gasb.txt

gasb.txt - - - - eating beans for gas

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Get a bang out of beans
intestinal gas
It was a dinner
long remembered for a
special casserole, one
made of seven different
types of dried beans.
It was a delicious
amalgam of flavors, for
those beans had been
basking in the oven for
hours. Its after-
effects, however,
lingered well beyond
the meal.

The following evening
when the host was asked
about his day, he shyly
confessed, "I was
scared to leave my office." Apparently
it had been a hugely "windy day" ...
with intestinal gas and mortifying
consequences. He even swore that each
bean was on a different frequency!
Though we've been unable to
substantiate through relevant research
studies, the accuracy of the latter
portion of his account, his experience
did confirm the reputation of dried
beans as a "musical fruit."
We learned several things from that
dinner. One was that in some ways life
doesn't change. What we now call
"flatulence" has been of social
concern since Victorian times. Then,
it was delicately known as
"windinesse." Generations later,
intestinal gas still manifests itself
when certain foods, such as baked
beans, are consumed.

Swallowing air as you eat and eating
too fast, two obvious culprits, lead
to the accumulation of gas in the
upper digestive tract. The other major
contributor is the bacterial
fermentation of undigested food that
takes place in the lower intestine.

It's quite normal to
generate intestinal
gas, on average one to Each month,
three pints a day. Most we've
intestinal gases are featured a
composed of carbon different
dioxide, hydrogen, kitchen
nitrogen, and sometimes science
methane, and these have article by
no odor. It's the the
smelly sulfur- Inquisitive
containing compounds Cooks, Anne
that cause the fuss. Gardiner and
Sue Wilson,
with tips,
Foods that cause gas facts, and
for one person may not unique ideas
affect another. There to give you
are some commonly a whole new
recognized offenders, perspective
however, such as on cooking.
lactose (milk sugar),
the soluble fibers in View other
fruits, some sugarless articles.
gum, and carbonated
beverages.
Also visit
But the most infamous Ask the
sources of gas in food Inquisitive
are likely the Cooks for a
oligosaccharides. These weekly
are short molecular kitchen
chains of sugars that science Q&A!
have been stored in
large amounts in the What makes
Image outer coatings of the perfect Image
legumes, nuts and cup of
seeds, and in much coffee, and
smaller amounts in has it
other vegetables and really found
grains. Of the dried its perfect
legumes, navy beans and companion in
lima beans reportedly that fluffy,
cause more gas than sugary thing
other varieties. we call a
donut? Join
the Webcast
Baked beans may even crew for our
carry a double whammy Coffee and
when they're made with Donuts
beer. Dark ales, edition, as
especially, are also we dig into
offenders. When the science
starches, fibers, and behind the
sugars pass the stomach taste.
and small intestine
without being broken
down or absorbed by digestive enzymes,
they reach the lower intestine intact.
There, they're vigorously attacked by
colonies of harmless bacteria,
producing offending gases as waste
products.
If you're bothered by flatulence, here
are four ideas that might help control
emissions.

1. A most sensible tactic involves a
lengthy soaking, and was developed
some years ago by the California
Dry Bean Advisory Board. For each
pound of dried beans, use ten or
more cups of boiling water. Boil
for two to three minutes, cover,
and set the beans aside overnight.
This initial boiling breaks down
the cell membranes of the beans,
releasing the oligosaccharides so
they can dissolve into the soaking
water. Just make sure you discard
the soaking water!
2. Cook beans well before adding any
acidic ingredients like tomatoes or
molasses, as acids prevent legumesfrom softening. When beans are
softer, they're also more
digestible.
3. Try an over-the-counter digestive
aid, such as Beano, which contains
the sugar-digesting enzyme that the
body lacks. Use Beano just before
eating so it can break down the
gas-producing oligosaccharides. It
has no effect, however, on gas
caused by lactose or fiber.
4. Try adding epazote (1 tablespoon to
a large pot of chili, beans, or
soup). Epazote is the leaf of a
wild herb, prized for its gas-
reducing abilities.
If you know of other suggestions that
are successful in reducing intestinal
gas, please add them to the Forum.


P.S. As to baked beans in Sue's
family? We still enjoy them greatly,
though we've not been brave enough to
try seven-bean casserole since!


Anne Gardiner & Sue
Wilson are the
authors, with the
Image Exploratorium, of the
book The Inquisitive
Cook.





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