Bean, bean, the magical fruit

A University of Toronto study showed that beans and nuts, which have low glycemic index, might be better than a whole-grain diet in controlling blood sugar. Extra bonus: a low-glycemic diet significantly boosted HDL (aka, the "good cholesterol") levels.

The low-glycemic diet in the study included beans, peas, lentils, pasta, quickly boiled rice and certain breads, like pumpernickel and rye, as well as oatmeal and oat bran cereals.

For meatier reading, see the New York Times article and the Journal of the American Medical Association. Both require you to login, but the NY Times is free.