Gas problems from beans??

[Cat]

 

 

If you add beans to your diet gradually, you will build up the enzymes in your system that will reduce or *stop* the gas effects.

 

I've always suspected this was true. In countries where people eat beans every day, they don't have the problems with gas like most of us do.

 

 

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10 Foods Tough to Digest

Dried lentils, split peas and beans

 

Beans

 

Beans have such a notorious reputation for causing gastric distress that they even spawned their own rhyme (come on, you all know it! “Beans, beans …”). And there is some truth to it.

 

The enzyme needed to break down beans is found only in our stomach bacteria. And if you don’t routinely eat beans, you might not have enough of this enzyme to comfortably digest them. The result, of course, is gas and bloating.

 

Cooking beans in soup can help—the extra fluid will help digest the large amounts of fiber beans contain, and the extra cooking time will start breaking the beans down even before you eat them.

 

By adding beans to your diet gradually, you will help build up the enzyme necessary to digest them without issue.

 

beans info

 

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Other ways to reduce the effects as you're getting used to them...

 

 

Don't use the soaking water to cook them in. (When you're used to it, it'll be ok!)

 

After adding the fresh water to cook them, add a pinch of baking soda.

 

 

C'mon... beans and rice are a "whole protein", cheap, and nutritious. Save money and get used to them *now* if you have them in storage.

 

 

**Going to look for more bean recipes...**

 

 

 

 

[Vic303]

Eating them more, and doing the soaking/cooking tricks help some, but the stuff that works best apparently is adding Beano to the dish.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

[WormGuy]

I have heard that addig a pinch of baking soda while cooking beans works well.

 

 

John

[HSmom]

http://www.americanbean.org/

[linm]

I have epazote growing but I kept forgetting to try it with beans.

 

"Epazote - pronounced [eh-paw-ZOH-teh]

An herb well-known to Mexican and Caribbean cooking. The name comes from the Aztec (Nahuatl) epazotl. It is also known as pigweed or Mexican tea and is frequently regarded as a garden pest. It is most commonly used in black bean recipes to ward off some of the "negative" side affects of eating beans."

[Snowmom]

I have tried using soda to soak them in either over night or a few hours before cooking them, then rinse them off before cooking. I have started them boiling then added a small amount of soda, drained and rinsed them off after about 5 minutes and then finished cooking them. Nothing really seems to do the trick for me. We have beno too and that seems to work the best.

 

But, there are a lot of other foods that cause gas too.

[nmchick]

My last bag of black beans suggested adding a four inch square of kombu (kelp) to the pot. Tried it and it worked. Ate those beans without the usual side effects. The kelp disappeared into the beans by the time they were done. No difference in taste, but we got a few more minerals in us.

[Leah]

Any special type of kelp? We collect and dry kelp every summer, so always have several varieties around.

 

[Peaceful]

I've been eating beans usually twice a day since February. Yep, your system adjusts. The really good thing is my cholesterol went from somewhere around 213 to 165, I lost weight and doctor reduced my thyroid medication. I have to say I've never really loved the texture of beans but I throw 1/2 cup in with a huge salad or with rice (or other whole grain) and zip them up with salsa or other things. They are wonderful little cholesterol scrubbers.