Consumer Acceptability and Metabolic Health Benefits of Meals Containing Pulses (Chickpeas, Lentils, Peas) for Sedentary Office Workers

We determined whether improvements in metabolic health occur when sedentary office workers replace their regular workplace lunches with pulse-based meals (containing chickpeas, lentils, or split peas). We first tested 10 meals for favourability in 180 participants randomly given combinations of meal pairs. Based on their rankings, we chose seven meals to include in our clinical study. For the clinical study, we used a randomized, single-blind (researchers blind), cross-over design, where participants (n = 20 females; six males; 39 ± 13 y) were assigned to a pulse-based diet to replace their regular workplace meals or their regular diet for 2 months before crossing over to the other diet. Outcomes included insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, blood pressure, and body composition. Diet phase did not impact insulin sensitivity (Matsuda Index; pulse diet: −5.4 ± 23.5; regular diet: −7.5 ± 21.8; p = 0.81). The pulse diet significantly reduced the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) ratio (−0.13 ± 0.30 vs. +0.08 ± 0.29; p = 0.014), and the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to HDL-c ratio (−0.17 ± 0.36 vs. +0.03 ± 0.29; p = 0.033) compared to the regular diet. There were no significant differences between diet phases for blood pressure or body composition. Pulse-based meals incorporated into the office work environment improved blood lipid ratios, but had no effect on insulin sensitivity. (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03941704).