Phaseolus Vulgaris

Beans are familiar to the New World, probably Central Mexico and Guatemala. They were taken to Europe by the Spaniards and Portuguese, who also introduced them to Africa and other parts of the Old World. Now they are widely cultivated in the tropics, subtropics and temperate regions.

The White Kidney Bean plant, officially called Phaseolus vulgaris, is native to Peru, the Indies and Europe. It is used in traditional medicine systems. It's verified benefit is the ability to act as a "starch blocker" - a blocker of the alpha-amylase enzyme.

Alpha-amylase plays a key role in the digestion of foods. As a digestive enzyme, alpha-amylase is required for the metabolism of starchy carbohydrates. When you consume starchy carbohydrate (so-called "complex" carbohydrates), they have to be reduced to dextrins, these being transformed into glucose. This eventually is either used for immediate energy requirements, it also can be stored in muscle tissue or the liver as
glycogen, or is shuttled to the liver, turned into lipids, and stored as body fat.

The extract of White Kidney Bean may block the action of the digestive enzyme alpha-amylase and prevents the transformation of starch into dextrin and ultimately glucose. In addition, the plant also contains substantial amounts of iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and thiamin. Put all these benefits into a pack, add to it the fact that beans are not at all expensive and you have for yourself a nutritional and culinary combination that's hard to beat.