Beans - a Love-Hate Relationship.

Beans are delicious, filling, frugal and high in protein content but they can be ... problematic.

Most of us have experienced bloating, cramping and indigestion after eating beans, that is, not to mention (ahem) the awkward moments and the embarrassment it brings.

Grains, nuts, and beans/legumes are all seeds and these seeds don't want to be eaten (not a surprise, eh?). They are to reproduce, so the seeds did not (want to, naturally) evolve to be highly digestible (to predators). Instead, they evolve to survive themselves.

Adzuki Beans

Either they evolved to pass through the digestive tract unharmed, so the seeds can be distributed by being eaten and then excreted, or they did not evolve to be eaten at all, so by making us uncomfortable, we would leave them alone.

When humans developed agriculture, they cultivated many of these seeds, often breeding them to be larger and less easily dispersed. However, the seeds often retained their indigestible properties.

Many seeds contain anti-nutrients, substances that inhibit the absorption or use of other nutrients. For example, rice contains phytic acid, which inhibits mineral absorption. Other seeds contain substances such as lectins and saponins, which can interfere with the endothelial lining of the GI tract. In extreme cases, such as uncooked kidney beans, raw seeds can be highly toxic.

Garbanzo Beans

Once anti-nutrients are degraded with proper pre-treatment of food, legumes and grains become excellent sources of nutrients that we can utilize.

You can check out my page on how to cook your own beans here.

Prepare Beans For Better digestion:

There are four ways to make beans easier on the belly - soak, cook, sprout, or ferment them long and slow.

The most important thing is to start the process a couple of days before you cook them.

1. Soak them

• Soak them for at least 48 hours. The longer you soak them, the easier they can be digested. Change the water often. (Three times per day if you can or they may spoil.)
• Soak them in very warm water, ideally between 120F to 148F or 50C to 64C. If it's too hot and over 150F (65C), the enzyme that breaks down the oligosaccharide is killed.
• Soak them in Alkaline water or limewater. (As a process known as nixtamalization, as in the preparation of maize.)
• Remember after soaking they increase in volume so give them some room for at least double the size.

2. Cook them long, low and slow

• Cook them on low heat, in an oven, on a burner or in a slow-cooker. That gives beans time to break down the tough, hard-to-digest fibers.
• Cook them in stock.
• Cook them with other fermented food.
• Soak and cook them with Kombu that contains the enzyme to break beans down.

3. Sprout them.

• Soak them first for 8-12 hours to deactivate the phytic acid. 
• Rinse, drain and keep them moist in a jar for 1 to 4 days. 
• Cover the jar with screen, cheesecloth or mesh that allows air to circulate and water to drain.
• Invert the jar and lay at an angle so the air can circulate and the beans are not in standing water.
• Rinse and drain at least every 12 hours (twice a day).
• Since the humid and warm condition is also ideal for bacteria to grow, make sure to cook them thoroughly before eating them. 
• Make sure you use clean jars and filtered water. If they look funky and smells off, better toss away and start a new batch.
• Refrigerate the sprouted beans.

Mung Beans

4. Ferment them.

• I am not sure how many people have time to ferment the beans themselves so I will spare you the details. Let me know if you are interested in those areas. There are a lot of fermented beans and products in the market. We can serve these with our beans or cook our beans with those.