Pulse Canada says that new research has found that adding pulses such as lentils and chickpeas to a meal can improve blood sugar control for diabetics.

Pulses (beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas) are a good food choice for people with diabetes because they contain carbohydrates that are slowly digested and do not cause a fast rise in blood sugar, Julianne Curran, Pulse Canada s director of Nutrition, Science &Regulatory Affairs said in a release.

Blood sugar control is critical to the prevention of long-term complications such as heart disease, nerve damage and kidney disease. For people with pre-diabetes, managing blood glucose levels can prevent a future diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

Pulse Canada says researchers at the University of Toronto looked at whether eating pulses in combination with a high glycemic index (GI) food like pasta would result in lower blood sugar levels after the meal. The results showed that blood sugar levels increased at a slower rate when subjects ate macaroni with pulses compared to macaroni with cheese.

In this study, we also looked at whether eating pulses at one meal would affect blood sugar responses to the next meal that study participants consumed. The results showed that this was indeed the case, said Dr. Rebecca Mollard, lead investigator of the study. Our findings support the recommendation to include pulses in the diet to improve blood sugar control.