At airfare, we love beans.

We go garbanzo for them. Our favorite movie? Mr Bean. When we’re flying, we can be persuaded to take less leg room, as long as we have our legumes.

But loving something doesn’t mean it’s good, with pizza and croissants serving as prime examples. Fortunately, in the case of beans, our well-being and our desire are well-aligned.

As a quick refresher, the official airfare definition of #actuallyhealthy is distilled from the advice of the most respected health organizations in the world, like The World Health Organization, World Cancer Research Fund, and American Heart Association. These groups exist not to make money, but to look out for overall human health, and they are staffed with professors, researchers, scientists and public health professionals, not influencers and diet-sellers.

Simply put, these groups all recommend eating beans, and the American Institute for Cancer Research thinks they should be “a major part of your daily diet.”

Instead of providing just one benefit (bean-e-fit?), beans—like fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains—help in multiple ways without any serious negative impacts.

First, it turns out the old “beans, beans, good for the heart” jingle was pretty accurate. A recent analysis of hundreds of studies showed that bean consumption significantly reduced the chance of heart issues like cardiovascular disease, the single leading cause of death.

Another way beans help is perfect for the current season as we all head to the beach—weight control. One analysis of the top 20 studies on beans and weight concluded that beans might lead to weight loss “even when diets are not intended to be calorically restricted.” In other words, people lost weight even when they weren’t trying to. Easy as A, B, cannellini.

Other studies like this one explain the link between beans and reducing inflammation, improving microbiotic diversity (gut bacteria), and lowering chances of getting certain kinds of cancer, such as colorectal.

Some of the reason for these effects is the importance of fiber, which beans have in spades. This Lancet Review piece notes that most people get less than half the fiber they should. Bring on the garbanzos.

So with all these clear benefits—high in protein and fiber, better for heart and gut health, reducing the chances of cancer and diabetes—why are people still not eating enough?

One reason might be the negative press from a few groups, like the proponents of the Paleo Diet. To be clear, we take no issue with the Paleo Diet makers or followers—any diet focused on whole foods is on the right track.

However, we don’t like the anti-bean sentiment, which seems to be largely unsupported. It’s probably one reason why the Paleo Diet was ranked 30th out of 40 diets by a group of experts and researchers. Top diets like the DASH, Flexitarian and Mediterranean, on the other hand, all recommend beans daily.

airfare’s beans, current and incoming

Most of our experienced airfare crew, customers and members are already familiar with our standout bean options.

We’re talking about snacks like Lupii—a bar made in New York, by a duo of the baddest-ass chicks in the game. And lupini beans are a large part of a reason why Lupii bars have between seven and 10 grams of both fiber and protein in each delicious bar.

Or how about WellBean, a California company that creatively sneaks beans, lentils, chickpeas, and splitpeas into an assortment of bars and bites. The legion of legumes joins the healthy goodness of figs, dates, peanut butter and cacao in their Chocolate Peanut Butter nuggets.

And now, a little secret: we’ve got more beans a-comin.’ Check back soon to find out which beans are making their snacking debut.

Until then, go heavy on the hummus, kick back with some kidneys, and lunch on some limas. Because as famous actor James Bean said, “The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results.”