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Find Your Pulse!
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Latest research shows beans are today’s hottest superfood
Latest research shows beans are today’s hottest superfood
by Sue Mah, Registered Dietitian
 Good things come in small packages, so the saying goes. And when it comes
to superfoods, there’s no better example of this than “pulses.” Otherwise known as beans, dry peas, lentils and chickpeas, pulses are actually the edible seeds of these legume plants. We’ve always known that beans are good for you. After all, they’re low in calories and fat, a great source of protein and loaded with fibre. Canada’s Food Guide recommends that we eat pulses more often, but most Canadians aren’t eating enough.
According to Pulse Canada, an industry association that represents growers, processors and traders of pulse crops in Canada, we only eat about ¼ cup of pulses a week—a far cry from the ¾ cup of cooked beans needed to make up a meat alternative serving in the Food Guide. Why the disconnect? It’s probably an image problem. For one thing, consumers may be wary of the gas and bloating associated with eating beans. Beans are also perceived as being boring and time-consuming to prepare, and just how the heck do
you cook them anyway?
Beaning up on health benefits
Research from top Canadian and U.S. scientists, though, may change how we look at beans. They’re busy discovering new components of the humble bean, and groundbreaking work is proving that pulses have more health benefits than we ever would have guessed. At a recent symposium in Toronto hosted by Pulse Canada, leading researchers gathered to share their latest findings. Read on, and then head straight to the bean aisle at your grocery store
Good gut reaction to beans
Beans mean gas, right? Actually, the gas typically associated with eating beans, peas and lentils may not really be as bad as we think, according to research by Alison Duncan and Amanda Wright, both with the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario. In their study, 21 healthy male participants were given a big bowl of bean soup (either chickpea, lentil or pea) every day for a month. Participants answered a questionnaire about their experiences with gas, bloating, cramping and bowel movements before the study began, as well as 16 times throughout the study. They found that the severity of these symptoms stayed low during the study and didn’t differ much from before the study.
What’s more, the stuff that causes gas and bloating—called oligosaccharides— may actually be good for you. Oligosaccharides (or “oligos” for short) are a type of carbohydrate found in pulses. These oligos don’t get digested, and make it all the way down into your gut where they act as prebiotics or food for the healthy bacteria.
Besides the oligos, the high-fibre content in pulses can be partly to blame for gas and bloating. So if you’re going to boost the beans in your diet, do it gradually and drink plenty of water to minimize gastrointestinal discomfort. Over time, your body will grow used to the fibre and oligos in pulses.
The whole area of pulses, oligos and prebiotics is still very much in its infancy. In fact, published studies on the topic are rare. But one Canadian researcher is starting to fill this gap. Wendy Dahl, formerly with the University of Saskatchewan, is currently compiling results from a study on the prebiotic effect of chickpeas. Dahl, who is now an assistant professor with the Department of Food Science at the University of Florida in Gainesville, ran a study in which healthy adults were given one cup of puréed chickpeas in soups, brownies, muffins and cookies every day. “[We] just took the canned chickpeas and liquid, puréed them in a blender and added them to the [soup and dessert] mixes. It’s a really easy way of getting pulses into the diet,” explains Dahl.
Dahl’s research is the first of its kind. Her team found that the oligos and fibre in chickpeas actually suppressed\ some types of harmful bacteria (such as Clostridium histolyticum) in the gut and increased the numbers of healthy bacteria, including Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus bifermentas.
Hearty legumes for a healthier heart
When it comes to foods for your heart, research by physiology professor Peter Zahradka encourages us to think outside the oatmeal box. His research team at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg studied a group of people with peripheral artery disease, a type of cardiovascular disease in which blood flow to the limbs is reduced. The investigators found that eating just ½ cup of mixed pulses every day for eight weeks significantly lowered participants’ total cholesterol by five percent and low density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol levels by almost nine percent.
Beans useful for shedding pounds
A team of researchers at the University of Toronto have found that eating pulses such as lentils, chickpeas, navy beans and yellow peas reduces blood sugar and hunger. G. Harvey Anderson and his colleagues found that eating five cups of pulses a week helped overweight and obese participants in their study lose weight and shrink their waistline after just eight weeks. The exact cause remains unclear, but the researchers suspect it has to do with the protein and fibre content of pulses. What is clear is that eating pulses regularly can be as good for your waistline as following a lower-calorie diet.
In another study, weight-loss success was seen after only six weeks of eating pulses daily. Participants eating just ½ cup of pulses a day lost more weight than those eating hardly any (one tablespoon) daily. Lead researcher Megan McCrory at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, hopes that this study will help consumers and health professionals understand the value of including pulses for weight loss and overall good health.
As we learn more about the health benefits of pulses, we need to start shedding the less palatable image that they’ve unjustly earned. “We really need to target children so they grow up loving pulse foods,” says Dahl. “My kids [now aged 11 and 15] loved their lentil chocolate chip cookies and curried chickpeas [when they were young] and still do today!”
Giving peas a chance for diabetes
Researchers at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba found that the fibre in peas can help control insulin levels in overweight adults. Led by Peter Jones, the research team found that feeding participants muffins made with either whole pea flour or pea fibre had lower insulin resistance than participants who ate muffins made with regular wheat flour. Insulin resistance is a condition where the body no longer properly uses the insulin it produces, which
increases risk for high blood sugar levels and diabetes.
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