“From a clinical perspective, they’re one of the most cost-effective and accessible foods to include in a preventive nutrition plan,” Keatley says.

He’s not wrong! A can of beans at the grocery store usually runs you under $2. Time to get shopping!

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