Dan Buettner

A dose-response meta-analysis (32 cohorts, over 1.1 million participants) found higher legume intake associated with a 6% lower all-cause mortality per additional 50g/day — a real but modest effect, with no significant association found for cardiovascular mortality specifically. A Costa Rican cohort (CRELES, the Nicoya Blue Zone) found a stronger effect for beans specifically (21% lower mortality), and the PURE study points the same direction for combined fruit/vegetable/legume intake. Conversely, a Spanish cohort (PREDIMED) found a positive association between dry-bean intake and cardiovascular mortality, showing the results aren't perfectly consistent across cohorts. The directional association holds up well; calling it 'the #1 longevity food on the planet' oversells a real but modest and not entirely uniform association.