Glycemic Response to Black Beans and Chickpeas as Part of a Rice Meal: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial

Legumes, such as black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.), have a low glycemic index, and may reduce the glycemic load of meals in which they are included. Although the low glycemic response of beans consumed alone has been documented, few studies have examined the glycemic response to traditional food combinations such as black beans and rice or chickpeas and rice. This randomized cross-over study examined the glycemic and insulinemic impact of 50 grams of available carbohydrate from three test meals: plain white rice (control), black beans with rice, and chickpeas with rice among healthy adult women (n = 12, 18–65 years). Treatments were consumed on different mornings, a minimum of 7 days apart. Blood samples were collected at time 0 (fasting), and at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min postprandial, and were subsequently analyzed for glucose and insulin concentrations. Glucose response based on the incremental area under the curve showed a significant difference by treatment (p = 0.027). Changes in blood glucose concentrations were significantly different for the black bean meal and the chickpea meal in comparison to rice alone at 60 min (p = 0.026 and p = 0.024), 90 min (p = 0.001 and p = 0.012) and 120 min post prandial (p = 0.024; black bean meal). 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 pattern

Arizona Registered Dietitians Show Gaps in Knowledge of Bean Health Benefits

Registered Dietitians (RDs) promote nutrition practices and policies and can influence food consumption patterns to include nutrient dense foods such as beans. Although many evidence-based health benefits of bean consumption (e.g., cholesterol reduction, glycemic control) have been demonstrated, there is limited research on the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of RDs regarding the inclusion of beans in a healthy diet. To fill this existing research gap, this cross-sectional survey explored the perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of 296 RDs in Arizona, USA, toward beans. The RDs largely held positive attitudes toward the healthfulness of beans and were aware of many health benefits. Some gaps in awareness were evident, including effect on cancer risk, intestinal health benefits, folate content, and application with celiac disease patients. RDs with greater personal bean consumption had significantly higher bean health benefit knowledge. Twenty-nine percent of the RDs did not know the meaning of ‘legume’, and over two-thirds could not define the term ‘pulse’. It is essential that RDs have up-to-date, evidence-based information regarding bean benefits to provide appropriate education to patients, clients, and the publi

New ADS Functionality for the Curator

In this paper we provide an update concerning the operations of the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS), its services and user interface, and the content currently indexed in its database. As the primary information system used by researchers in Astronomy, the ADS aims to provide a comprehensive index of all scholarly resources appearing in the literature. With the current effort in our community to support data and software citations, we discuss what steps the ADS is taking to provide the needed infrastructure in collaboration with publishers and data providers. A new API provides access to the ADS search interface, metrics, and libraries allowing users to programmatically automate discovery and curation tasks. The new ADS interface supports a greater integration of content and services with a variety of partners, including ORCID claiming, indexing of SIMBAD objects, and article graphics from a variety of publishers. Finally, we highlight how librarians can facilitate the ingest of gray literature that they curate into our system.Comment: Submitted to the Proceedings of Library and Information Services in Astronomy VIII, Strasbourg, Franc