Spray-dried pulse consumption does not affect cardiovascular disease risk or glycemic control in healthy males

Pulses, including beans, chickpeas, lentils and peas, are high in dietary fiber, protein, and folate, and low in fat. Although beneficial effects of pulse consumption related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been reported in previous studies, many of them have focused on single pulse types in hypercholesterolemic adults, thus creating rationale to extend investigation into multiple pulse types in healthy adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chickpeas, lentils and peas on markers of CVD risk and glycemic control in healthy males. Twenty-one healthy adult males participated in a randomized crossover study involving four treatment periods in which they consumed 100 g of spray-dried chickpeas, lentils and peas, and a control (50 g of dehydrated potato flakes) for 28 days each, separated by 28-day washout periods. Fasting blood was collected on days 1 and 29 of each treatment period for analysis of total-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein A-I, homocysteine, glucose and insulin. Consumption of chickpea, lentil or pea for 28 days did not significantly affect serum lipids, homocysteine or glycemic parameters in a sample of 21 healthy adult males. Further research is required to determine the effectiveness of different pulse types on traditional biomarkers of cardiovascular disease as a preventative measure. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.