Chickpea consumption: health risks and benefits reviewed
What it found
Chickpeas contain compounds that can make it harder for the body to use nutrients, and they can trigger allergies in sensitive people.
They also contain substances that may help with several human diseases.
What they found
Studies in people
Allergy concerns
High consumption rates of chickpeas have increased allergic problems in sensitive individuals. Chickpeas contain many allergens.
Other findings
Antinutrients in chickpeas
Chickpeas may contain protease inhibitors, phytic acid, lectins, oligosaccharides, and some phenolic compounds. These can impair how well people use nutrients from food.
Beneficial compounds
Chickpeas contain phytic acid, lectins, sterols, saponins, dietary fibers, resistant starch, oligosaccharides, unsaturated fatty acids, amylase inhibitors, carotenoids, and isoflavones. These have shown the ability to lower clinical complications linked to various human diseases.
Prevention strategies
The authors describe simple but promising ways to avoid the health risks of eating chickpeas.
What the authors conclude
“The aim of this paper is to unravel the health risks as well as health-promoting aspects of CP consumption and to try to fill the gaps that currently exist.”
Also in their conclusions
- They aim to unravel the health risks as well as health-promoting aspects of chickpea consumption and to try to fill the gaps that currently exist.
- They focus on various prevention strategies to avoid health risks of chickpea consumption using simple but promising ways.
How it was done
The authors wanted to clarify the health risks and health-promoting aspects of eating chickpeas and to fill gaps in current knowledge.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of existing research, not a new study in people.
- It cannot show whether eating chickpeas directly causes any health benefit or harm.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), India; Integral University, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), India
The paper
- Title
- Health Risks and Benefits of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Consumption
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Gupta RK, Gupta K, Sharma A, Das M, Ansari IA, Dwivedi PD (2017). Health Risks and Benefits of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Consumption. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.6b02629PubMed 27779388DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error