Lentils and split peas: a small cholesterol drop, shown for pulses as a group

Across 38 trials with 2,095 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), with a 95% confidence interval from 0.08 to 0.19. Results looked similar across pulse types, and the authors still ask for trials on lentils and dried peas on their own. In 21 trials with 940 people, about one serving of pulses a day (median 132 g) gave 0.75 lb (0.34 kg) more weight loss over a median of 6 weeks, a small effect from short studies. The iron story needs care. Women absorbed only 2.2% of the iron in a single 330 g lentil dal meal, against 23.6% from the same dose as ferrous sulfate, in one test meal on 19 women. The 57% cut in iron deficiency came from iron-fortified lentils, given as 200 g five days a week for 85 feeding days to 1,195 rural Bangladeshi girls aged 10 to 17, and ferritin still fell in every group. Split peas have almost no evidence of their own here.

How much is actually in it

• In a controlled feeding RCT in 18 adults, a 3.5 oz (98.5 g) serving of cooked lentils delivered 119 calories, about 16% fewer calories than standard Atwater factors predict. — 18 healthy adults, crossover controlled diets with 7-day fecal and urine collections (n = 18) Evidence B source
  119 +/- 4 calories per 98.5 g serving; 16.0% below Atwater general factors
• Per 100 g dried and raw, red split lentils carry about 25.6 g protein and 7 mg iron, against 22.1 g protein and 5.4 mg iron in split peas. — UK composition tables Evidence E source
  Red split lentils 311 calories, protein 25.6 g, iron 7 mg, folate 164 ug; split peas 328 calories, protein 22.1 g, iron 5.40 mg
• USDA analysis of 8 samples puts dry lentils at about 7.2 mg iron and 949 mg potassium per 3.5 oz (100 g), with iron varying from 6.5 to 7.9 mg. — USDA Foundation Foods, 8 samples (n = 8) Evidence E source
  Iron 7.158 mg (6.52-7.94); potassium 948.9 mg (909-968); resistant starch 16.0 g (14-19)

What a real portion looks like

• Fewer than 7% of US adults and children ate lentils or dried peas on a survey day in NHANES 2017-2018, though intake has been rising. — US adults and children 3+, NHANES 2003-2018 Evidence C source
  Prevalence of consumption under 7% in 2017-2018
• In the US dietary survey database, a cup of cooked lentils and a cup of cooked split peas are both coded as 180 g, and 1 oz dry yields about 70 g cooked. — FNDDS portion weights Evidence E source
  1 cup = 180 g (both); 1 oz dry = 70 g cooked

What your body absorbs

• In 19 women eating isotope-labeled lentil dal, only about 2.2% of the iron was absorbed versus 23.6% from ferrous sulfate, with more absorbed by women with anemia. — 19 nonpregnant women, 6 anemic, single test meals of 330 g dal (n = 19) Evidence B source
  Iron absorption 2.20% +/- 3.40% (dal) vs 23.6% +/- 13.2% (ferrous sulfate)
• In 5 young men, mixing lentils with sorghum 1:1 lowered phenylalanine oxidation by 19%, a sign that lentils fill sorghum's lysine gap. — 5 healthy young men, repeated-measure IAAO study (n = 5) Evidence C source
  Indicator oxidation -19% (P < 0.0495) with lentil complementation

What cooking and storage change

• By the USDA retention table for Legumes boiled 15-20 minutes and drained, about 60% of folate, 85% of iron and 75% of potassium remain. — food group Legumes and Legume Products, method code 501 Evidence E source
  Folate 60%, thiamin 65%, potassium 75%, iron 85%, zinc 85%

