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.
keywords
CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK-FACTORS; GLYCEMIC INDEX DIET; LEGUME CONSUMPTION; DIABETIC-PATIENTS; NUTRITIONAL-VALUE; BEAN CONSUMPTION; PROTEIN; FOOD; METAANALYSIS; METABOLOMICS
subject category
Food Science & Technology; Nutrition & Dietetics
authors
Ferreira, H; Vasconcelos, M; Gil, AM; Pinto, E
our authors
Ana Maria Pissarra Coelho Gil
Associate Professor with Aggregation
Helena Alexandra Gonçalves Ferreira
PhD Studentacknowledgements
This work was supported by National Funds from FCT through projects UID/Multi/50016/2019 and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, FCT Ref. UID/CTM/50011/2019 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679, financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES. Transition paths to sustainable legume-based systems in Europe (TRUE), has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 727973. H. Ferreira would like to acknowledge FCT for doctoral grant ref. SFRH/BDE/132240/2017.