More data on the bean question

[cjsmith]

I have thought of some exceptions to the beans-and-legumes problem:
- I can eat peanuts okay as long as I don't eat many.
- I can eat green beans fine (although I admit those aren't heavy on the BEAN component; they're mostly the pod).

Thanks go to abqdan for finding this Mayo Clinic link with information on the various indigestible or hard-to-digest sugars. That clearly suggests some experiments. I already suspect I have trouble with lactose in sufficient quantities; a few days of carefully-chosen meal plans will tell me whether I'm also sensitive to fructose or to sorbitol. My bean soup was full of onions and was eaten with homemade wheat bread, making that experiment by itself a total mess. Testing one potential cause at a time is simplest.

The fact that Beano is alpha-galactosidase is intriguing. I never knew raffinose was digested via a pathway so similar to that of lactose. Lactase meds are beta-galactosidase, right? Maybe I need BOTH. Maybe Beano alone won't help someone who's lactase-deficient. (I wish I knew more of this stuff.) Nevermind, I'm barking up the wrong tree with this one. I may need both, but I don't need both for beans. Both galactosidases cleave the appropriate polysaccharide into monosaccharides; alpha- works on raffinose (beans), beta- on lactose. Once that's done, three more enzymes are required for digestion of galactose (a monosaccharide present in both raffinose and lactose), but if I had problems with those enzymes, I'd be very sick or even dead right now.

I would also be interested in suggestions from folks who laud a bean-and-grain diet as somehow more "natural" or "real" (which would rule out Beano, lactase, and probably imported herb/spice additives as well). If indeed humans should be able to subsist on this stuff, then either I am physiologically wonky (alien? :) ) or I don't know how to boil beans. If I simply don't know how to boil beans, I would like to learn. It would be a lot simpler to be able to make bean soup and not have to run out to the store for medicine in order to eat it.

Comments

[moriamerri.livejournal.com]

Hey! inflectionpoint has said some of what I'm thinking (having read the comment CJ's comment which was sent to me by email).

Regarding #3, do consider the gut flora issue--at least it seems like a possibility to explore. Yogurt has some strains of probiotics....or you can also get other stuff that has more (as inflectionpoint said). (The general word for this stuff is probiotics. Ask at whole foods and they can show you various kinds. There are probiotic capsules and liquids that are concentrated (more concentrated than yogurt)). Anyway, um, lactobacilus acidopholous (sp?) and bifidus (sp?) are common, but there are other kinds, and I think it is good to take a variety of strains..... just sorta on general principle. (Small and large intestines have different kinds / distribution.) However, I don't know how these various organisms relate to the digestion (or lack of digestion) of beans. But, hey, as long as you are exploring, may as well wander down this road as well.

There's also a special yogurt thingy that they sell now (e.g. at HFS) that has a wider range of probiotics -- the package talks about boosting your immune system -- I think it is called Dani (something like that). Tiny little containers. I bought a bunch of it after taking antibiotics recently :(

While thinking about all this I looked in wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence#Causes Some interesting reading, some of it similar to various musing here -- including a brief mention of probiotics.

(quoting wikipedia:)
The amount of water-soluble oligosaccharide in beans that may contribute to production of intestinal gas is reputed to be reduced by a long period of soaking followed by boiling,[citation needed] but at a cost of also leaching out other water-soluble nutrients.[citation needed] Also, intestinal gas can be reduced by fermenting the beans, and making them less gas-inducing, and/or by cooking them in the liquor from a previous batch[citation needed]. Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum have recently been hypothesized as being responsible for this effect.[7] Some legumes also stand up to prolonged cooking, which can help break down the oligosaccharides into simple sugars. Fermentation also breaks down oligosaccharides, which is why fermented bean products such as miso and tofu are less likely to produce as much intestinal gas[citation needed]).

Probiotics (yogurt, kefir, etc.) are reputed to reduce flatulence when used to restore balance to the normal intestinal flora.[8] Yogurt contains Lactobacillus acidophilus which may be useful in reducing flatulence[citation needed]). L. acidophilus may make the intestines more acidic, thus maintaining the natural balance of fermentation processes.[citation needed] L. acidophilus is available in supplements (non-dairy is reputedly best[citation needed]). Prebiotics, which generally are non-digestible oligosaccharides, such as fructooligosaccharide, generally increase flatulence in a similar way as described for lactose intolerance.[citation needed]

Medicinal activated charcoal tablets have also been reported as effective in reducing both odor and quantity of flatus when taken immediately before food that is likely to cause flatulence later.[citation needed]

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that we're finally on the right path here. The whole enzyme thing wasn't making much sense, and various pieces of it wouldn't hang together well, but this has potential.

Of course, I don't yet see how adding bacteria helps the problem, because as best I can see SUBTRACTING very specific bacteria is what I need to do, but it's no hardship to eat some yogurt!