Beans may help with weight loss

Canadian researchers have reported that beans, chickpeas, peas, lentils and humble foods may help in weight loss.

A new analysis of data from 21 clinical trials on these foods collectively known as “pulses” finds that they can help dieters feel full, and shed some weight.

One of the researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Russell de Souza, said, “Though the weight loss was small, our findings suggest that simply including pulses in your diet may help you lose weight, and we think more importantly, prevent you from gaining it back after you lose it.”

Dana Angelo White, a nutritionist and assistant professor of sports medicine at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. agrees that though, these types of legumes are some of the most under-appreciated foods around, they are full of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.

She said, “They are full of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.

“It makes sense they would help facilitate weight loss and reduce cholesterol when eaten regularly.”

The Canadian team also noted that pulses have a “low glycemic index”, meaning that they break down slowly in the digestive tract. As such, they can be consumed instead of animal protein or unhealthy fats at mealtimes.

The trials included in the new analysis involved a total of 940 adults. When participants started eating one serving (3/4 cup) of pulses a day, they lost an average of 0.75 pounds over six weeks without making any special effort to avoid other types of foods, the researchers said.

According to de Souza’s team, researches made before now have shown that eating bean, lentils and other pulses make people feel fuller and that 90 per cent of weight loss programs fail, due in part to the influence of hunger and food cravings.

De Souza  said this new study fits well with their previous work, which found that pulses increased the feeling of fullness by 31 per cent, which may indeed result in less food intake.

These foods also appear to help lower blood levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, he added.

In support of the research, an outpatient dietitian at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Antonella Apicella, said the study is in line with the notion that foods such as beans, lentils, chickpeas and dry peas may reduce body fat and may contribute to weight loss, even if calories were not restricted.

She agreed that pulses do seem to help people feel fuller, sooner, and the fiber these foods contain “may reduce the absorption of fat.”

Punch