Lentils and mung beans: a modest cholesterol drop and hard-won iron

By a meta-analysis of 38 randomized trials with 2,095 adults, eating about 4.6 oz (130 g) of whole pulses a day for a median of 6 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 5.4 mg/dL (95% CI 3.1 to 7.3; metric: 0.14 mmol/L, 0.08 to 0.19). The shift is modest and the certainty moderate to high, but the pulses were pooled, mung beans are not named, and the authors say lentil trials are still too few. An older meta-analysis found that pulses eaten alone lowered fasting glucose and insulin across 11 trials in people with and without diabetes, reported only as standardized differences with high unexplained heterogeneity. The iron story is less flattering. In 19 women, only 2.2 percent of the iron in a single lentil dal meal was absorbed, against 23.6 percent from ferrous sulfate. A vitamin C-rich fruit helped with mung beans. In a 7-month randomized trial on 200 schoolchildren in rural North India, 46 percent of them anemic, adding guava to a daily mung bean dal raised hemoglobin by 3.7 g/L and cut anemia by 51 percent, while body iron stores did not rise significantly.

How much is actually in it

• Eight USDA samples of dry lentils held 6.5 to 7.9 mg of iron and about 24 g of protein per 3.5 oz (100 g), a narrow spread, while no such sampled data exist for mung beans. — USDA FoodData Central Foundation Foods: Lentils, dry (8 samples) (n = 8 analytical samples) Evidence E source
  Iron 7.158 mg (6.52-7.94), zinc 3.863 mg (3.04-4.34), protein 23.57 g (22.1-24.4), resistant starch 16.0 g (14.0-19.0), potassium 948.9 mg (909-968) per 3.5 oz (100 g) dry
• UK values put dry whole mung beans at 6.0 mg iron, 23.9 g protein and 140 micrograms folate per 3.5 oz (100 g), close to dry red split lentils at 7 mg, 25.6 g and 164 micrograms. — UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset: Beans, mung, whole, dried, raw (13-096) and Lentils, red, split, dried, raw (13-657), per 3.5 oz (100 g) (n = one composite value per food) Evidence E source
  Mung vs red lentils per 3.5 oz (100 g) dry: iron 6.00 vs 7 mg, protein 23.9 vs 25.6 g, folate 140 vs 164 ug, potassium 1250 vs 717 mg, magnesium 150 vs 59 mg, zinc 2.7 vs 3.3 mg, selenium 16 vs 34 ug

What a real portion looks like

• In a randomized feeding trial on 18 adults, a 3.5 oz (98.5 g) serving of lentils delivered 119 calories, 16 percent fewer calories than the standard Atwater calculation predicts. — 18 adults on a controlled diet with 7-day fecal and urine collections (n = 18) Evidence B source
  Lentils 498 +/- 17 kJ (119 +/- 4 calories) per 98.5 g serving, 16.0 percent below Atwater general factors (p < 0.0001)
• US survey portions put a cup of cooked lentils or mung beans at 185 g, and one ounce of dry mung beans yields 72 g cooked. — USDA FNDDS household measures: Lentils, NFS (food code 41304970) and Mung beans, cooked (food code 41108010) Evidence E source
  Lentils: 1 cup 185 g, quantity not specified 92 g; mung beans: 1 cup 185 g, 1 oz dry yield after cooking 72 g, quantity not specified 92 g

