 Canned beans are convenient, but are they as nutritious as home cooked? And if you do use canned, should you drain them or not? This recent study spilled the beans. The federal government recommends about a half a cup a day, counting them as both a protein and a vegetable, since they have the best of both worlds. Excellent sources of fiber and folate. Good sources of plant protein, plant iron, vitamin B1, and minerals, such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and copper all, are being naturally low in sodium. Yet Americans don't know beans. 96% of Americans don't even make the measly minimum recommended intake of beans, chickpeas, pluppies, or lentils. It's actually the same percentage of Americans that doesn't eat their greens every day. Two of the healthiest things on the planet, greens and beans, and hardly anyone even makes the minimum. Just another piece added to the rather disturbing picture that is emerging of a nation's diet in crisis. Anyway, back to the study. Don't get me started on greens. In addition to their health benefits, beans are cheap. The researchers did a little bean counting, and a serving of beans costs between $0.10, and if you want to go crazy, $0.40. As you can see, canned beans cost about three times more than buying dried beans and cooking them yourself, but beans can take hours to cook, so my family just goes wild and splurges on that extra $0.20 serving. Nutrition-wise, cooked and canned are about the same, but the sodium content of canned beans can be 100 times that of cooked. Draining and rinsing the canned beans can get rid of about half the sodium, but you're also draining and rinsing away some of the nutrition, so I recommend when buying canned beans, get the no-salt-added varieties, and keep and use that bean juice. Bottom line, beans, regardless of type or form, are a nutrient-rich food and should be encouraged as part of a healthy diet.