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Filling the diet with legumes such as beans and peas can lower the risk of heart disease, study findings suggest. The most enthusiastic legume eaters also had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol, and were less likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes.

The findings have implications for the health of America, where heart disease is the leading killer of adults and one of the leading causes of premature and permanent disability.

Men and women who ate legumes at least four times a week had a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease over 19 years than those who consumed legumes once weekly according to researchers.

The results of their study are based on interviews and medical exams of more than 9,600 Americans who did not have heart disease when the study began. Over an average of 19 years, about 1,800 cases of coronary heart disease were diagnosed.

In other findings, individuals who consumed the most legumes tended to smoke more and consume more calories and saturated fat. They were also less likely to have graduated from high school. Those who ate the most legumes also tended to be younger and male, according to the Archives of Internal Medicine (2001;161:2573-2578).