02/14/2026
Wow!
When study participants went through a 12-week aerobic conditioning program of cycling, StairMaster, and running on a treadmill, their resting heart rate dropped about three beats per minute, down from around 69 to about 66. Exercise certainly benefits our heart, but we have to make it part of our life to maintain its benefits. Stop exercising, and resting heart rate goes right back up.
Exercise is just one way to drop our heart rate, though. Instead of three months of exercising, what if you did three months of eating beans—a cup a day of beans, chickpeas, or lentils? In the first randomized controlled trial of beans for the treatment of diabetes, participants successfully improved their blood sugar control and dropped their average A1C level from 7.4 to 6.9. This study was also the first to assess the effect of bean consumption on heart rate. Having a higher resting heart rate not only increases our risk of death, but for people with diabetes, it also appears to predict greater risk of diabetes complications.
So, how did beans do? Study participants experienced a 3.4 drop in their heart rate—just as much as the 50 hours on a treadmill. We aren’t exactly sure why beans are as powerful as exercise in bringing down one’s resting heart rate, but in addition to the nutritional benefits of legumes, such as fiber, there is also the potential that eating more beans may also reduce intake of animal protein foods, further reducing our intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.
Every increase in heart rate of ten beats per minute is associated with a 10 to 20 percent increase in the risk of premature death (at least for values above one beat a second). To lower our heart rate, we should consider eating beans and exercising to benefit our heart.
Watch the video "Slow Your Beating Heart: Beans vs. Exercise" at https://see.nf/heartrate.
PMIDs: 19299682, 23089999, 22286552, 23316296, 22718796
