A cheap item of food has been identified as a secret to living to 100 years old by a leading chef.
Greek American chef Diane Kochilas claimed beans have a beneficial impact on humans and can lead to a longer life.
The vegetable can be bought at supermarkets for a low price, with Tesco charging £1.30 for 200 grams of fine beans.
Sainsbury’s sell a similar product for £1.25 and shoppers can pick up 220 grams of green beans for just 89p.
A cheap item of food has been identified as a secret to living to 100 by a leading chef
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Kochilas revealed the food is “palliative” and can even prevent Type 2 diabetes.
She said: "Bean consumption helps heart health by lowering cholesterol because beans are rich in soluble fibre, which attaches to cholesterol particles and flushes them out of the body."
Kochilas relayed the mantra eating beans help people live longer.
She has a number of recipes which include beans in her cookbook, such as soups, salads and main dishes.
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Canned white beans with green fresh dill leaf
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National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner coined the phrase and asserted “eating a cup of beans each day can prolong a person’s life by four years”.
He added: “In every blue zone I have visited, beans and other legumes were — and still are — a major component of the daily diet.”
Blue zones cover unique communites where people live long and healthy lives.
Communities have been discovered in Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica, the Italian island of Sardinia and Loma Linda in California.
A meal including beans
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Beans are members of the legume family meaning they include copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, folic acid, zinc, lysine, which is an essential amino acid, and lots of protein and fiber.
Buettner explained: “Fiber rewards you with a healthy gut microbe and lower inflammation and better immune function.”
He added: “Beans are also packed with plant protein, which is healthier because it has more nutrients with fewer calories than animal protein.”
A separate 2001 study also found eating beans four times a week cuts heart disease by around 22 per cent.