Effects of Adding Chickpeas to the American Diet on Fecal Microbiota Composition and Markers of Inflammation

Short-term active feeding study:

The investigators will provide various chickpea products to participants for a 14 day chickpea enhanced diet. Subjects will receive specific meal plan instructions for the consumption of 5 servings/week of chickpeas. Chickpea products will be sourced from commercial providers. While participants will be told to substitute chickpea products for other diet ingredients, the subjects will be free to choose what to substitute according to their preferences. Subjects will keep daily food records and will be told that chickpea consumption will be monitored in their fecal samples (qPCR). Fecal samples will be collected before the start (Day 1), during (Day 7-9) and at the end (Day 14) of the intervention using a stool collection kit (Sigma). Participants will complete our GI health questionnaire on a weekly basis to determine tolerance to increased chickpea intake. An open ended questionnaire will be administered after participants have completed the short-term study protocol to assess any issues with compliance to chickpea intake. All individuals that increased their chickpea intake from their usual diet by at least 3 servings/week will be included in the analysis.

Inclusion criteria

• Good Health
• No systemic antibiotics during the preceding two months
• No medication suppressing immune function
• Willingness to provide basic demographic as well as medical history data

Exclusion criteria

• Gastric Ulcers
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Chronic constipation/diarrhea
• Body Mass Index (BMI) > 30
• Dietary restrictions that prevent legume intake
• Currently on any medication that can affect GI transit time
• Consumption of >3 servings/week of chickpeas or >6 servings/week of legumes BEFORE study begins