Green pea benefits: in the same trial, beans lowered LDL and peas did not

Key benefits

1. 01Not established

   Peas did not lower LDL — beans, in the same trial, did

   2024, Journal of Nutrition. Registration NCT01661543.

   This trial matters because it did not lump pulses together — it split them by type.

   Participants	Adults with mild hypercholesterolaemia, 60 per group, three groups
   Setting	Two Canadian cities (Edmonton, Winnipeg)
   Design	Randomised, single-blind, three-arm parallel group
   Intervention	120 g (about ¾ cup) a day of beans or peas, or identical foods with white parboiled rice
   The beans	A mixture of black, great northern, navy and pinto
   The peas	A mixture of yellow and green peas
   Duration	Six weeks
   Primary outcome	LDL-cholesterol

   The results, relative to rice, at six weeks:

   	Change (mmol/L)	95% CI
   Beans — LDL	−0.21	−0.39 to −0.03	significant
   Peas — LDL	−0.11	−0.29 to +0.07	crosses zero
   Beans — non-HDL	−0.20	−0.40 to −0.002	significant
   Beans — total cholesterol	−0.28	−0.49 to −0.06	significant

   What did not move in either group:

   • Triglycerides −0.07 (−0.28 to 0.14)
   • Glucose 0.02 (−0.17 to 0.14)
   • Insulin 4.94 (−5.51 to 11.38)
   • Systolic blood pressure −1.39 (−5.18 to 2.40), diastolic −1.89 (−4.65 to 0.88)

   How to read this.

   The peas' −0.11 does not mean the effect is zero. The estimate points the same way as the beans', at about half the size. The interval crossing zero means this trial, at this size, could not tell whether there was an effect.

   But in the same trial, the beans could be told apart. Same design, same 60 people, same six weeks, same 120 g. When one arm clears the bar under identical conditions and the other does not, that difference is not something to wave away.

   The pulse meta-analysis had already flagged this.

   The 2026 Journal of the American Heart Association meta-analysis cited in this site's lentil and chickpea entries pooled 38 randomised trials and 2,095 people and reported that a median 130 g a day of pulses lowered LDL by 0.14 mmol/L (95% CI −0.19 to −0.08).

   Those authors wrote something into the text: that more research is needed on chickpeas, peas and lentils. This 2024 trial set out to fill exactly that gap, and for peas the gap did not close.

   And the authors found something interesting along the way.

   In the bean group there was no correlation between fibre intake and LDL (grams per day, r²=0.209, p=0.142). So the authors wrote that fibre may not be responsible for the effect of beans, and that other phytochemicals may be the active components.

   That could also explain the pea result. If peas are no worse than beans for fibre and yet LDL did not move, the difference lies somewhere other than fibre.

   One distinction must be stated last.

   This trial used dry peas — yellow and green peas dried, the split-pea form. The composition table on this page is for fresh green peas, the immature seed taken out of the pod.

   They are the same plant but different foods. Dry peas are far higher in protein and fibre; fresh green peas are higher in vitamin C and sugar. So carrying this trial's result straight across to fresh green peas is not accurate either.

   The honest conclusion:

   • In a trial that looked at peas on their own, LDL did not fall significantly
   • In the same trial, beans did
   • Glucose, insulin, triglycerides and blood pressure did not move in either group
   • What was used was dry peas; this page's table is fresh green peas
   • The grade is "not established"
   • If cholesterol is the goal, the pulse with the evidence behind it is beans

   [1][2]
2. 02Nutrition data

   Protein 5.42 g — a rare figure on a vegetable's table

   The previous section was a null result, so this one deals only in what is certain: the composition.

   Per 100 g of raw green peas:

   • 81 kcal, protein 5.42 g, carbohydrate 14.4 g, fibre 5.7 g, sugar 5.67 g, fat 0.4 g
   • Vitamin C 40 mg, thiamin (B1) 0.266 mg, folate 65 µg, vitamin A 38 µg
   • Lutein and zeaxanthin 2,480 µg
   • Potassium 244 mg, phosphorus 108 mg, magnesium 33 mg, iron 1.47 mg, zinc 1.24 mg, calcium 25 mg, manganese 0.41 mg
   • Sodium 5 mg

   Why the 5.42 g of protein stands out.

