Are split peas hard to digest?

[Teaching3bears]

I am thinking of making split pea soup from scratch for the first time but I have to be very careful with DS with autism.   He reacted very badly to black bean soup each time I made it many years ago.  No gas, just a horrific mood with moaning and self-injury that lasted a month.  He also did not tolerate red beans.  He eats tons of frozen green peas and green beans so problem.  He also is fine with peanuts.  What is the likelihood he will react badly to split peas?  I plan to make it with dried peas that I soak. 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Split peas are legumes just like black beans and red beans. They all are great sources of fiber which could be what your son is reacting to. 

[MEmama]

6 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

I am thinking of making split pea soup from scratch for the first time but I have to be very careful with DS with autism.   He reacted very badly to black bean soup each time I made it many years ago.  No gas, just a horrific mood with moaning and self-injury that lasted a month.  He also did not tolerate red beans.  He eats tons of frozen green peas and green beans so problem.  He also is fine with peanuts.  What is the likelihood he will react badly to split peas?  I plan to make it with dried peas that I soak. 

 

FYI you don't need to presoak split peas; they break down fairly quickly. Just rinse if you like and toss them in boiling water/broth, stirring now and again to prevent burning as they break down and thicken.

I hope they easier for him to digest. Can you give him just a very small amount of soup the first time he tries it to see how he handles it? 

[Pawz4me]

Split peas have about 90 grams of fructans and galacto-oligosaccarides (GOS) per half cup serving, which is high. But black beans are even higher (105 grams). Red beans are about in the same range. Fructans and GOS are the things that make legumes challenging for many people to digest, but can be downright horrific for people with IBS. Green peas have 75 grams of GOS per half cup serving, but are low in fructans. Green beans don't have much/any fructans or GOS. 

[Teaching3bears]

Maybe I can combine the split peas with something else ie. split pea and spinach or something.  Any ideas?

[Katy]

Split pea soup also has onions which give me stomach cramps and diarrhea. If you want some I’d make some for yourself and put no more than a tablespoon of the cooked soup into a different soup for him. 

I have a similar reaction to corn syrup. 

[Selkie]

Sometimes when people have a hard time with legumes, it is because their gut microbiome is lacking the proper bacteria to digest them. Dr. Will Bulsiewicz discusses this in this book Fiber Fueled. His recommendation is that rather than avoiding legumes (which are one of the healthiest foods on the planet), work up to eating them slowly - start with one spoonful a day and then slowly increase the amount. That gives your microbiome time to adjust.

[Pawz4me]

No human has the enzymes necessary to digest fructans. Some people can handle them with just some minor gas. They can cause significant digestive distress for others. It has nothing to do with other gut bacteria. 

[Selkie]

42 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

No human has the enzymes necessary to digest fructans. Some people can handle them with just some minor gas. They can cause significant digestive distress for others. It has nothing to do with other gut bacteria. 

I'm guessing this is aimed at me?

You're talking about a separate issue.

I'm going to take the word of world renowned gastroenterologists and microbiome experts that yes, discomfort from legumes often does have to do with the lack of certain gut bacteria. I'm guessing they know their stuff.😉

[Pawz4me]

42 minutes ago, Selkie said:

I'm guessing this is aimed at me?

You're talking about a separate issue.

I'm going to take the word of world renowned gastroenterologists and microbiome experts that yes, discomfort from legumes often does have to do with the lack of certain gut bacteria. I'm guessing they know their stuff.😉

I can provide links to many sources about the human lack of the necessary enzymes to digest fructans if the OP is interested. It’s quite well established. 

[Katy]

50 minutes ago, Selkie said:

I'm guessing this is aimed at me?

You're talking about a separate issue.

I'm going to take the word of world renowned gastroenterologists and microbiome experts that yes, discomfort from legumes often does have to do with the lack of certain gut bacteria. I'm guessing they know their stuff.😉

FWIW, my recommendation of a tablespoon at most also comes from my reading his books. The goal is to expand the ability to digest foods, not make narrower and narrower lists. 

[Selkie]

17 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I can provide links to many sources about the human lack of the necessary enzymes to digest fructans if the OP is interested. It’s quite well established. 

Again, separate topic. My post was about the fact that when people aren’t regularly consuming legumes, their gut microbiome does not contain the bacteria needed to digest them. As they slowly introduce legumes into their diet, the proper bacteria will begin developing in their gut and make digestion easier. This is straight from the mouths of gastroenterologists like Dr. Will Bulsiewiscz and Dr. Alan Desmond, among many others.

[Spy Car]

In my purely anecdotal experience (read: no claims to "science" here) the way to reduce the potential for gassiness is to wash the peas repeatedly and rinse. This can involve short soaks that are not designed to soften the peas (which cook quickly in any case) but to wash away the sugars that give many people digestive problems.

If one soaks and agitates the peas with one's fingers (swishing them all around) one will see the soak water get cloudy. Rinse thoroughly, strain,  and repeat until the water runs clear.

The greater the risk (with a sensitive person), the more fastidious you want to be about washing the peas until the water runs clean.

That's my life experience.

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

4 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

Maybe I can combine the split peas with something else ie. split pea and spinach or something.  Any ideas?

Carrots and cubed potatoes are pretty classic pairings in split peas soup. Cooking potatoes separately until they are almost finished and reserving them adding to the soup towards the end of the cooking removes the possibility of the potatoes turning gummy.

Roasting bones or bones with meat in the morning and starting a stock that the peas will cook in is an option.

A dollop of sour cream added upon serving with fresh herbs added (dill is nice, mint is surprisingly good) adds sumptuousness and aroma.

