beans and their aftereffects...

[maize]

If beans usually give you gas, have you figured out a way to prepare them so that they don't?

[UncleEJ]

I don't prepare them differently, but those Bean-o pill work wonders for me.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Beans don't give me gas. I do a quick-soak with most dried beans and drain off the water and rinse the softened beans before cooking them. However, my dh gets gas be matter what. Bean-o or charcoal tablets seem to help.

 

 

We are currently doing Whole30 (no beans) and he seems a lot less gassy. His mom has stomach issues as well so I think it's genetic. I also read about blood-type diets and his type indicates a paleo/grain-free diet and mine indicates a vegetarian diet. He's an "O" and I'm an "A".

[trulycrabby]

I just try not to eat them before yoga class. :o

[Laura Corin]

I just heard an expert on food science Harold McGee answer this question on the BBC radio.  He said that the key was long, slow cooking, preferably in the presence of an acid (traditionally, tomato).  Nothing else, that he knew of, made a difference.

 

L

[Sandragood1]

That's interesting bc when I cook beans with an acid they don't get soft. I end up adding baking soda to soften them.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I haven't managed to figure out a way (which is especially unfortunate, because I love beans, and we're having ham and bean soup tonight *sigh*). Even the Bean-o pills don't really help, although I've found that if I take two Bean-o pills and only have a smallish serving of beans, I'm mostly OK. I can't have leftovers the next day though, or all heck breaks loose. 

 

I did just read (and I'll try this tonight) that if you soak the beans overnight (the usual long soak method), and then when you're ready to cook them, bring them to a boil with baking soda in the water, then discard the water, three times, then cook as usual, that this makes them more easily digestible. I'm pretty sure I've done this before and it didn't help me, but I'm willing to give it another shot! I also have some digestive enzymes that I'll take too. I don't have anywhere to go tomorrow, so I'm free to experiment :lol:

[Seasider]

A hot soak, when you start with dry beans, helps break down the indigestible starches. Cover beans with water and bring to a boil. Rolling boil for 10 minutes, then cover the pot and set it aside off the burner. Let them soak 4-10 hours. Then drain and rinse, and proceed with your recipe. I use this technique for red and white beans.

 

I use canned beans for chili (usually black and pinto) and other than giving them a thorough rinse, I don't have any tricks for those. Wish I did.

[hornblower]

Try looking through this http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-advice/eat-beans-without-gas.php

[mamaraby]

Basically the only way to avoid gas when eating beans is to eat more beans. All the rest (includng Beano) is largely ineffective. It's more a function of fiber and gut flora. So, increase your bean intake (and fiber intake) slowly and make them a regular part of your diet.

 

See also -

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-dont-soak-dried-beans-20140911-story.html

[Hikin' Mama]

I just try not to eat them before yoga class. :o

BTDT and it's hard to keep your downward facing dog from barking. :)

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Basically the only way to avoid gas when eating beans is to eat more beans. All the rest (includng Beano) is largely ineffective. It's more a function of fiber and gut flora. So, increase your bean intake (and fiber intake) slowly and make them a regular part of your diet.

 

See also -

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-dont-soak-dried-beans-20140911-story.html

 

This hasn't worked for me either, unfortunately. Life was pretty difficult for awhile though :glare:  And I just had a similar conversation with a vegetarian friend who eats lentils/beans 3-5 times per week, and she hasn't found a solution to the problem either. (We were discussing the idea of sharing a hotel room to save money and both came to the conclusion that, as much as we like each other, we'd rather not share :lol:)

[mathnerd]

Soaking the beans overnight starts the sprouting process which reduce the gas (indigestible sugars in the beans that cause gas are converted by the sprouting process into digestible sugars). Wash the soaked beans a few times and discard the soaking water completely to get rid of any traces of the indigestible sugars and cook as usual. Add minced garlic, ginger or asafoetida to the bean recipe (you can saute them with onions or the veggies) to reduce the gassiness and aid digestion. Also, do not sprout red kidney beans because they produce a toxin when sprouted - just soak them for a few hours and then wash and cook them.

[Laura Corin]

That's interesting bc when I cook beans with an acid they don't get soft. I end up adding baking soda to soften them.

 

I agree - I tend to cook beans until they are soft, and then add acid afterwards.  Apparently that is not the most wind-resistant way, however.

