Benefits of pulse consumption on metabolism and health: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

authors	Ferreira, H; Vasconcelos, M; Gil, AM; Pinto, E
nationality	International
journal	CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION
author keywords	Biomarkers; cardiovascular risk factors; ingestion; legume grains; well-being
keywords	CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK-FACTORS; GLYCEMIC INDEX DIET; LEGUME CONSUMPTION; DIABETIC-PATIENTS; NUTRITIONAL-VALUE; BEAN CONSUMPTION; PROTEIN; FOOD; METAANALYSIS; METABOLOMICS
abstract	Pulses are nutrient-dense foods that have for a long time been empirically known to have beneficial effects in human health. In the last decade, several studies have gathered evidence of the metabolic benefits of pulse intake. However, it remains unclear at what amounts these effects may be attained. This study aimed to systematically review the scientific outputs of the last two decades regarding health benefits of pulse consumption and the amounts necessary for positive outcomes to be achieved. A PubMed search including keywords [("dietary pulses", "pulses", "legumes", "grain legumes", "bean", "chickpea", "pea", "lentil", "cowpea", "faba bean", "lupin") and ("inflammation", "inflammatory markers", "C-reactive protein", "blood lipids", "cholesterol", "cardiometabolic health", "cardiovascular disease", "diabetes", "glycaemia", "insulin", "HOMA-IR", "body weight", "body fat", "obesity", "overweight", "metabolome", "metabolic profile", "metabolomics", "biomarkers", "microbiome", "microbiota", "gut")] was performed. Only English written papers referring to human dietary interventions, longer than one day, focusing on whole pulses intake, were included. Most of the twenty eligible publications reported improvements in blood lipid profile, blood pressure, inflammation biomarkers, as well as, in body composition, resulting from pulse daily amounts of 150 g (minimum-maximum: 54-360 g/day; cooked). Concerns regarding methodological approaches are evident and the biochemical mechanisms underlying such effects require further investigation.
publisher	TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
issn	1040-8398
year published	2020
digital object identifier (doi)	10.1080/10408398.2020.1716680
web of science category	Food Science & Technology; Nutrition & Dietetics
subject category	Food Science & Technology; Nutrition & Dietetics
unique article identifier	WOS:000509190900001