   Vegetables rarely carry more than 5 g of protein per 100 g. On this site cucumber is 0.65 g, cabbage 1.3 g, spinach 2.9 g. It is because peas are a legume — a seed inside a pod, and seeds store protein.

   But set the comparison on the right scale. Lentils, in the same family, carry 9.0 g of protein and 7.9 g of fibre per 100 g boiled. Green peas are high in protein for a vegetable, not high among pulses. Fresh green peas are still an immature seed, full of water.

   The 40 mg of vitamin C is worth noting too.

   Against an adult recommendation of 100 mg, that is 40% in 100 g. You almost never see that figure in a pulse — dried beans have essentially no vitamin C. Peas have it because they are eaten immature. Vitamin C disappears as the seed ripens and dries.

   But vitamin C is heat-sensitive. Long boiling leaches or destroys much of it. A short blanch is better.

   Thiamin at 0.266 mg is also on the high side. Against an adult recommendation of 1.1 to 1.2 mg, that is a little over 20% in 100 g. Thiamin is a coenzyme in turning carbohydrate into energy.

   The 5.7 g of fibre can be taken at face value. Unlike this site's chicory root entry, the fibre in peas is the kind traditional assays capture normally.

   Now the most practical part — frozen against canned.

   	Fresh and frozen	Canned
   Sodium	around 5 mg	hundreds of mg, depending on the product
   Vitamin C	retained	substantially reduced by heat and storage
   Texture	kept	softened

   Frozen peas are a good choice. They are blanched and flash-frozen right after harvest, so losses are small and they sit close to fresh. They work regardless of season.

   With canned peas, watch the sodium. Fresh green peas carry 5 mg; canned products are far higher because salt goes into the packing liquid. If you use them, tip them into a sieve and rinse. A good share washes off.

   Lastly, FODMAPs. Peas contain oligosaccharides (GOS), and low-FODMAP diets restrict the portion size. With irritable bowel syndrome, large amounts may bring gas and bloating.

3. 03Not established

   Lutein 2,480 µg — but the largest trial's primary analysis failed

   Green peas carry 2,480 µg of lutein and zeaxanthin per 100 g. That is the figure you would expect from a deep green vegetable.

   Food (100 g)	Lutein + zeaxanthin
   Kale	6,260 µg
   Green peas	2,480 µg
   Sweetcorn	644 µg

   These two pigments accumulate selectively in the macula of the eye. They filter blue light and act as antioxidants. The body cannot make them, so they come only from food. That much is established.

   Which is where "peas are good for your eyes" comes from. Here is where honesty is required.

   2013, JAMA, AREDS2.

   Participants	4,203 adults at high risk of progression to advanced macular degeneration
   Duration	Five years
   Intervention	Lutein 10 mg plus zeaxanthin 2 mg
   Primary outcome	Progression to advanced macular degeneration

   Primary analysis: no significant reduction.

   Hazard ratio 0.90, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.07, p=.12.

   The interval crosses 1. It could not rule out there being no effect.

   This does not mean lutein is useless. A subgroup analysis in AREDS2 showed benefit in participants with the lowest dietary lutein intake, and a formulation substituting lutein for beta-carotene subsequently entered recommendations. But a primary analysis is a primary analysis. Subgroup analyses are for generating hypotheses, not for drawing conclusions.

   And look at the dose.

   The trial used 10 mg of lutein. The lutein and zeaxanthin in 100 g of green peas is 2.48 mg — a quarter of the trial dose.

   Matching the AREDS2 dose from green peas would take more than 400 g a day. And that trial still failed its primary analysis.

   One practical point about absorption.

   Lutein is fat-soluble. Eating it with fat improves absorption. Sautéing peas in olive oil, or pairing them with egg or avocado, is the better move. That is a statement about absorption, and it does not change the trial result above.

   The honest conclusion:

   • Green peas contain 2,480 µg of lutein and zeaxanthin — a fact of composition
   • That these pigments accumulate in the macula is established — a fact of mechanism
   • The largest trial's primary analysis did not significantly reduce progression of macular degeneration
   • That trial's dose was four times what 100 g of peas provides
   • The grade is "not established"
   • If you are worried about your eyes, an eye examination comes before food

   [3]

How to eat it well

What to watch out for