Why eating beans and rice together is better for your protein
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.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Lentils have protein but miss some key amino acids, so your body can't use all of it. Rice has the missing pieces. When you eat them together, your body can use more of the protein.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 563 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Lentils have protein but miss some key amino acids, so your body can't use all of it. Rice has the missing pieces. When you eat them together, your body can use more of the protein.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 563 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Rafii M, Pencharz PB, Boileau K, Ball RO, Tomlinson C, Elango R, Courtney-Martin G
Related Content
Claims (6)
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.
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.
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.
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 in digestive efficiency.
Eating legumes and rice together provides all nine essential amino acids that the human body needs, because each food supplies amino acids the other lacks.