Tag Archives: staple

Research Reveals This Popular Pantry Staple Can Help Lower Your Cholesterol Daily

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Regularly incorporating chickpeas into your diet can lead to a notable reduction in cholesterol levels. Discover more at the Nutrition 2025 Meeting in Orlando.

A 12-week research study by the Illinois Institute of Technology explored the impact of consuming one glass of chickpeas or black beans daily with a group of 72 pre-diabetic adults.

Participants were randomly assigned to consume chickpeas, black beans, or rice (as a control) along with their usual meals. Blood samples were taken at the beginning, middle, and conclusion of the study to monitor alterations in cholesterol, inflammation, and blood glucose levels.

The findings indicated that total cholesterol levels dropped significantly from an average of 200.4 to 185.8 milligrams per deciliter after 12 weeks of daily chickpea intake.

Among the legumes studied, only chickpeas were linked to lower cholesterol. “No significant changes in cholesterol were detected with black bean consumption,” stated Morgan Smith, who spoke to doctoral candidates from the Illinois Institute of Technology presenting their research at the conference. BBC Science Focus.

Additionally, chickpeas appeared to reduce inflammation in the short term. “By the six-week mark of chickpea consumption, we noted a significant decline in highly sensitive C-reactive protein (HS-CRP),” Smith remarked. This protein serves as a marker for inflammation in the body.

“Nevertheless, these results diminished by week 12. Although HS-CRP remained lower at week 12 compared to the baseline, the distinctions were no longer statistically significant,” she explained.

Conversely, while black beans did reduce inflammation, they did not impact cholesterol levels.

These results imply that chickpeas and black beans may provide varied health advantages due to their unique nutritional compositions.

Participants consuming one glass of chickpeas daily for 12 weeks experienced a significant reduction in cholesterol levels. – Getty

“We are currently investigating this, particularly concerning the bioactive components that set apart black beans from chickpeas,” Smith added. “We are analyzing the (poly)phenol content of both the intervention and the corresponding metabolite profile in the blood.”

Smith noted that chickpeas and black beans were selected for their “richness in dietary fiber, plant-based proteins, and bioactive compounds,” and for their convenience as canned options.

“Participants were in a free-living state and simply asked to integrate canned black beans or chickpeas into their regular diet without any specific preparation guidelines,” she stated.

While the study did not yield changes in blood glucose levels, researchers are still examining data related to glucose regulation and plan to explore how legumes influence gut microbiota.

“We are particularly focused on identifying changes in microbial metabolites, like short-chain fatty acids, and how these alterations enhance metabolic health outcomes,” Smith remarked.

“Ultimately, our aim is to deepen our understanding of the connections between diet, microbiome, and chronic disease prevention.”

The complete findings of this study are yet to be published in peer-reviewed journals.

About our experts

Morgan Smith is a doctoral candidate in food science and nutrition at Illinois Institute of Technology. She has contributed to peer-reviewed research featured in the journals Nutrition and Healthy Aging and Metabolites.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Staple plant foods high in starch were a key component in the human diet nearly 800,000 years ago

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Archaeologists say they have extracted various starch granules from stone tools found at an early Middle Pleistocene site in Israel. These include acorns, grass grains, water chestnuts, yellow waterlily rhizomes, and legume seeds.

Examples of plant parts recovered from Gesher Benot Yaakov's percussion instruments, including whole plants, edible parts, and characteristic starch granules. From left to right: oak, yellow water lily, oat. Scale bar – 20 μm. Image credit: Hadar Ahituv and Yoel Melamed.

The 780,000-year-old basalt tools were discovered at the early Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Yaakov, located on the shores of ancient Lake Hula.

They were examined by a team of researchers led by Bar-Ilan University. Dr. Hadar Ahitub.

“Our study contradicts the prevailing theory that ancient humans' diets were primarily based on animal protein, as suggested by the popular 'Paleo' diet,” the scientists said. Ta.

“Many of these diets are based on interpretations of animal bones found at archaeological sites, and very little plant-based food has been preserved.”

“However, the discovery of starch granules in ancient tools provides new insight into the central role of plants, especially the carbohydrate-rich starchy tubers, nuts and roots essential to the energy needs of the human brain. I got it.”

“Our research also focuses on the sophisticated methods that early humans used to process plant materials.”

The authors recorded more than 650 starch granules in basalt maces and anvils, tools used to crack and crush Gesher Benot Yaakov's plant foods.

These tools are the earliest evidence of human processing of plant foods, and were used to cook a variety of plants, including acorns, grains, legumes, and aquatic plants like yellow water lilies and the now-extinct water chestnut. was used to.

They also identified microscopic debris such as pollen grains, rodent hair, and feathers, supporting the reliability of the starch findings.

“This discovery highlights the importance of plant foods in the evolution of our ancestors,” Dr. Ahitub said.

“We now know that early humans collected a wide variety of plants throughout the year and processed them using tools made of basalt.”

“This discovery opens a new chapter in the study of the deep relationship between early human diets and plant-based foods.”

The findings also provide insight into hominin social and cognitive behavior.

“The use of tools to process plants suggests a high degree of cooperation and social structure, as hominins operated as part of a larger social group,” the researchers said.

“Their ability to exploit diverse resources from both aquatic and terrestrial environments demonstrates a deep knowledge of their surrounding environment, similar to that of modern humans today.”

“This discovery is an important milestone in the field of prehistoric research, providing valuable evidence about the diet of our ancient ancestors and providing new perspectives on human evolution and the development of complex societies.”

Regarding this research, paper this week, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Hadar Ahitub others. 2025. Starch-rich plant foods 780,000 years ago: Evidence from Acheulean impact stone tools. PNAS 122 (3): e2418661121;doi: 10.1073/pnas.2418661121

Source: www.sci.news