Humble chickpeas and lentils in a nutrition showdown with fashion cereals beyond fashion cereals

According to the challenge of routine thinking about everyday pantry, a plate of chickpeas may be more valuable to your health than handmade sour or stylish oatmeal.

Scientists at the University of Adelaide have found that pulse products such as chickpeas and lentils are significantly better than popular cereal cereals in providing the basic nutrients the body can actually absorb and use.

The study, published in the journal Food Ingredients and Analysis, analyzes a variety of foods readily available on Australian supermarket shelves to assess their nutritional qualities – especially focusing on zinc and iron bioavailability.

“We found that all pulse products, such as chickpeas and lentil powder, are excellent sources of micronutrients,” said Thi Diem Nguyen, PhD candidate at the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide. “Especially for zinc and iron nutrition, they outperform oats and wheat flours, such as cereals.”

This discovery comes at a time when many consumers tend to cereal products based on healthy foods. In recent years, the health industry has advocated all forms of cereals, from ancient varieties to gluten-free alternatives, often positioning them as excellent nutritional options.

What makes the research particularly important is that it focuses not only on the original nutrients present in food, but also on how the body can effectively obtain these nutrients – a concept called bioavailability and is often overlooked in nutrition discussions.

The researchers found that cereal products contain compounds called plants that can significantly inhibit the body’s ability to absorb minerals. While whole grains do have more content than refined ones, this advantage is partially offset by higher plant levels.

“Nutrition absorption can be limited by coexistence of resistance causals in cereals, such as the presence of plants,” Nguyen explained.

The team found that standard chickpeas or lentils could provide more bioavailable zinc and iron than wheat or oat products. Especially for women, these findings may have a significant impact, as studies have shown that 280 grams of dry chickpeas or lentils can provide women with 100% of their daily zinc needs.

Although zinc and iron may not be the nutrition consumers actively consider when planning meals, their health effects are huge. According to the World Health Organization estimates that zinc deficiency can lead to impaired immune function and delayed growth in children, while iron deficiency remains the most common cause of anemia worldwide, affecting about 37% of pregnant women worldwide.

Interestingly, the survey revealed significant differences even in the product category. White corn shows greater iron bioavailability than yellow corn products, while buckwheat and hardened wheat products have particularly poor zinc bioavailability.

These findings raise questions about current reinforcement practices. Australian Food Standard New Zealand recommends that manufacturers reinforce certain foods with additional zinc and iron, but the Adelaide team found evidence that many cereal products may not be able to achieve these goals.

“Ceres such as wheat and oat flour have lower zinc and iron concentrations than other products, indicating that they may not meet Australian food standards for nutritional goals recommended by Australia New Zealand,” Dr Stephanie Watts-Fawkes noted.

For consumers, especially those at risk of micronutrient deficiencies, practical takeaways seem simple: incorporate more pulse-based foods into a regular diet plan.

Nguyen advises: “People with micronutrient deficiency may include more protein, zinc and iron and have higher bioavailability,” Nguyen advises.

These findings are in line with the historical dietary patterns of many traditional cuisines around the world, where beans are the nutritional foundation. Dishes like Indian Dahl (Lintil Curry), Middle Eastern hummus (hummpea paste) and Mediterranean Favas have long provided essential nutrition in potentially limited meat consumption.

Going forward, Adelaide researchers plan to study ways to increase nutritional bioavailability in crops. “We wanted to study methods that naturally reduce plants, such as optimizing cooking or processing methods; developing low-plant, high-nutrition crops; and examining how other micronutrients interact with plants in cereals and legumes,” Dr. Watts-Fawkes said.

The timing of research is in parallel with the increasing interest in plant-based dietary patterns, and adequate mineral nutrition becomes particularly important in plant-based dietary patterns. Especially for vegetarians and vegans, understanding which plant food provides the most bioavailable nutrients can seriously affect health outcomes.

Although legumes became clear nutrition winners in this analysis, the researchers stressed that variety is still important in a balanced diet. The study found that even in product categories, there were significant nutritional differences based on processing methods and varieties.

For example, whole grain products often contain more nutrients than refined versions, although this advantage is partially offset by higher plant levels. Brown rice products have about three times higher phytic acid salts than white rice, while brown wheat products contain about twice as much as white wheat.

For consumers, considering a healthy supermarket aisle, this study offers a simple heuristic: Don’t ignore the modest legume section. Those dried chickpeas, lentils and other legumes may lack the marketing appeal of fashionable cereal products, but in important cases, their nutritional profile is significantly impressive.