Black beans and chickpeas with rice lower blood sugar
What it found
In 12 healthy adult women, eating black beans or chickpeas with white rice led to lower blood sugar after the meal than eating white rice alone.
The authors say this supports traditional bean and rice meals.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood sugar after meals
Blood sugar was lower at 60 and 90 minutes after eating black beans with rice or chickpeas with rice compared with white rice alone. Black beans with rice also lowered blood sugar at 120 minutes.
Overall blood sugar response
The overall blood sugar response over 2 hours differed between the meals. The chickpea and rice meal was significantly different from rice alone, and the black bean and rice meal showed a trend toward a difference.
Insulin at 30 minutes
Insulin levels were higher 30 minutes after eating either bean and rice meal compared with white rice alone.
Overall insulin response
The overall insulin response over 2 hours did not differ significantly between the three meals.
What the authors conclude
“Findings indicate that combinations of black beans and chickpeas with white rice improve glycemic response, providing evidence that has promising implications for dietary guidance to reduce postprandial glucose and related health risks through traditional food patterns.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that whole black bean and chickpea consumption with white rice significantly reduced glycemic response compared to a white rice control among healthy adult women.
- Their findings have important implications for dietary guidance and retention of traditional food combinations.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether traditional food combinations like black beans and rice or chickpeas and rice affect blood sugar and insulin, since most studies have looked at beans eaten alone.
Twelve healthy women aged 18 to 65 ate three test meals on separate mornings at least a week apart: white rice alone, black beans with rice, or chickpeas with rice. Each meal provided 50 grams of available carbohydrate, and blood was sampled over 2 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a short-term study, so it cannot show the long-term effects of eating beans.
- The results cannot be generalized to men or to people with chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest
- Authors work at
- Iowa State University, USA; University of Colorado Colorado Springs, USA; University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA
The paper
- Title
- Glycemic Response to Black Beans and Chickpeas as Part of a Rice Meal: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Winham DM, Hutchins AM, Thompson SV (2017). Glycemic Response to Black Beans and Chickpeas as Part of a Rice Meal: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu9101095Free full textPubMed 28976933DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error