Mung Beans, Psyllium & Detox: Lower Cholesterol & Aid Hormonal Balance

08 Sep Mung Beans, Psyllium & Detox: Lower Cholesterol & Aid Hormonal Balance

Ayurveda, TCM, and Western Science on Mung Beans, Psyllium and Detox : How to Lower Cholesterol and Aid Hormonal Balance

by Dr. Claudia Welch

This piece grew out of two sparks: a conversation between Kate O’Donnell and nutritionist Karen Hurd (recommended by a friend), and reflections on the stubborn problem of high cholesterol — even in people who are not overweight and who eat healthy food — and on how best to rid the body of excess estrogen in cases of estrogen dominance. What struck me is how different traditions — Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Western science — each explain the role of beans, especially mung beans, and psyllium husk in detoxification. In what follows, we’ll explore their place in Ayurvedic practices like pañcakarma and daily cleansing, how Chinese medicine describes the qualities of mung beans, and how modern physiology explains the action of beans and psyllium in supporting detox, cholesterol balance, and the elimination of environmental pollutants and excess estrogen. Let us begin with Ayurveda.

Ayurveda: The Use of Mung Beans and Psyllium Husk in Detoxification

In Ayurveda, cleansing is often described as clearing āma — the sticky residue of incomplete digestion that clogs the channels of the body. One of the most important foods used for this is the mung bean. During  pañcakarma, patients may be served mung beans plain or as part of dal or  kitchari — rice and mung cooked together — often three times a day. Mung beans are considered laghu (light), easy to digest, and cleansing without weakening the system.

Ayurveda also employs psyllium husk, known as isabgol, as a gentle cleansing aid. Like mung beans, it has been used for centuries to support digestion and elimination. More about this later.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: The Use of Mung Beans in Detoxification

Traditional Chinese Medicine also values mung beans, known as 绿豆 (lǜ dòu), literally “green bean.” They are classified as sweet and cooling (gan, han), used to clear heat, relieve toxicity, and promote urination [Bensky 2004; Chen & Chen 2004]. In practice, they may be eaten in porridge, soups, or teas, especially in hot weather or following food poisoning.

Though framed differently, both Ayurveda and TCM highlight mung beans as foods that gently detoxify, restoring balance while nourishing. Modern science not only explains how this works, but also shows how the beans contribute to lowering cholesterol — a major health concern today.

Western Science: How Beans Detoxify the Body

It is often striking to see how modern physiology sometimes “catches up” with traditional knowledge. In order to understand the Western view on the role mung beans play in detoxifying, we first need to understand how Western science describes detoxification.

Three Systems of Detoxification

Western medicine describes three main systems for clearing wastes:

• Immune/Lymphatic system – clears viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, abnormal cells, foreign particles, and cellular debris. We can live without parts of it, like the spleen or lymph nodes, but at a cost.
• Kidneys – filter water-soluble wastes like urea, creatinine, excess salts, and drugs, regulating electrolytes and fluid balance. Without them, survival is only days to weeks without dialysis.
• Liver – without it, life is only possible for a few days. It is the central chemical processing plant, handling fat-soluble wastes such as excess circulating hormones (as is the case in estrogen dominance), bilirubin (a byproduct of red blood cell breakdown), environmental chemicals, and drugs. It is this system that is relevant to understanding the role beans play in detoxification. To understand their role, we need to understand the second of the two pathways through which the liver sends fat-soluble wastes:
• Pathway #1: Many fat-soluble compounds are chemically modified by liver enzymes (Phase I), then combined with other molecules (Phase II) to make them water-soluble. This route handles things like many drugs, alcohol, caffeine, bilirubin (a breakdown product of red blood cells), and most steroid hormones such as progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol. These then enter the bloodstream, and the kidneys filter them from there into urine.
• Pathway #2: Other fat-soluble compounds are excreted into bile and secreted into the intestine. This includes cholesterol, bile pigments, estrogens and some other steroid hormone metabolites, and highly fat-loving pollutants such as PCBs or dioxins (industrial environmental toxins). There, they will either be mostly reabsorbed through enterohepatic circulation (a recycling loop where bile is reabsorbed from the intestine back into the bloodstream and returned to the liver) and continue to circulate in the body, or — if they meet soluble fiber (more about that later)— eliminated in stool.

How Bile Works

The liver makes bile from cholesterol, which it pulls out of the bloodstream. Bile emulsifies fats and carries fat-soluble wastes, like excess circulating hormones and environmental toxins into the gut. Unless this process is interrupted, about 95% of bile — along with the compounds it carries — is constantly reabsorbed in the lower part of the ileum. It is recycled, keeping bile, excess hormones, and toxins circulating in the body.

Wouldn’t it be nice, if there was a way that toxin-laden bile could exit the body instead of being reabsorbed? There is. And it relies on soluble fiber.

Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber means water-soluble fiber, which is fiber that dissolves in water. It supports detoxification in two main ways:

1. If soluble fiber is present in the intestine, it binds with bile — which has the ability to attach to both water and oil. Then, instead of being reabsorbed, the bile– and the wastes–like excess estrogen, along with environmental toxins now mixed into the bile –hitch a ride with the soluble fiber out of the body in stool.  While many hormones are also cleared through urine, soluble fiber helps ensure that those excreted in bile exit fully instead of recycling back into circulation.

2. Because bile is made from cholesterol, when soluble fiber causes bile to be excreted in stool, the liver must draw more cholesterol out of circulation to make new bile. This steady demand is why soluble fiber lowers LDL cholesterol as well as aiding detoxification.

