Know2eat

Adzuki beans

Vigna angularis

What adzuki beans has been studied for

3 associations assessed — 2 with at least some human evidence behind them. Strongest first.

  • 2 Limited
  • 1 Insufficient
3 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About adzuki beans

A small red East Asian pulse, eaten savoury in China and Korea and, more often, boiled with sugar into the sweet paste used in Japanese confectionery. The USDA reference entry is for the raw dry seed, which roughly triples in weight on boiling, so 100 g of dry beans is around three cooked portions rather than one.

Also known as Azuki bean, Red mung bean, Aduki bean

Blood Sugar & Metabolic HealthHeart HealthAntioxidant & Oxidative Stress

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Limited evidence

Evidence is limited and mostly indirect. Pulses as a category reliably produce a low post-meal glucose response, but the trials specific to adzuki beans are few, small and short, so the category finding should not be read as an adzuki finding.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Limited evidence

Evidence is limited. Pooled analyses of pulse-feeding trials report modest LDL reductions when beans displace other foods, but adzuki beans themselves have barely been tested in isolation.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Oxidative stress markers

Antioxidant & Oxidative Stress
Insufficient evidence

There is not enough human research to say that adzuki polyphenols change oxidative-stress markers. The seed coat scores highly on laboratory antioxidant assays, which tells you very little about what happens after digestion.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Adzuki beans

Ask about Adzuki beans

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories329 kcal16%
Protein19.9 g40%
Total fat0.53 g1%
Carbohydrate62.9 g23%
Fibre12.7 g45%
Water13.4 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.191 g1%
Monounsaturated fat0.05 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.113 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.113 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A1 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.455 mg38%
Riboflavin (B2)0.22 mg17%
Niacin (B3)2.63 mg16%
Pantothenic acid (B5)1.47 mg29%
Vitamin B60.351 mg21%
Folate622 µg156%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Minerals
Calcium66 mg5%
Iron4.98 mg28%
Magnesium127 mg30%
Phosphorus381 mg30%
Potassium1254 mg27%
Sodium5 mg0%
Zinc5.04 mg46%
Copper1.09 mg122%
Manganese1.73 mg75%
Selenium3.1 µg6%
Other measured compounds
Ash3.26 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Beans, adzuki, mature seeds, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 173727).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • soakedReduces phytate and oligosaccharides

    Soaking overnight and discarding the water leaches part of the gas-forming oligosaccharides and activates native phytase, lowering phytate and shortening the boil.

  • cookedIncreases resistant starch

    Cooking then chilling retrogrades part of the starch into resistant starch, which reaches the colon undigested. Much of the change survives gentle reheating.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Most adzuki is eaten as sweetened paste

    Anko, yokan and the fillings of taiyaki and mochi are adzuki cooked with a large amount of sugar. The nutrient panel on this page is for the plain dry bean and says nothing useful about those products, which are confectionery.

  • Worth knowing

    FODMAPs and IBS

    Like other pulses, adzuki beans carry galacto-oligosaccharides that ferment in the colon and commonly provoke gas, bloating and pain in irritable bowel syndrome. Small portions and thorough soaking with the water discarded reduce, but do not remove, the load.

  • Worth knowing

    Phytate and mineral absorption

    Adzuki phytate binds non-heme iron and zinc within the same meal and lowers how much is absorbed. Soaking, sprouting and a source of vitamin C at the meal all help offset it.