Among pulses’ many nutritive properties are their high complex carbohydrate content, including soluble and insoluble fiber, and slowly digestible and resistant starches. These properties contribute to their low glycemic index, and can have an effect on blood glucose even after later meals, termed the “second-meal effect.” The authors studied pulses in order to show the role they play in reducing blood glucose after later meals, which also means a reduction in appetite, implicating their importance in weight loss through blood glucose control.

Healthy men ages 18-35 were recruited to participate in the study which included consumption of chickpeas, lentils, navy beans, yellow peas, and white bread, all served with tomato sauce. They had to fast 10-12 hours the night before and were given one of the five foods for breakfast, with blood glucose measurements taken at various intervals. After a couple of hours, the test subjects were given pizza and water with further blood glucose measurements. Although all pulses were better at lowering postprandial glycemia compared with white bread, chickpeas and lentils were more effective in reducing appetite in the “second-meal effect” in measurements taken one hour after the pizza meal. Of course, a great way to have your pizza and eat it, too is to include chickpeas and lentils on the pizza.

Mollard RC, Wong CL, Luhovyy BL, Cho F, Anderson GH. Second-meal effects of pulses on blood glucose and subjective appetite following a standardized meal 2 h later. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2014;39:849-851.

Summarized by the NDSU Extension Service.