How to Cook Beans to Degas Them

May 24, 2011 by Emilia

For centuries, beans have been a staple food in the Mediterranean countries where they have played an important part in the fight against heart disease, mainly because of their connection to lower cholesterol.

In fact, in recent years studies have shown that people who eat dry beans regularly have a lower risk of suffering from heart attacks than those who barely eat them.

Beans are an almost perfect food

One of the reasons dry beans are an almost perfect food is because they contain essential minerals and vitamins such as:

Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Phosphorous
Zinc
Potassium
Folic acid
Some of the B-complex vitamins

They are also low in fat and sodium, which make them an ideal food to keep high cholesterol and high blood pressure at bay. Dry beans are also high in soluble fiber, the kind that lowers cholesterol, and to top it all, they can help balance your budget because they are very inexpensive; in sum, an almost perfect food.

In the past few years, research has paid a lot of attention to the connection between regular bean consumption and a lower incidence of heart disease. One study examined the relationship between soluble fiber intake and the risk of heart disease on 9,632 men and women over a period of 19 years. It showed that consuming dry beans four times or more per week, compared with less than once a week, lowered the risk of heart disease by 22 percent.

Dry beans are not the easiest food to digest

However, in spite of all these benefits, people may think that dry beans are not for them because they make them bloated after they eat them. And while it is true that dry beans are not the easiest food to digest, there are things you can do about this.

There are two reasons why beans are difficult to digest:

Beans are a combination of protein and carbohydrates. They also contain certain inhibitors, known as trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin is a digestive enzyme that forms in the small intestine and which function is to break down protein. But because beans contain trypsin inhibitors, the protein contained in the beans is not broken down.
Bacteria and fermentation

Beans, as we have already seen, also contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates cannot be broken down neither in the stomach nor in the small intestine. Thus, the digestion of beans is accomplished by bacteria in the colon.

After the beans pass through the stomach and the intestine, the bacteria in the colon complete the digestion and, in the process, they produce gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, and methane. These gases are the ones that produce foul odors; they are the result of the fermentation of incompletely digested food rotting in the colon.

How to degas beans

Trypsin inhibitors are soluble in water. What this means is that rinsing the cooked beans and pouring out the cooking water helps eliminate gas. If you follow these steps, those noxious gases will be substantially reduced and you may be able to go out with your friends or date without fear of being embarrassed.

Soak the beans for 3 hours. Discard the soak water.
Cook the beans in fresh water for 20-30 minutes. Discard the water.
You can repeat step 2 until beans are soft.
Pour out all or most of the cooking water, season and serve.

Final word

Do not avoid eating beans because when it comes to health, they are good for many things. Among other benefits, because they are high in fiber, they are an excellent food for diabetics. In fact, they are classified as low glycemic index food.

Bon appetite!

Emilia Klapp, R.D., B.S.
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
www.Discussion.TheDiabetesClub.com