Healthful Nutrition

We all know that trying to eat healthy doesn't always feel comfortable, especially when we try to change things up all of a sudden.

I always encourage my clients to eat more WHOLE foods such as Legumes (bean and peas) and grains, but I get a lot of push back.

I figured out that the reason is because many individuals have a lot of painful gas, bloating and overall stomach discomfort when eating more beans and grains.

This typically happens because beans contain a type of carbohydrate that is poorly digested by the body. The good bacteria in the large intestines has a hard time breaking down this nutrient which usually results in gas and the bloating.

Not to mention, beans are rich in fiber and resistant starches which further challenges the enzymes and bacteria during digestion.

Does this mean that we avoid beans forever and never get the good protein and fiber content from it?

No.

We just have to find ways to make these beans a little more digestible so that we can gain the benefits from it.

One way to do this is to cook your beans with a 4 to 6 inch strip of kombu (AKA Kelp). Kombu releases amino acids into the water ehile cooking and this allows for the bean's carbohydrates to be properly broken down so that it can be best digested.

Another tip to help improve bean digestibility is to soak them for at least 8 to 10 hours before cooking them. You can do this by just placing dried beans into a jar and filling it with water. It's best to let this sit overnight at room temperature.

If you want to be great and take it a step further, try sprouting your beans over the course of 2 to 3 days to release the most nutrients. You can do this by:

-Soaking the beans for 8 to 10 hours.

-Draining that water.

-Rinsing and draining the beans for the next 2 to 3 days until you actually see the sprouts coming out of the beans.

For more details on how to sprout beans, check out this article.

https://www.liveeatlearn.com/how-to-sprout-legumes/

Get your kombu here: https://amzn.to/3ro54Rw

Do you have discomforts when eating beans and grains? How do you handle the discomfort? Share with us in the comments.

Peace & Love,

Dr. Mary,

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Lifestyle Medicine