Types of beans chart

They also come in a ton of varieties — there are about 400 types of beans to be exact. And that’s just what we know is edible.

There is more than one type of bean that is red in color and most of these red-colored beans are interchangeable in bean dishes.

Mung Beans

Native to India, these are one of the world’s smallest beans. However, mung beans are also one of the most beneficial to your health. Just one cup of cooked mung beans boasts 15 grams of fibre.

Navy Beans are small, oval-shaped beans with white skin. They have a mild, delicate flavor. Pinto Beans are medium-size, oval-shaped beans with mottled beige and brown skin. Like cranberry beans, pinto beans lose their mottled appearance when cooked.

Beans contain raffinose, a type of carbohydrate that’s poorly digested by the body. Bacteria in the large intestine break down raffinose, resulting in gas and bloating.

Recent research in animals suggests that hydrogen sulfide — one of the major components of smelly gas, the one that gives it that “rotten egg” smell — might provide some health benefits in humans, from preventing heart disease to kidney failure.

A 2011 study found that people who ate baked beans and pinto beans were more likely to notice increased gassiness than people who ate black-eyed peas.

“Soaking and rinsing dry legumes before cooking can help lower their oligosaccharide content,” Grosse said. For legumes in a can, make sure to rinse them under water in a colander until the bubbles disappear. “Canned, rinsed legumes have even lower levels of oligosaccharide than the dry, soaked and rinsed legumes.”