Acute effects of extruded pulse snacks on glycemic response, insulin, appetite, and food intake in healthy young adults in a double blind, randomized, crossover trial

Research indicates that the postprandial glycemic benefits of consuming whole pulses are retained when consumed in a mixed meal, pureed, and ground into flours. The glycemic benefits of pulse flours when incorporated into extruded products are unknown. In a randomized, repeated-measures crossover study, adults (n = 26) consumed extruded corn snacks made with the addition of 40% pulse flour from either whole yellow pea, split yellow pea, green lentil, chickpea, or pinto bean. The control snack was 100% corn. Food intake was measured with an ad libitum meal consumed at 120 min. Blood glucose (BG), insulin and appetite were measured regularly before (pre-meal, 0-120 min) and after (post-meal, 140-200 min) the meal. Pinto bean and chickpea snacks led to lower (p < 0.05) pre-meal BG incremental area under the curve (iAUC), compared with control, whole yellow pea and green lentil snacks. Pinto bean snack also led to lower (pre-meal BG (p < 0.05) and insulin (p < 0.05) iAUC compared with control, whole yellow pea, and split yellow pea snacks. There were no differences in food intake or appetite. These findings indicate that effects of replacing corn with pulse flours in extruded snacks on BG, and insulin are dependent on pulse type. ClinicalTrials. gov Identifier: NCT02402504. Registered on 30 March 2015.

Automated summary

Research shows that incorporating 40% pulse flour into extruded corn snacks can lead to lower pre-meal blood glucose and insulin responses for pinto bean and chickpea snacks. The findings suggest that the effects on blood glucose and insulin levels when replacing corn with pulse flours in extruded snacks are dependent on the type of pulse used.