In healthy men under 30, only about 69% of the methionine from cooked Canadian lentils can be used by the body; the rest is not absorbed or processed due to natural compounds in the lentils or limits...

Pro

Against

Mechanism

Synthesis from 1 study

How it works

Lentils have natural substances that make it harder for your body to get methionine out of them during digestion. Because of this, about one-third of the methionine you eat doesn’t get absorbed, and what does get in gets burned for energy instead of being used to build proteins.

Most probable mechanism

In Simple Terms

When you eat cooked lentils, some natural compounds in them make it harder for your body to break down and absorb the methionine. Because of this, a third of the methionine passes through your gut without being used, and what does get absorbed is often broken down for energy instead of being used to build proteins.

Causal chain

Antinutritional factors such as fiber, phytates, or tannins in cooked lentils reduce the efficiency of proteolytic enzyme activity in the small intestine, limiting the release of free methionine from lentil proteins.

Verified by multiple studies

Metabolic Availability of Methionine Assessed Usin...

which leads to

Reduced free methionine availability in the intestinal lumen decreases passive and active transport across the enterocyte membrane, lowering systemic methionine absorption.

Verified by multiple studies

Metabolic Availability of Methionine Assessed Usin...

which leads to

Low systemic methionine concentration triggers hepatic amino acid catabolism, where methionine is oxidized instead of being incorporated into proteins due to insufficient supply relative to other indispensable amino acids.

Verified by multiple studies

Metabolic Availability of Methionine Assessed Usin...

which leads to

The indicator amino acid oxidation method detects elevated phenylalanine oxidation as a proxy for methionine limitation, confirming that methionine is the first limiting amino acid in lentil protein, leading to excess catabolism of both methionine and other amino acids.

Verified by multiple studies

Metabolic Availability of Methionine Assessed Usin...

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

Metabolic Availability of Methionine Assessed Using Indicator Amino Acid Oxidation Method is Greater when Cooked Lentils and Steamed Rice Are Combined in Healthy Young Men.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2022 Jun 9

Contradicting (0)

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Metabolic Availability of Methionine Assessed Using Indicator Amino Acid Oxidation Method is Greater when Cooked Lentils and Steamed Rice Are Combined in Healthy Young Men.

Score: 63

DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxac049

Similar Assertions

Lentils contain methionine, an essential amino acid, but the body absorbs less of it than the total amount listed in nutritional data due to natural compounds in lentils or how the digestive system processes them.

90%

For healthy men under 30, the body absorbs less methionine from lentils compared to a protein based on egg protein, meaning lentils do not provide all essential amino acids in sufficient amounts when consumed alone.

86%

When healthy young men under 30 with a BMI under 25 eat cooked lentils and steamed rice together in equal amounts, their bodies use the amino acid methionine more efficiently than when they eat lentils alone, as shown by lower levels of phenylalanine oxidation.

84%

Eating cooked lentils and steamed rice together in equal amounts increases how well the body can use methionine, an essential amino acid, but the amount still remains lower than what is found in egg protein.

80%