Beans are so helpful for gut health! Beans are great at supporting butyrate production in the gut which we know helps with inflammation reduction, repair of the gut lining and symptom reduction in the long term.
Beans are also the most common reported fear food with those that work with us! Here are our top 3 tips for how to better tolerate them.
Top 3 Tips
Add Kombu
Kombu actually has an enzyme in it (glutamic acid) that acts as a natural bean tenderizer. This enzyme also helps break down the gas causing component of beans – oligosaccharides. Using kombu when cooking beans is a great way to make them more tolerable! You can use kombu in cooking beans from a can or fresh.
Baking soda
If you are cooking beans (not from a can) – you can also add baking soda (1/8 tsp) to help break down the gas containing component. Bonus tip- using baking soda helps it cook faster and beans will turn out much more creamy.
Blend it up & Go low and slow
Don’t give up if you still find beans not tolerable. Trying new things can take time. Our suggestion is always- go low and slow with fear triggering foods. Start small and build up tolerance over time. Blending can also really help decrease the particle size which does also improve tolerance with IBD patients.
Should we be worried about bean gas?
Gas is actually a sign that we are feeding our gut microbes (mostly the helpful ones) so it’s not always a bad thing. In fact, when studied, most people who thought they had excessive gas actually had a normal amount of gas. A normal amount of gas is 14-22 times per day.