 

L

[Butter]

My husband soaks beans overnight and then drains and freezes them until we are ready to cook them.  We cook them straight out of the freezer taking quite some time to complete the cooking.  That method seems to cure the gas problem, including in my dad who generally is very affected by beans giving him gas.

[Stacia]

Kris Karr (of Crazy Sexy Diet and Crazy Sexy Kitchen) says adding a piece of kombu (seaweed) when soaking beans also helps. I have not tried this suggestion, though.

[Slartibartfast]

My grandmother would put a can of coke in the beans. 

[Pronghorn]

I have heard that treating the beans with lemon juice might help.

[Laura Corin]

Basically the only way to avoid gas when eating beans is to eat more beans. All the rest (includng Beano) is largely ineffective. It's more a function of fiber and gut flora. So, increase your bean intake (and fiber intake) slowly and make them a regular part of your diet.

 

 

It really depends on the person. We eat beans and pulses regularly - at least three times a week.  I am not much affected, whereas Husband is.  Many years of my serving him beans has not made a difference to his tolerance.

 

L

[Seasider]

Soaking the beans overnight starts the sprouting process which reduce the gas (indigestible sugars in the beans that cause gas are converted by the sprouting process into digestible sugars). Wash the soaked beans a few times and discard the soaking water completely to get rid of any traces of the indigestible sugars and cook as usual. Add minced garlic, ginger or asafoetida to the bean recipe (you can saute them with onions or the veggies) to reduce the gassiness and aid digestion. Also, do not sprout red kidney beans because they produce a toxin when sprouted - just soak them for a few hours and then wash and cook them.

This toxic red kidney bean thing is news to me. I was brought up on red beans and rice and still cook them frequently.

 

After reading your post, I googled around a bit. What I found seems to indicate there's no problem as long as the beans are fully cooked after soaking.

[VeteranMom]

I've been reading a book that recommends that one chews the beans very well before swallowing them and start with only a small portion of beans and build up to eating more.  

[ebunny]

12+ hours of soaking in water that is lukewarm. I usually replace the water every 4 hours, rinse and use fresh water before cooking. I cook beans for a long long long time to buttery softness.

And then, I use gas reducing spices -ginger-garlic and cumin. I guess the spices really help with bloating and flatulence.

[fraidycat]

BTDT and it's hard to keep your downward facing dog from barking. :)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Liz CA]

I just heard an expert on food science Harold McGee answer this question on the BBC radio.  He said that the key was long, slow cooking, preferably in the presence of an acid (traditionally, tomato).  Nothing else, that he knew of, made a difference.

 

L

 

I heard a little baking soda does the trick. The only legume I actually like is lentil in lentil soup. All other beans fall to my stomach like a rock except for green beans. Lentils seem to agree with me marginally better but I cannot eat a lot of them. Gas is less an issue but perhaps the gas and the "rock" feeling stem from the same cause.

[Guest nkexiangpe]

I just heard an expert on food science Harold McGee answer this question on the BBC radio. 

[kewb]

I soak my beans with an acid, usually a couple of Tbl of apple cider vinegar, for at least 24 hours. Then discard the soaking water and give a good rinse before cooking. It helps reduce the gas. I also find the more beans we eat the smaller the issue although it never completely goes away.

[DawnM]

Are you doing a vegetarian diet?

 

I am an A also and was vegetarian for a while (over 6 months) and felt great!  I have gone back to meat now but honestly don't care for it all that much.

 

Dawn

 

 

Beans don't give me gas. I do a quick-soak with most dried beans and drain off the water and rinse the softened beans before cooking them. However, my dh gets gas be matter what. Bean-o or charcoal tablets seem to help.


We are currently doing Whole30 (no beans) and he seems a lot less gassy. His mom has stomach issues as well so I think it's genetic. I also read about blood-type diets and his type indicates a paleo/grain-free diet and mine indicates a vegetarian diet. He's an "O" and I'm an "A".

 

[redsquirrel]

I agree with the eat more fiber/beans in general.

 

We eat a LOT of beans in this house and have no problems. In fact, we don't seem to have digestive problems in general. My MIL was shocked to find that we don't own any Tums or acid reducers or laxatives or really any OTC digestive aids. We just never needed them.

 

My dh used to have problems a long time ago, but they went away.  I guess he got used to my cooking, lol. My kids have never had gas problems from beans. Someone made a bean/gas joke and my kid had no idea what they were talking about. They had never heard of such a thing.

