Lentils: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Lentils are the small, lens-shaped seeds of Lens culinaris, a legume. Dried lentils are sold whole (green, brown or black) or split and hulled (red or pink) and are eaten cooked, usually in soups, stews and salads. People eat them for fiber, plant protein, folate and iron, and for their possible help with cholesterol and blood sugar. This page looks at lentils as a food, keeps them apart from other pulses, and does not treat them as a medicine.

Read this first

• Cook them. Health Canada lists lentils among legumes that contain lectins, natural plant proteins that can upset the gut when raw. Its poisoning warning and its soak-and-boil steps are for red kidney beans, but lentils are a cooked food too. [11]
• Allergy exists. Lentil allergy is reported, from mild to severe, and can occur with exercise. People with peanut allergy sometimes react to other legumes. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips or throat, call 911 (or your local emergency number). [12]
• Gas and bloating are common. Trials found symptoms were mostly none to mild. People on a low-FODMAP plan are usually asked to limit pulses for a short time with a dietitian. [7] [13]
• Kidney disease: lentils contain potassium and phosphorus. Ask your kidney dietitian before changing how much you eat. [14]
• Evidence in one line: pooled trials of pulses (beans, chickpeas, lentils and peas together) show a small drop in LDL cholesterol, and small lentil trials point the same way, but lentils alone are not well studied. [4] [6]

What is in it (USDA values)

The table is for cooked lentils: mature seeds, boiled, without salt (USDA FoodData Central item 172421, SR Legacy). [1] The serving column is the USDA household portion of 1 cup, 198 g. [1] Dry lentils look very different because they hold little water: raw lentils (item 172420) are 352 kcal and 24.63 g of protein per 100 g. [2] Compare like with like.

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; the serving figures are the per-100-g values multiplied by 1.98, and values vary with variety, growing place and cooking. For red or pink lentils sold split, USDA lists raw values (item 174284) of 23.91 g protein and 7.39 mg iron per 100 g, close to raw whole lentils (24.63 g and 6.51 mg). [3]

Plant compounds: the sources we read for this page do not measure specific plant compounds in lentils, so we do not name any. Proper evidence for compound-level claims was not found in the sources we read.

What research says

The lentil trials used cooked whole lentils as food. The USDA-ARS Pulse Crop Health Initiative funded the 12-week trial, and the authors note it was not blinded and had only 38 people. [6] The pooled analyses of pulses used mostly mixed pulses and do not show what lentils do on their own. [4]

Eaten as food vs lentil flour or extracts. Everything above is about whole cooked lentils. We read no trial of lentil extracts or powders, so nothing here applies to them.

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portion for cooked lentils is 1 cup (198 g), about 230 kcal, with about 15.6 g of fiber and 17.9 g of protein. [1] In the UK, NHS counts 80 g of pulses as one portion of your 5 A DAY, and pulses count only once a day however much you eat. [17] In the US, guideline targets of at least 1.5 cups a week of cooked pulses were met by 19.9% of people in 2017-2018, and 10.9% ate 2.5 cups a week. [20] Trials used from about 130 g a day (pooled pulse trials) to 140 g a day of cooked lentils in the 12-week trial. [4] [6] This is information, not a prescription for you. In 2017-2018 fewer than 7% of Americans were lentil or dried pea consumers. [21]

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Allergy: a 2024 review calls lentil, chickpea and pea "non-priority" legumes that can cause mild to severe reactions, and links exercise-related anaphylaxis to soybean, lentils and chickpea. Most reports are case reports, and the review explains that many reactions come from similar proteins in other legumes, with peanut and lupine as examples. [12] See peanuts and food allergy basics and emergency signs. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat.
• Lectins: Health Canada names lentils among dry legumes with lectins at varying levels, and says raw or undercooked red kidney beans have the highest level. Its steps (soak, discard the water, boil hard for at least 10 minutes, no slow cooker, canned beans already safe) are written for red kidney beans. We read no source on lentil-specific poisoning. See lectins in beans: cooking dried beans safely. [11]
• Gas, bloating and FODMAPs: galacto-oligosaccharides are mainly found in beans and pulses. A hospital low-FODMAP leaflet asks patients to avoid them for 4 to 6 weeks as a temporary diet with a dietitian, and lists small amounts it allows (for example 1 tbsp, 23 g, of boiled red or green lentils or 2 tbsp, 44 g, of canned lentils at one meal). That is one hospital's elimination-phase list, not advice from us. [13] In an 8-week trial 87.4% of people reported no to mild symptoms. [7] See beans, gas, FODMAP and digestion.
• Kidney disease: cooked lentils have 369 mg potassium and 180 mg phosphorus per 100 g (731 mg and 356 mg per cup). [1] The National Kidney Foundation says animal sources of phosphorus are absorbed better than plant sources, that additive phosphate is absorbed at more than 90%, and lists 178 mg for a half cup of boiled lentils. [14] A 2021 review found human data suggest at least 50% of phytate phosphorus is absorbed, higher than the often-quoted 10 to 30%. [15] Ask a kidney dietitian. See foods, kidney disease, potassium and oxalates.
• Gout: in a cohort of 47,150 men followed for 12 years, purine-rich vegetables were not linked to gout, while meat (RR 1.41) and seafood (RR 1.51) were. The abstract we read does not say whether lentils were counted. [24]
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: MedlinePlus lists lentils among folate sources and says anyone pregnant should be sure to get enough folate; low folate is linked to birth defects such as spina bifida. [16] NHS says to take a folic acid supplement in pregnancy as well as eating a healthy diet; its page does not name lentils. [19] See foods in pregnancy: what official bodies advise.
• Sprouted lentils: CDC advises children under 5, adults 65 and older, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems to avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts and to cook sprouts thoroughly (the notice is about alfalfa sprouts; we read no lentil-sprout advice). [22]
• Young children: CDC lists whole beans among protein foods to avoid for young children and advises preparing food in a size and texture that suits the child; its page does not name lentils. [23]
• Medicines: we did not find a source we could read that ties lentils as a food to a specific medicine interaction. If you take medicine for diabetes or high cholesterol, ask your clinician before making big diet changes.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• We did not read a source with storage times for dry or cooked lentils. Check dry lentils for signs of mold or damp before cooking: a 2026 review says fungal infection generally lowers the nutritional value of pulse seeds. [25]
• Canned and dry lentils are different products: we have no USDA values for canned lentils in our data, so compare labels for sodium. See dried vs canned beans, soaking and sodium.
• NHS lists beans and chickpeas among iron sources and gives adult needs of 8.7 mg a day for men and 14.8 mg for women aged 19 to 49; it does not name lentils on that page. [18] See foods high in iron.

Related pages

• Legumes: what the research shows
• Chickpeas
• Split peas
• Beans, gas, FODMAP and digestion
• Foods for cholesterol and heart health
• Foods high in folate