Bill

 

[Pawz4me]

32 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Again, separate topic. My post was about the fact that when people aren’t regularly consuming legumes, their gut microbiome does not contain the bacteria needed to digest them. As they slowly introduce legumes into their diet, the proper bacteria will begin developing in their gut and make digestion easier. This is straight from the mouths of gastroenterologists like Dr. Will Bulsiewiscz and Dr. Alan Desmond, among many others.

Gently, and speaking as someone with a lifetime of lived experience with IBS and who has done more experimenting on my own body (with and w/o the oversight of my own GI docs) than you can likely imagine -- My memory may be faulty, but I believe the OP's son has special needs and is non-verbal. I think it's extremely unwise to urge experimenting on an individual who can't communicate how his body is responding when that experimentation may very well result in anything from mild discomfort to truly excruciating pain.

If the OP wants links about the lack of human enzymes to digest fructans or if she wants links to substantiate the amount of fructans and GOS contained in the foods I posted earlier then I'll be glad to post some. Otherwise, as has been discussed in a few recent threads -- I've said all I care to say about this and am using my "walk away" super power.

[Selkie]

11 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Gently, and speaking as someone with a lifetime of lived experience with IBS and who has done more experimenting on my own body (with and w/o the oversight of my own GI docs) than you can likely imagine -- My memory may be faulty, but I believe the OP's son has special needs and is non-verbal. I think it's extremely unwise to urge experimenting on an individual who can't communicate how his body is responding when that experimentation may very well result in anything from mild discomfort to truly excruciating pain.

If the OP wants links about the lack of human enzymes to digest fructans or if she wants links to substantiate the amount of fructans and GOS contained in the foods I posted earlier then I'll be glad to post some. Otherwise, as has been discussed in a few recent threads -- I've said all I care to say about this and am using my "walk away" super power.

I didn’t urge OP to experiment on her ds, or make any recommendations at all involving him. I just passed along some information that I thought might be helpful. 

[Grace Hopper]

6 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Split peas have about 90 grams of fructans and galacto-oligosaccarides (GOS) per half cup serving, which is high. But black beans are even higher (105 grams). Red beans are about in the same range. Fructans and GOS are the things that make legumes challenging for many people to digest, but can be downright horrific for people with IBS. Green peas have 75 grams of GOS per half cup serving, but are low in fructans. Green beans don't have much/any fructans or GOS. 

Maybe I’m misreading… aren’t split peas and green peas the same thing? I’ve always thought they were. No wonder I have problems with purchased split pea soup and not with homemade green pea soup. @Pawz4meplease don’t leave til you answer this for me because I am honestly curious! I cannot eat green pea soup days and days in a row, but I can almost never comfortably eat purchased split pea soup. 
 

My green pea soup recipe is very basic, a bit of sautéed onion, a carrot or two, a stalk of celery, a dash of dill, and a pound of well-washed peas cooked til soft in about 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (I prefer chicken). Then I blend it with an immersion blender til it’s all smooth, and salt to taste, sometimes sprinkle of white pepper. 
 

This is a comfort food for me, it was one of my dad’s favorites and I was the only other family member to eat that with him. Same for turtle soup. I really miss him <adds green peas to grocery list>.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[Pawz4me]

4 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

Maybe I’m misreading… aren’t split peas and green peas the same thing? I’ve always thought they were. No wonder I have problems with purchased split pea soup and not with homemade green pea soup. @Pawz4meplease don’t leave til you answer this for me because I am honestly curious! I cannot eat green pea soup days and days in a row, but I can almost never comfortably eat purchased split pea soup.

My understanding (which is limited) is that they are the same thing. But split peas are peeled and dried, and it may be something about the drying process (concentrating?) that causes the problem. I remember reading one medical write up of a person who had a full blown allergic reaction to split peas but no problem at all with fresh green peas. I'm guessing it's the drying process that causes higher amounts of fructans and GOS in split peas, but that is just a guess. Neither are foods I particularly enjoy, so I haven't looked into it closely. But for whatever reason(s), it seems to be a normal thing for people to react to them differently.

[Grace Hopper]

41 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

My understanding (which is limited) is that they are the same thing. But split peas are peeled and dried, and it may be something about the drying process (concentrating?) that causes the problem. I remember reading one medical write up of a person who had a full blown allergic reaction to split peas but no problem at all with fresh green peas. I'm guessing it's the drying process that causes higher amounts of fructans and GOS in split peas, but that is just a guess. Neither are foods I particularly enjoy, so I haven't looked into it closely. But for whatever reason(s), it seems to be a normal thing for people to react to them differently.

Interesting! Thanks for the reply. I use dried peas but next time I’ll try using fresh ones. 

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

 

If the OP wants links about the lack of human enzymes to digest fructans or if she wants links to substantiate the amount of fructans and GOS contained in the foods I posted earlier then I'll be glad to post some. 

Please feel free to post the links or pm me. Thanks!

[lewelma]

I can't eat any beans unless they are pressure cooked. So a regular boil of dry beans won't work for me, even if they have been soaked. I just get terrible stomach pains.

Canned beans are fine because they are pressure cooked at the factory and home pressure cooking of dry beans is also fine.

Edited January 24, 2023 by lewelma

[Kela]

13 hours ago, Teaching3bears said:

Maybe I can combine the split peas with something else ie. split pea and spinach or something.  Any ideas?

I have a great recipe for split pea soup with asparagus. It's from the book Veggie Mama. I think it's something like a bag of split peas with a bunch of asparagus, vegetable broth, and when the peas and asparagus are soft you blend it in a blender or with an immersion blender. It's really good.

[Teaching3bears]

Thanks for all the info everyone.  I really learned a lot.  I think I will not rock the boat for now but maybe sometime in the future I will rinse them repeatedly and give them to him in small quantities.