What your body absorbs

• In a 7-month randomized trial on 200 Indian schoolchildren, adding guava to a daily mung bean dal raised hemoglobin by 3.7 g/L and cut anemia by 51 percent, but did not raise iron stores. — 200 children aged 6 to 10 in rural North India, 46 percent anemic, daily school meal of mungbean dal with or without fresh guava (about 170 mg vitamin C) (n = 200) Evidence B source
  Hemoglobin +3.7 g/L (95% CI 1.6 to 5.6), anemia -51 percent (95% CI -74 to -10), body iron stores +0.65 mg/kg (95% CI -0.34 to 1.63, not significant)
• In 19 women, only 2.2 percent of the iron in a lentil dal meal was absorbed against 23.6 percent from ferrous sulfate. — 19 non-pregnant women (6 anemic), 330 g dal from isotope-labeled lentils versus a ferrous sulfate reference dose (n = 19) Evidence B source
  Iron absorption dal 2.20 +/- 3.40 percent versus ferrous sulfate 23.6 +/- 13.2 percent (P < 0.001)
• In a cluster-randomized trial on 1195 Bangladeshi girls aged 10 to 17, eating iron-fortified lentils over 85 feeding days cut the risk of iron deficiency by 57 percent compared with usual diet. — 1195 adolescent girls aged 10 to 17, rural Bangladesh, 85 feeding days (n = 1195) Evidence B source
  57 percent lower risk of clinical iron deficiency (serum ferritin <15 ug/L) versus usual intake; serum ferritin decline -7.2 versus -12.8 ug/L
• FDA names beans and lentils as plant sources of non-heme iron, as opposed to the heme iron in meat, poultry and seafood. — US Nutrition Facts label rulemaking, general population Evidence E source
  Classification of iron form by food source, no absorption figure

What cooking and storage change

• In randomized crossover tests on healthy adults, swapping 25 g of carbohydrate for red lentils cut the blood sugar response of chili and soup to 48 and 49 percent of the control. — healthy adults, 25 g available carbohydrate from green or red lentils versus wheat muffin (n = 24), rice chili (n = 24) or potato soup (n = 20) (n = 20 to 24 per food) Evidence B source
  Relative glycemic response green lentils 88, 58, 61 percent and red lentils 84, 48, 49 percent for muffin, chili and soup
• By the USDA table for legumes boiled 45 to 75 minutes and drained, only 45 percent of folate and 60 percent of thiamin remain, while iron keeps 80 percent and zinc 85 percent. — Legumes and Legume Products (USDA group 16), cooked 45/75 min, boiled, drained (n = USDA R6 table, one group-by-method row) Evidence E source
  USDA-RETN-R6:521 retained: folate 45 percent, thiamin 60 percent, copper 65 percent, vitamin B6 65 percent, potassium 70 percent, magnesium 75 percent, iron 80 percent, zinc 85 percent
• Boiled in unsalted water, 3.5 oz (100 g) of whole mung beans holds 1.66 mg iron, 35 micrograms folate and 8.6 g protein, because cooked beans are about 69 percent water. — UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset: Beans, mung, whole, dried, boiled in unsalted water (13-664), per 3.5 oz (100 g) (n = one composite value) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g boiled: water 69.3 g, energy 100 calories, protein 8.6 g, iron 1.66 mg, folate 35 ug, potassium 339 mg, AOAC fiber 6.1 g

What it does to your health

• According to a meta-analysis of 38 trials with 2095 people, eating about 4.6 oz (130 g) of whole pulses a day for a median of 6 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 5.4 mg/dL (0.14 mmol/L), and the authors call for more trials on lentils. — adults in randomized trials of at least 3 weeks, median dose 130 g a day (0.5 to 0.67 cup) (n = 2095) Evidence A source
  LDL -5.4 mg/dL (95% CI -7.3 to -3.1; metric: -0.14 mmol/L, -0.19 to -0.08), non-HDL -8.5 mg/dL (-0.22 mmol/L), HDL -1.2 mg/dL (-0.03 mmol/L), similar across pulse types
• According to a meta-analysis of 41 trials, pulses eaten alone lowered fasting blood glucose (SMD -0.82) and insulin (SMD -0.49) in people with and without diabetes. — people with and without diabetes in controlled trials of at least 7 days, 11 trials of pulses alone (n = 41 trials) Evidence A source
  Fasting glucose SMD -0.82 (95% CI -1.36 to -0.27), insulin SMD -0.49 (95% CI -0.93 to -0.04), high unexplained heterogeneity
• In a randomized trial on 30 adults with a large waist, 8 weeks of lentil meals lowered insulin resistance (HOMA-IR -1.5 units at the high dose versus control), and 87.4 percent reported no or mild gut symptoms. — 30 adults with increased waist circumference, mean BMI 35.1, 5 midday meals a week with 0, 300 or 600 g cooked green lentils for 8 weeks (n = 30) Evidence B source
  HOMA-IR +1.2 in control, -0.9 (P = .03) at 300 g and -1.5 (P < .01) at 600 g relative to control; 87.4 percent no to mild GI symptoms

