Nutrition Hotline
What Are Beans, Legumes, and Pulses?
By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
QUESTION: What is the difference between dried beans, legumes, and pulses, and why should we eat more of them? B.E., via email
ANSWER: The word "legumes" is the broadest term; it is used to describe a plant family that has seeds in a pod. The legume family includes beans, peas, soybeans, and lentils. Pulses are legumes harvested when they are dry and that do not have high levels of moisture, fat, or oil.1 For example, green beans, peanuts, and soybeans are all legumes but are not pulses. Green beans are not classified as pulses because they have too much moisture; peanuts and soybeans are too oily to be classified as pulses. Dry beans, peas, and lentils are all pulses.
Legumes' health benefits include their high nutrient content. They're good sources of fiber, folate, iron, protein, thiamin, and zinc. Legumes are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. For example, a study of more than 9,000 U.S. adults found that eating legumes four or more times a week was associated with a 22% lower risk of heart disease.2 A meta-analysis of eight studies found that adding pulses to the diet was linked to reduced blood pressure in people with and without hypertension.3 Eating more legumes is associated with a reduction in LDL-cholesterol levels.4 In a controlled study of adults with obesity, eating four servings a week of cooked legumes was associated with more weight loss than not eating legumes, despite both groups eating a similar number of calories.5 And a Spanish study found that older adults who ate about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked legumes daily had a one-third lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared with those eating the lowest amount of legumes.6
REFERENCES:
1 Marinangeli CPF, Curran J, Barr SI, et al. Enhancing nutrition with pulses: defining a recommended serving size for adults. Nutr Rev. 2017;75:990-1006.
2 Bazzano LA, He J, Ogden LG, et al. Legume consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women: NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:2573-2578.
3 Jayalath VH, de Souza RJ, Sievenpiper JL, et al. Effect of dietary pulses on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials. Am J Hypertens. 2014;27:56-64.
4 Mullins AP, Arjmandi BH. Health benefits of plant-based nutrition: Focus on beans in cardiometabolic diseases. Nutrients. 2021;13:519.
5 Hermsdorff HH, Zulet MÁ, Abete I, et al. A legume-based hypocaloric diet reduces proinflammatory status and improves metabolic features in overweight/obese subjects. Eur J Nutr. 2011;50:61-69.
6 Becerra-Tomás N, Díaz-López A, Rosique-Esteban N, et al. Legume consumption is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes incidence in adults: A prospective assessment from the PREDIMED study. Clin Nutr. 2018;37:906-913.
