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A new study suggests that a hearty daily serving of pulses may greatly help with weight loss efforts.
A group of researchers found that consuming more lentil, beans, peas, and chickpeas could help you shed those extra pounds and also keep them off.
The study results show that eating 4.5 ounces (130 grams) of pulses per day could promote weight loss as people’s satiety cues kick in earlier. Plus, the new approach also seems to keep bad cholesterol in check.
For the study, scientists sifted through clinical data on about 940 overweight adult patients. Participants agreed to add that extra serving of pulses to their daily diet for six weeks. At the end of the trial, volunteers lost on average 0.75 pounds without workout or food deprivation.
Dr Russell de Souza, lead author of the recent research and nutrition expert at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute in Canada, noted that just 13 percent of Canadians incorporate pulses in their diets though there are multiple documented health benefits. Furthermore, even if they do incorporate the healthy food in their diet, most of them do not consume the necessary serving for weight loss.
Dr Souza hopes that the recent study will raise awareness on the benefits of dietary pulses and convince people to eat more on a regular basis.
What’s more, pulses are broken down slowly in the body, which makes them more filling than other foods. People that have removed meat from their diets often resort to pulses to fulfill their protein needs. Pulses can also be used to replace bad animal fats from our diets.
Study authors believe that pulses may also be a solution to the nasty yo-yo effect of dieting. Because of the effect, 90 percent of people that try to lose weight regain the lost pounds with some extras. Researchers do not yet fully understand the underpinnings of the phenomenon, but they suspect that food cravings and hunger may be one possible cause.
Dr Souza noted that the recent findings are consistent with their previous work suggesting that lentil, beans, peas, and chickpeas boost satiety by 31 percent. Plus, if you feel full earlier you are less likely to eat excessively.
A separate study revealed that regular consumption of pulses can visibly lower levels of bad cholesterol. Researchers found that cholesterol levels could be lowered by as much as five percent, which is enough to keep heart disease and stroke at bay.
The new study had the right timing since the U.N. designated 2016 the International Year of Pulses.
A research paper on the findings was recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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