Safety, limits and interactions

• Observational outbreak data tie raw mung bean sprouts to Salmonella: in a 2011 outbreak in Germany and the Netherlands, eating sprouts carried 18 times the odds of infection. — 50 notified adult S. Newport cases against 45 S. Enteritidis controls, Germany and the Netherlands, 2011 (n = 95) Evidence C source
  Odds ratio 18.4 (95% CI 2.2 to 150.2) for sprout consumption
• A scoping review of 47 studies found lentil allergy mostly described through prevalence data, with no study on allergen labeling or education for it. — 47 original studies on chickpea, pea, lentil and lupine allergy in adults and children, mostly Europe (n = 47 studies) Evidence C source
  Gaps: burden rarely studied, labeling and education not studied
• FDA advises children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immunity to avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind, mung bean sprouts included. — children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, USA Evidence E source
  Avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts, including mung bean sprouts

What people believe that the data does not support

• In a randomized crossover trial on 20 people with IBS, mung bean noodles produced about as much gut gas as rice and clearly less than wheat noodles over 8 hours. — 20 patients with non-constipation irritable bowel syndrome (13 women, mean age 46) (n = 20) Evidence B source
  8-hour AUC H2 wheat 4120 versus rice 2267 versus mung bean 2356 ppm-min (p < 0.05 wheat versus others)
• The EU refused to authorize a claim that mung bean is a source of phytoestrogens giving estrogenic support in menopause. — EU Register on nutrition and health claims, snapshot 2026-09-21 (n = 1 claim) Evidence E source
  Non-authorized (POL-HC-7611); no authorized claim for mung bean or lentil in the register
• The EU also refused the claim that lentil and bean shoots naturally boost your digestive system. — EU Register on nutrition and health claims, snapshot 2026-09-21 (n = 1 claim) Evidence E source
  Non-authorized (POL-HC-7622)

The bottom line

Dry lentils hold about 7.2 mg of iron and 24 g of protein per 3.5 oz (100 g) across eight USDA samples, with a narrow spread, and per cooked serving those figures fall by roughly two thirds. USDA has no sampled data for mung beans, so the UK table is our only number for them. Dry whole mung beans there carry 6.0 mg of iron, 23.9 g of protein and 140 micrograms of folate per 3.5 oz (100 g), close to dry red lentils at 7 mg, 25.6 g and 164 micrograms. Mung beans carry more potassium (1250 against 717 mg) and magnesium (150 against 59 mg). These are single values without a sample range. Boiled, 3.5 oz (100 g) of mung beans holds 1.66 mg of iron and 35 micrograms of folate, because the cooked beans are 69 percent water. In a randomized feeding trial on 18 adults, a 3.5 oz (98.5 g) serving of lentils delivered 119 calories, 16 percent fewer than the standard Atwater calculation predicts. A cup of cooked lentils or mung beans weighs 6.5 oz (185 g) in US surveys. Boiling legumes for 45 to 75 minutes and draining keeps only 45 percent of folate and 60 percent of thiamin by a 1975 USDA group factor, while iron keeps 80 percent. Swapped in for 25 g of carbohydrate, red lentils cut the 2-hour blood sugar response of a rice chili and a potato soup to 48 and 49 percent of the control in healthy adults, and green lentils to 58 and 61 percent. Gas is the usual complaint. In an 8-week randomized trial on 30 adults with a large waist, eating 300 or 21 oz (600 g) of cooked green lentils at five lunches a week, 87.4 percent reported no or mild gut symptoms, and insulin resistance fell (HOMA-IR 1.5 units lower than control at the higher dose). In 20 people with IBS, mung bean noodles, which are starch rather than whole beans, produced about as much hydrogen as rice and less than wheat over 8 hours. FDA classes the iron in beans and lentils as non-heme iron from plants, the form the dal test in 19 women measured at 2.2 percent absorbed. Iron-fortified lentils are a separate product. Eaten over 85 feeding days by 1,195 Bangladeshi girls aged 10 to 17, they cut the risk of iron deficiency by 57 percent compared with usual diet. The EU refused claims that mung beans give estrogenic support in menopause and that lentil and bean shoots boost digestion, and it has authorized no claim for either food. Who should be careful. The real hazard is raw sprouts. In a 2011 outbreak in Germany and the Netherlands, eating sprouts carried 18 times the odds of Salmonella infection (95% CI 2.2 to 150), an interval wide enough that the true size is uncertain, and the bacteria matched a mung bean sprout isolate. FDA advises children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immunity to avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts, mung bean sprouts included. This applies to sprouts and leaves cooked lentils and cooked mung beans out of it. Lentil allergy is documented, mostly in European studies, and a review of 47 studies found none on allergen labeling or education for it. We have no card on mung bean allergy, on kidney disease or on drug interactions for either food.