What it does to your health

• In 21 RCTs with 940 people, diets with about one serving of pulses a day produced 0.75 lb (0.34 kg) more weight loss over a median 6 weeks. — 940 participants, 21 RCTs, median 132 g/day, median 6 weeks (n = 940) Evidence A source
  -0.75 lb (95% CI -1.4 to -0.09; metric: -0.34 kg, -0.63 to -0.04)
• In 9 acute feeding trials, meals with pulses gave 31% more fullness than matched controls but did not reduce how much people ate at the next meal. — 9 acute controlled feeding trials (n = 9 trials) Evidence A source
  Satiety RoM 1.31 (95% CI 1.09-1.58); next-meal intake MD -19.94, not significant

What people believe that the data does not support

• FDA's rule for the implied claim healthy names beans, peas and lentils among the protein food groups a labeled food can be built from, while no US or EU health claim names lentils or split peas. — foods labeled in the United States Evidence E source
  Listed food group in 21 CFR 101.65

Who this works differently for

• A meta-analysis of 41 trials in people with and without diabetes found pulses alone lowered fasting glucose (SMD -0.82) and, in low-GI diets, HbA1c or fructosamine. — 41 trials, people with and without diabetes, at least 7 days (n = 41 trials) Evidence A source
  FBG SMD -0.82 (95% CI -1.36 to -0.27); glycated proteins SMD -0.28 (-0.42 to -0.14)
• In a cluster RCT of 1,195 Bangladeshi girls, 7.1 oz (200 g) of iron-fortified cooked lentils 5 days a week for 85 days cut the risk of iron deficiency by 57% versus usual diet. — 1,195 girls aged 10-17 in rural Bangladesh, 85 feeding days (n = 1195) Evidence B source
  57% reduced risk of clinical iron deficiency (sFer < 15 ug/L); ferritin decline -7.2 vs -12.8 ug/L

What is still unknown

• Across 38 trials with 2,095 people, eating about 4.6 oz (130 g) of pulses a day for a median 6 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by 5.4 mg/dL (0.14 mmol/L), with similar effects across pulse types. — 38 trials, 2,095 participants, median 6 weeks, median 130 g/day (n = 2095) Evidence A source
  LDL-C MD -5.4 mg/dL (95% CI -7.3 to -3.1; metric: -0.14 mmol/L, -0.19 to -0.08); non-HDL-C -0.22 (-0.30 to -0.14)

The bottom line

What we can say about split peas is composition. Per 100 g dried and raw, red split lentils carry 25.6 g protein and 7 mg iron, and split peas 22.1 g protein and 5.4 mg iron, from one UK table entry each. USDA analysis of 8 samples puts dry lentils at about 7.2 mg iron and 949 mg potassium per 3.5 oz (100 g), figures that shrink once cooking adds water. In a small crossover feeding trial on 18 adults, a 3.5 oz (98.5 g) serving of cooked lentils gave 119 calories, 16% fewer than standard label factors predict, using a blend of US varieties. US survey coding counts a cup of cooked lentils or cooked split peas as 180 g, and 1 oz of either, dry, cooks up to about 70 g. Fewer than 7% of American adults and children ate lentils or dried peas on a survey day in 2017-2018, judged from one or two days of 24-hour recall. Boiling legumes for 15 to 20 minutes and draining keeps about 60% of folate, 75% of potassium and 85% of iron, by a USDA group factor from 1975. Split peas fall under a separate long-boil code that we did not extract. Meals with pulses scored 31% higher on fullness in 9 small acute feeding trials with narrow populations. People did not eat significantly less at the next meal. In a 2009 meta-analysis of trials in people with and without diabetes, pulses alone lowered fasting glucose (standardized difference -0.82), with high unexplained heterogeneity. Pulses inside low-GI diets lowered HbA1c or fructosamine (-0.28) in the same analysis. In 5 young men, mixing lentils with sorghum 1:1 improved an indirect marker of usable lysine by 19%. US rules let a food built from beans, peas or lentils qualify for the word healthy on its label. That is a content rule. No US or EU health claim names lentils or split peas. This page holds no card on allergy, medicines, pregnancy or kidney disease for either food, so it has no safety section. That is a gap in what we collected, and it says nothing about safety either way. Lentil and pea allergies are covered on our chickpeas and lentils page: a scoping review found these legumes often behind severe allergic reactions, though they are missing from priority allergen lists.

