For everyone else, it means they make you feel full longer, making them an important dietary choice for weight control. The American Health Foundation reports that Hispanic women have lower rates of breast cancer than Caucasian women, and they eat twice as many beans as Caucasians. The Foundation sees the data as a link. Soybeans produce linoleic acid, the same omega-3 oils found in fish. Omega-3 has been determined to shore the cardiovascular system against disease.
Winged beans contain erucic acid, which is extracted to formulate an antitumor medication.
Certain polyunsaturated fatty acids, another contribution from winged beans, can be used to treat acne and eczema. Scientists anticipate using this bean product to treat Parkinson's disease, which occurs when the brain cells which produce dopamine are destroyed. Scientists are investigating using another neurotransmitter called serotonin, also found in the velvet bean, to treat learning disabilities, sleep disorders, and mood psychoses. Serotonin may be involved in all these. Along with their obvious positive contributions to human life and health, legumes also add more than their weight in bean counters to the health of the earth.