Pulses (including soy)

Last updated on 8-8-2025 by Elise Grimm

Why do we study the consumption of pulses according to guidelines?

A balanced diet plays an important role in maintaining and promoting health. The Superior Health Council provides food-based dietary guidelines tailored to the Belgian population, aiming to reduce illness, premature death, and the overall disease burden caused in part by unhealthy eating habits.
Pulses are one of the richest sources of dietary fibre, including the soluble fibre pectin. They are also a plant source of protein and essential amino acids, making them an interesting alternative to meat and other animal protein sources. The micronutrient content varies between pulse types, but they are all rich in folic acid, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, thiamine, and bioactive compounds.
The Superior Health Council recommends to eat pulses several times a week.

How do we study the consumption of pulses?

Trained interviewers conducted two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls to record all the foods and drinks participants had consumed on the previous day. These recalls were carried out in a standardised manner using a specialised computer program (GloboDiet®).
The proportion of the population eating pulses at least twice a week was calculated to evaluate the dietary guideline on pulses. Year comparisons were not possible due to the absence of a comparable food group in the food frequency questionnaire of the previous survey conducted in 2014-2015.
The intake of pulses was assessed as habitual intake (also known as usual or long-term intake), representing the average daily intake over the long term. This method accounts for natural day-to-day variations in what and how much people eat, offering a more accurate picture of typical dietary habits over time. This is particularly important when evaluating whether a population meets dietary recommendations. All intakes mentioned in the results below refer to the mean habitual intake, unless stated otherwise.
The statistical tool Statistical Program to Assess habitual Dietary Exposure (SPADE) was used to estimate habitual intake distributions based on the short-term data collected through the 24-hour dietary recalls.
Respondents (or parents in the case of children) completed a food frequency questionnaire: they were asked to indicate how often they consumed a specific food or food group in the last 12 months. The response options were: Never, less than 1 time per month, 1-3 times per month, 1 time per week, 2-4 times per week, 5-6 times per week, 1 time per day, 2-3 times per day, more than 3 times per day.
The mean habitual intakes of pulses by education and by year are not available due to an insufficient number of participants with intake on both days in certain subgroups.
The detailed methodology can be found here.

What did we include as “pulses”?

Based on the recommendation of the Superior Health Council, “pulses”:
- include fresh, frozen, dried and cooked pulses such as chickpeas, brown and white beans, soya beans, edamame, split peas and lentils, as well as processed pulse-based products such as tofu, tempeh, falafel, hummus and soya-based spreads;
- do not include peas, string beans, princess beans, and the more processed, newer and sometimes high-tech alternatives to meat and dairy, such as seitan or Quorn.

The proportion of the population eating pulses at least twice a week was calculated based on the following food frequency questionnaire item:
- Pulses (beans, lentils, etc.) and pulse-based spreads (hummus, lentil spread, etc.).

KEY RESULTS

In Belgium, the population aged 3 years and older eats an average of 6 g of pulses per day

12% eat pulses at least twice a week, as recommended

Children (3-9 years) and adults aged 65 and over are less likely to eat pulses at least twice a week

30% of people never eat pulses

People with a high level of education are more likely to eat pulses at least twice a week and are less likely to never eat them