{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:00:47Z","timestamp":1792789247444,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789689600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Weston Foundation","award":["SFI17-0117"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFI17-0117"]}]},{"name":"Government of Saskatchewan","award":["20170263"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20170263"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04ch2gv47","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["20170263"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20170263"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04ch2gv47","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Saskatchewan Pulse Growers","award":["20170263"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20170263"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05ff35k33","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["20170263"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20170263"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05ff35k33","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"MITACS","award":["IT11657"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IT11657"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00cjrc276","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["IT11657"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IT11657"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00cjrc276","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>We determined whether improvements in metabolic health occur when sedentary office workers replace their regular workplace lunches with pulse-based meals (containing chickpeas, lentils, or split peas). We first tested 10 meals for favourability in 180 participants randomly given combinations of meal pairs. Based on their rankings, we chose seven meals to include in our clinical study. For the clinical study, we used a randomized, single-blind (researchers blind), cross-over design, where participants (n = 20 females; six males; 39 \u00b1 13 y) were assigned to a pulse-based diet to replace their regular workplace meals or their regular diet for 2 months before crossing over to the other diet. Outcomes included insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, blood pressure, and body composition. Diet phase did not impact insulin sensitivity (Matsuda Index; pulse diet: \u22125.4 \u00b1 23.5; regular diet: \u22127.5 \u00b1 21.8; p = 0.81). The pulse diet significantly reduced the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) ratio (\u22120.13 \u00b1 0.30 vs. +0.08 \u00b1 0.29; p = 0.014), and the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to HDL-c ratio (\u22120.17 \u00b1 0.36 vs. +0.03 \u00b1 0.29; p = 0.033) compared to the regular diet. There were no significant differences between diet phases for blood pressure or body composition. Pulse-based meals incorporated into the office work environment improved blood lipid ratios, but had no effect on insulin sensitivity. (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03941704).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15183302","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T14:12:09Z","timestamp":1789999929000},"page":"3302","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Consumer Acceptability and Metabolic Health Benefits of Meals Containing Pulses (Chickpeas, Lentils, Peas) for Sedentary Office Workers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Leandy","family":"Bertrand","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keely A.","family":"Shaw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shannon","family":"Hood-Niefer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Saskatoon Food Industry Development Centre, Saskatoon, SK S7M 5V1, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jongbum","family":"Ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4321-9761","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julianne","family":"Gordon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2789-1854","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gordon A.","family":"Zello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3973-5939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Philip D.","family":"Chilibeck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sedentary Behaviour Research Network (2012). 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