Sources

1. lnmb-lr1-12 · reference dataset
   Lentils, dry | Iron, Fe 7.158 MG range 6.52-7.94 n=8 | Zinc, Zn 3.863 MG range 3.04-4.34 n=8 | Protein 23.57 G range 22.13-24.38 | Resistant starch 16.0 G range 14.0-19.0 n=8 | Potassium, K 948.9 MG range 909.0-968.0 n=8
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (Lentils, dry) · checked 2026-09-28
2. lnmb-lr1-18 · reference dataset
   Beans, mung, whole, dried, raw 13-096 | Iron 6.00 mg | Protein 23.9 g | Folate 140 ug | Potassium 1250 mg | Magnesium 150 mg | Zinc 2.7 mg | Selenium 16 ug || Lentils, red, split, dried, raw 13-657 | Iron 7 mg | Protein 25.6 g | Folate 164 ug | Potassium 717 mg | Magnesium 59 mg | Zinc 3.3 mg | Selenium 34 ug
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England, OGL v3.0, codes 13-096 and 13-657 · checked 2026-09-28
3. lnmb-lr1-08 · randomized crossover trial
   The metabolizable energy of the lentils is 498 ± 17 kJ/serving (119 ± 4 kcal/serving) (serving mass = 98.5 g), which is 16.0% lower (p < 0.0001) and 13.6% lower (p = 0.003) than the ME calculated using Atwater General or Specific Factors, respectively.
   Nutrients, 2025 · checked 2026-09-28
4. lnmb-lr1-13 · reference dataset
   Lentils, NFS 41304970 | 1 cup 185 g | Quantity not specified 92 g || Mung beans, cooked 41108010 | 1 cup 185 g | 1 oz dry, yield after cooking 72 g | Quantity not specified 92 g
   USDA FNDDS 2024-10-31, food codes 41304970 (FDC 2707423) and 41108010 (FDC 2707389) · checked 2026-09-28
5. lnmb-lr1-05 · randomized controlled trial
   However, compared with children who consumed mungbean dal only, children in the guava group showed a larger increase in hemoglobin concentration (3.7 g/L; 95% CI: 1.6, 5.6; P = 0.001), and a larger drop in the prevalence of anemia (-51%; 95% CIs: -74, -10; P = 0.022) and iron-deficiency anemia (-56%, 95% CI: -83, 13; P = 0.087).
   J Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-09-28
6. lnmb-lr1-06 · crossover absorption study
   We found that the mean iron absorption from the dal was 2.20% ± 3.40% and was significantly lower than the 23.6% ± 13.2% observed from the same iron load given as ferrous sulfate (P < 0.001).
   J Nutr, 2015 · checked 2026-09-28
7. lnmb-lr1-07 · cluster randomized controlled trial
   Additionally, those in the IFL group had a 57% reduced risk of developing clinical ID (sFer <15 μg/L) compared with the usual intake group.
   J Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-09-28
8. lnmb-lr1-20 · agency position
   Sources of heme iron include lean meat, poultry and seafood, while the non-heme sources of iron come from plants foods, such as beans, lentils and spinach.
   FDA, Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, proposed rule, FR Doc. 2014-04387 · checked 2026-09-28
9. lnmb-lr1-03 · randomized crossover trial
   The RGR for muffins, chilies and soups was 88, 58 and 61%, respectively, for green lentils, and 84, 48 and 49%, respectively, for red lentils.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-09-28
10. lnmb-lr1-14 · reference dataset
    USDA-RETN-R6:521 LEGUMES,CKD 45/75MIN,BOILED,DRND | folate_total_ug 45% | thiamin_mg 60% | copper_mg 65% | vitamin_b6_mg 65% | potassium_mg 70% | magnesium_mg 75% | iron_mg 80% | zinc_mg 85%
    USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007) · checked 2026-09-28
11. lnmb-lr1-19 · reference dataset
    Beans, mung, whole, dried, boiled in unsalted water 13-664 | Water 69.3 g | Energy 100 kcal | Protein 8.6 g | Iron 1.66 mg | Folate 35 ug | Potassium 339 mg | AOAC fibre 6.1 g
    CoFID 2021, Public Health England, OGL v3.0, code 13-664 · checked 2026-09-28
