I’m frequently asked about how to make beans less gassy. Beans contain raffinose, which is hard to digest. It gets fermented in the gut – causing gas. Raffinose is a trisaccharide, meaning it is made up of three sugars: galactose, fructose and glucose.
Not much you can do about the raffinose, but you can minimize the effects of it with rinsing. I always rinse canned beans. When I soak beans overnight, I change the water a couple of times.
The quick-soaking method for beans is to cover them with a couple inches of water, boil for 1-2 minutes, then to turn of the heat, and let them sit, covered, for an hour. Rinse and then refrigerate until you are ready to use them. Then rinse them again.
I even find it makes a difference if I rinse them yet again after they are cooked (unless, of course, I’m making soup.)
Some people find beano helpful. Beano is an enzyme supplement that can help prevent gas from beans and other hard-to-digest complex carbohydrates. Take beano just before you eat.
With adequate rinsing, beans don’t usually bother me. But on occasion they do, and then I find it helpful to take a probiotic supplement. That does the trick for me. What works for you?
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