Kidney bean

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Weight and waist size²

  In people, white kidney bean extract led to small drops in weight, waist and hip size.

• Benefit

  Weight loss³

  White kidney bean extract may help people lose a small amount of weight, especially with a high-carb diet.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria growth⁸

  In lab studies, white kidney bean polysaccharides helped good gut bacteria grow in samples from older people.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Food poisoning outbreak⁴

  Over 1,000 people got sick and 100 went to hospital after eating powdered toasted white kidney beans.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Allergic reaction to legume protein⁵

  A protein in kidney bean, phytohemagglutinin, triggered allergic reactions in most kidney bean allergic patients tested.

• Allergic reactions to foods⁶

  Some people allergic to mugwort may also react to kidney bean, because both share similar proteins.

• Food protein allergy⁷

  A protein in red kidney bean called phaseolin may trigger allergic reactions in some people.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.