So, how do we get soluble fiber?

We often think of fruits and veggies when we think of fiber. But that kind of fiber is not soluble fiber. While many foods contain soluble fiber — including oats, apples, and certain root vegetables — legumes are among the richest sources. Just ½ cup of cooked legumes (such as mung dal) provides about 5 grams of soluble fiber. This is a lot. Most beans, including lentils, chickpeas, and peas provide enough soluble fiber to measurably change how the body handles bile.

This explains why legumes like mung beans not only can detox fat-soluble toxins and excess hormones, but can also lower cholesterol so effectively. Each time bile exits in stool, the liver must use cholesterol from the bloodstream to make new bile. So, every time we eat beans or other soluble fiber:

• LDL (“bad”) cholesterol drops and
• Fat-soluble wastes are steadily removed

Psyllium husk (isabgol) is another powerful source of soluble fiber, as it is about 70–80% soluble fiber.  So it too carries the same positive effects as beans when it comes to detox.

Clinical research supports the cholesterol-reducing power of both (non-soy) legumes and psyllium:

• Meta-analyses show non-soy legumes lower total and LDL cholesterol, with LDL dropping by about 8 mg/dL and total cholesterol by ~12 mg/dL 【Bazzano 2009】.
• Daily psyllium can reduce LDL cholesterol by 6–8% on average 【Anderson 2000; Wei 2009】.

Gentle Daily Detox

Traditional Chinese Medicine recommends mung beans (lǜ dòu) outside of formal therapies. They are often used in everyday cooking or teas to clear heat, relieve toxicity, and support gentle detox, particularly during hot weather or after exposure to food poisoning [Bensky 2004; Chen & Chen 2004].

Similarly, Ayurveda prescribes mung beans in pañcakarma or on its own. We do not need to undergo strenuous cleansing regimens like  pañcakarma to enjoy the benefits of beans.

In Ayurveda, dal or kitchari  and psyllium can easily be integrated into a regular daily routine.

Nutritionist Karen Hurd recommends about 15 grams of soluble fiber daily to achieve the health and detoxification benefits we’ve looked at in this article. Among foods, we have seen that legumes are the most practical way to get there. Most people, even those that have difficulty digesting beans, are able to easily digest soaked, well-cooked mung beans in dal or kitchari . We can also use a combination of mung dal and psyllium to help us get to those 15 grams.

Here is a possible gentle daily detox regimen:

• 2-3 ½ cup (10-15g soluble fiber) servings a day of mung beans. This can actually be any beans but mung is easiest for most to digest, especially soaked, rinsed and cooked as dal or kitchari. It may seem strange to eat beans three times a day but, if it is a small amount that is well cooked with the right spices, it can be enjoyable as well as healthy.

• 1 teaspoon of psyllium husk provides ~3–4 grams of soluble fiber. Stir it into 8 ounces of water and drink it, ideally an hour before bed. Psyllium generally produces no gas, making it a useful option for those who are sensitive to legumes. But it works best as a complement to food-based fiber, not a total replacement. Whole foods like legumes provide additional nutrients and feed a more diverse gut microbiome. Larger doses of psyllium can also interfere with nutrient absorption or cause digestive discomfort if not taken with plenty of water.

Conclusion

Mung beans, in both Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, have long been valued for their cleansing and balancing effects. Western physiology now offers a strikingly clear explanation: their soluble fiber binds bile, prevents toxins from recirculating, and lowers cholesterol.

All three sciences converge on the same process: what the body no longer needs is mobilized, captured, and eliminated. For traditional systems, this is understood as clearing āma or relieving toxicity. For modern medicine, it is recognized as an effective way of detoxing a portion of excess steroid hormones, such as estrogen, along with environmental toxins, while also lowering LDL cholesterol, one of the major risk factors for heart disease.

Whether during Panchakarma, in the everyday preventive practices of TCM, or simply as a steady dietary habit, mung beans are both food and medicine for detoxification, hormonal balance, and cholesterol regulation. Psyllium can be a helpful addition, but legumes and other whole foods provide the richest, most balanced source of soluble fiber and should remain the foundation.

References

• The Fiber Fix, Everyday Ayurveda with Kate podcast episode with Kate O’Donnell & Karen Hurd.
• The Bean Protocol: Karen Hurd’s Revolutionary Approach to Detoxification and Health, Wickedly Smart Women podcast. Apple Podcasts link.
• Bazzano, L. A., et al. “Non-soy legume consumption lowers cholesterol levels: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases 21, no. 2 (2009): 94–103. PMC full text.
• Ridlon, J. M., et al. “Bile acids and the gut microbiome.” Current Opinion in Gastroenterology 30, no. 3 (2014): 332–338.
• Anderson, J. W., et al. (2000). “Long-term cholesterol-lowering effects of psyllium as an adjunct to diet therapy in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 71(6): 1433–1438.
• Wei, Z., et al. (2009). “Effects of psyllium on plasma lipids and glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63(6): 786–793.
• Harvard Health Publishing. “How to lower your cholesterol without drugs.” Updated October 2020.
• Mayo Clinic Staff. “Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers.” Updated July 2021.
• Bensky, D., Clavey, S., & Stöger, E. (2004). Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica (3rd ed.). Eastland Press. Entry on 绿豆 (lǜ dòu).
• Chen, J. K., & Chen, T. T. (2004). Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology. Art of Medicine Press. Entry on lǜ dòu.