 

So maybe take it as a sign that you might need a whole lot more fiber in your diet on a regular basis? I know some people have problems with fiber in general so that might take a different tact. I don't know if you are sensitive to fiber that it means that fiber is all the more important to you, or it it is best to stay away. My guess is that it is individual.

[Joules]

One of ds's nutrition books had a table of beans ranked by gassiness.  I can't find it now, but black beans were listed as the lowest.  So I now make chili and most other dishes with black beans only.  It made a huge difference.  Plus ds says that black beans are one of the more nutritious varieties :)

[marbel]

We used Beano for years with mixed results.  It seemed to help but not enough, even when we took more than the recommended dose.   We are a pretty high-fiber family in general.

 

But, recently I came across the same enzyme in a store brand.  These capsules work much better than the chewable Beano.  If I recall correctly the recommended dose gives twice the amount of the enzyme as the dose on the Beano bottle.  So maybe for us, we just weren't getting enough of the enzyme, or maybe the capsule works better, or... who knows.

 

Oh, I usually use canned beans (rinsed).  I just rarely have the wherewithal to plan so far in advance that i can use dried beans.  

[Amy in NH]

Vinegar, lemon juice, and coke are all acidic, as is molasses.  Cooking with an acid may lower bean's gas-producing function, but it will definitely make it take a lot longer to cook them.  I heard a piece on public radio recently where the food expert stated that cooking with molasses will make your beans hold together better, but will require the cooking time to be very long.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Are you doing a vegetarian diet?

 

I am an A also and was vegetarian for a while (over 6 months) and felt great! I have gone back to meat now but honestly don't care for it all that much.

 

Dawn

No, I am doing Whole30 with my dh. I would rather go back to Eat to Live/vegan diet. I will probably stick with the Whole30 for the 30 days and then work my way back to vegan. I am doing the Whole30 with my dh to help him stay on track. Of course he's lost 5 lbs sincd 1/1, the only thing I've lost is my appetite...I really don't like meat!

[Sun]

I just heard an expert on food science Harold McGee answer this question on the BBC radio.  He said that the key was long, slow cooking, preferably in the presence of an acid (traditionally, tomato).  Nothing else, that he knew of, made a difference.

 

L

 

You can cook dry beans with an acid if you do so in the pressure cooker. You can also use salt that way, which helps make the beans more flavorful because the salt will be inside the beans instead of just in the broth around them.

[redsquirrel]

You don't need to use a pressure cooker to add salt to beans. I can't find the alton brown clip anymore, but salt wants to be equal on both sides of the bean. So, add a good amount of salt (like a tablespoon to a pound of dried) and it flows back and forth between the bean and the liquid and causes no problems. I now salt my beans from dry in the pressure cooker and the crock pot and in a pot with no problem. B/c I have a pressure cooker I rarely soak my beans before cooking them. I am too lazy, lol.

 

I have had problems with acid when cooking beans. I have had problems making baked beans in a pressure cooker, a crock pot and in a pot. In all cases the recipe called for tomato paste and another acid (vinegar mostly) and molasses. The beans just never got soft. Now I cook the beans plain and then add the rest of the ingredients. It's not a big deal, I just don't believe recipes that tell me to just toss it all in and walk away, lol.  I have a nice pressure cooker recipe that calls for cooking the beans first and then quickly lowering the pressure and adding the flavourings and bringing it back to pressure for a few mins and then letting depressure slowly. That one works just fine and it takes maybe 12 mins tops.

[Katy]

Having been differing levels of vegetarian, then not, then eating lots of bean-flour based breads once I became allergic to wheat, I can say for sure that the only thing that really helps is eating beans consistently.

 

If you eat one or two servings per day for three or four weeks, your intestines will adjust and you'll have much less gas.  Stop eating beans for a few weeks and you'll have to go through the adjustment period all over again.

 

Also, don't discount the stuff you put in the beans - lots of people rarely eat onions except in beans, and they blame the beans for the effect of the onions.  Onions might be delicious, but they can cause all sorts of gas and intestinal issues for everyone, especially if you also have trouble with fructose malabsorption.

[Seasider]

Regarding salt, it's never been a problem for me with beans (though I don't put them in the soak, but when I start cooking them). Black-eyed peas, on the other hand, seem to remain little pebbles if I put the salt in too early!