Pinto beans

Studies in people

• Open question

  Cholesterol and gut bacteria³

  Eating pinto beans daily lowered cholesterol in people, but did not clearly help prevent colon cancer.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and blood sugar⁴

  In animal studies, pinto beans changed gut bacteria and improved blood sugar after a high-fat, high-sugar diet.

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.

• Lifetime cancer risk²

  Canned pinto beans held tiny amounts of metals like lead, and scientists say a lifetime cancer risk may exist.

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.