Eating legumes may aid in weight loss
Eating one serving of beans, peas, lentils or chickpeas every day may help dieters lose a little extra weight, according to a new analysis of existing research.
Researchers examined data from nearly two dozen trials and found that participants who ate about three quarters of a cup of legumes every day lost about three quarters of a pound more than those who didn’t eat legumes, regardless of whether the diets were geared to weight loss.
Lead author Dr. Russell de Souza told Reuters Health that legumes - or pulses, as they are known in many parts of the world – are an important sustainable protein source, plus they’re high in fiber.
“Legumes also have a low ‘ glycemic index,’ which means the carbohydrates in them do not raise blood sugars as rapidly as things like white bread or white flour,” said de Souza, a researcher with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
Previous studies have found that eating foods high in fiber and protein and low in the glycemic index promote weight loss, but the specific role of legumes hasn’t been clear, de Souza and his coauthors write in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“We did thi study as one in (a) series of papers we are working on to assess the effects of pulses on blood pressure, blood cholesterol, body weight, and appetite control to help guidelines committees to better formulate dietary advice,” he said by email.
The researchers culled 19 studies, based on 21 clinical trials that compared the effects of diets containing legumes with diets that didn’t include legumes, but had the same number of calories.
Only four of the studies were designed as weight loss studies; the remainder were meant to study weight- maintainance. A total of 940 obese or overweight adults participated in the trials, which lasted from four to 12 weeks.
“Though the amount of weight loss was small, it's important to state that the pulse- containing diets we reviewed were not designed for weight loss,” de Souza said. —