Sources

1. lnsp3-05 · RCT
   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 2026-10-02
2. lnsp3-10 · dataset
   CoFID 13-657 Lentils, red, split, dried, raw: Energy 311 kcal; Protein 25.6 g; Iron 7 mg; Folate 164 ug; AOAC fibre 17.4 g. CoFID 13-141 Peas, split, dried, raw: Energy 328 kcal; Protein 22.1 g; Iron 5.40 mg
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0 (13-657 Lentils, red, split, dried, raw; 13-141 Peas, split, dried, raw) · checked 2026-10-02
3. lnsp3-11 · dataset
   Lentils, dry: Iron, Fe 7.158 mg, range 6.52-7.94, 8 samples; Potassium, K 948.9 mg, range 909.0-968.0, 8 samples; Resistant starch 16.0 g, range 14.0-19.0, 8 samples
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (Lentils, dry) · checked 2026-10-02
4. lnsp3-09 · cross-sectional survey
   Although an increasing time trend in prevalence of consumption was observed over the study period, prevalence of lentils/dried peas consumption was less than 7% in NHANES 2017-2018 in adults and children.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-10-02
5. lnsp3-12 · dataset
   FNDDS 41305000 Lentils, from dried, no added fat: 1 cup = 180 g; 1 oz dry, yield after cooking = 70 g. FNDDS 41303000 Split peas, from dried, no added fat: 1 cup = 180 g; 1 oz dry, yield after cooking = 70 g
   USDA FNDDS (41305000 Lentils, from dried, no added fat; 41303000 Split peas, from dried, no added fat) · checked 2026-10-02
6. lnsp3-06 · RCT
   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 2026-10-02
7. lnsp3-08 · clinical trial
   Upon complementation with lentils, there was a decline in the oxidation of L-[1-13C] phenylalanine by 19% (P < 0.0495), reflecting an improvement in available lysine in the mixed meal due to increased lysine intake.
   J Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-10-02
8. lnsp3-13 · dataset
   USDA-RETN-R6:501 LEGUMES,CKD 15/20MIN,BOILED,DRAINED, Legumes and Legume Products: folate_total_ug 60%; thiamin_mg 65%; potassium_mg 75%; iron_mg 85%; zinc_mg 85%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), Retn_Code 501 · checked 2026-10-02
9. lnsp3-02 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   Findings from 21 trials (n = 940 participants) were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis showed an overall significant weight reduction of -0.34 kg (95% CI: -0.63, -0.04 kg; P = 0.03) in diets containing dietary pulses (median intake of 132 g/d or ∼1 serving/d)
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-10-02
10. lnsp3-03 · meta-analysis
    Dietary pulses produced a 31% greater satiety incremental area under the curve (IAUC) (RoM = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.58, P = 0.004; Phet = 0.96; I(2) = 0%) without affecting second meal intake
    Obesity (Silver Spring), 2014 · checked 2026-10-02
11. lnsp3-14 · regulation
    (E) Lean meat, seafood, eggs, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, or seeds.
    21 CFR 101.65, Implied nutrient content claims and related label statements · checked 2026-10-02
12. lnsp3-04 · meta-analysis of RCTs
    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). Pulses in low-GI diets (19 trials) lowered glycosylated blood proteins (GP), measured as HbA(1c) or fructosamine (-0.28, 95% CI -0.42 to -0.14).
    Diabetologia, 2009 · checked 2026-10-02
13. lnsp3-07 · cluster RCT
    A community-based, double-blind, cluster-randomized controlled trial involved n = 1195 girls aged 10-17 y. ... 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 2026-10-02
14. lnsp3-01 · 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 2026-10-02