CommonHealth: Pulses — Beans, Lentils, Chickpeas — Are Sizzling In The Dietary World

08:09

January 11, 2016

French lentil salad in Concord, N.H. (Matthew Mead/AP)

Let's talk about pulses — not the one you take by feeling your wrist, but the category of food that includes beans, lentils and chickpeas. They're members of the legume family.

Pulses are sizzling hot in the dietary world — the U.N. has officially declared 2016 the year of the pulse.

Guests

Carey Goldberg, co-host of WBUR's CommonHealth blog. She tweets at @commonhealth.

CommonHealth: From U.N. To New U.S. Guide, All Say Eat More Beans, Peas, Lentils — But The Gas?

"The United Nations has officially designated 2016 the 'International Year of Pulses.' Forkful.com calls pulses 'one of the hottest food trends of 2016.' The Crop Science Society of America suggests the Matt Damon astronaut character in 'The Martian' would have done better to plant pulses than potatoes."

This segment aired on January 11, 2016.