12. lnmb-lr1-01 · meta-analysis of RCTs
    Thirty-eight trials (52 trial comparisons, n=2095) with a median of 6 weeks and dose of 130 g/d (0.5-0.67 cup/d) showed that whole dietary pulses decreased low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (mean difference, -0.14 mmol/L [95% CI, -0.19 to -0.08])...Analyses by pulse type showed similar results...Future studies on chickpeas, dried peas, and lentils are warranted.
    J Am Heart Assoc, 2026 · checked 2026-09-28
13. lnmb-lr1-02 · meta-analysis of RCTs
    A total of 41 trials (39 reports) were included. Pulses alone (11 trials) lowered fasting blood glucose (FBG) (-0.82, 95% CI -1.36 to -0.27) and insulin (-0.49, 95% CI -0.93 to -0.04).
    Diabetologia, 2009 · checked 2026-09-28
14. lnmb-lr1-04 · randomized controlled trial
    HOMA-IR increased in CON (+1.2 units) and decreased in a dose-dependent manner in MOD (-0.9 units, P = .03) and HI (-1.5 units, P < .01) relative to CON. Most participants (87.4%) reported no to mild GI symptoms.
    Nutr Res, 2022 · checked 2026-09-28
15. lnmb-lr1-10 · case-control study
    In multivariable logistic regression analysis, only sprout consumption was significantly associated with S. Newport infection (odds ratio: 18.4; 95% confidence interval: 2.2-150.2). Molecular typing patterns of human isolates were indistinguishable from a mung bean sprouts isolate.
    Euro Surveill, 2014 · checked 2026-09-28
16. lnmb-lr1-11 · scoping review
    Most studies identified focused on prevalence, and were conducted in Europe, with additional studies from Asia, and North America. Although we defined burden quite broadly, few studies addressed the burden of nonpriority legume food allergens. Moreover, no studies addressed labeling or educational needs for these allergens.
    J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract, 2021 · checked 2026-09-28
17. lnmb-lr1-17 · agency advice
    People who are more vulnerable to foodborne illness (as identified above) should avoid eating raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind (including onion, alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts).
    FDA, Selecting and Serving Produce Safely, page current as of 2024-03-05 · checked 2026-09-28
18. lnmb-lr1-09 · randomized crossover trial
    Beginning at the fifth hour after breakfast, H2 and CH4 concentrations significantly increased after wheat compared to rice and mung bean (8 h AUC H2 = 4120 ± 2622:2267 ± 1780:2356 ± 1722, AUC CH4 = 1617 ± 1127:946 ± 664:943 ± 584 ppm-min, respectively) (p < 0.05).
    Nutrients, 2019 · checked 2026-09-28
19. lnmb-lr1-15 · regulatory register
    POL-HC-7611 Mung bean (Vigna Radiata) Phytoestrogens are commonly used by women who cannot / do not want to use HRT during menopause. PB is a source of phytoestrogens. PB is a source of oestrogenic support during menopause and beyond. Oestrogenic support during menopause years and beyond which helps maintain wellbeing and quality of life. Non-authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-7611, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-28
20. lnmb-lr1-16 · regulatory register
    POL-HC-7622 Name of Food product: Lentil & Bean Shoots Description of food in terms of food legislation categories: food not covered by specific food legislation Was food on Irish market before 1st July 2007: Yes Exact wording of claim as it appears on product: Lentil & Bean Shoots naturally boost your digestive system. Is claim a picture: No. Non-authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-7622, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-28