Questions if you can't eat beans

[eshqua]

For anyone that isn't able to eat beans, I'm curious as to your experience that made you give up on them. I have a friend who can't get past the bloating. And she gets stomach aches even though she tries to eat just a little bit. She is on 3 medications which may be affecting her gut microbiome and maybe she isn't able to build up the healthy Bacteria. Or maybe just a food sensitivity. What is your diet like without beans? I encouraged her to start with 1 T per day every day and build up but she just can't do it. She has all kinds of digestive issues so I was hoping a high fiber diet with beans would help her. But doesn't seem to be working. Any other ideas?

[roundcoconut]

I'm not so sure whether I'd like to see people try to "push past" foods that digest uncomfortably for them. All that discomfort, and for what? Especially if there are good foods that they can choose instead.

One thing I can say from recent experience is that the last couple of times I've eaten tomatoes, I've had this feeling where my stomach gets bloated and hard, like I've just swallowed a basketball. I tend to just really enjoy whole natural foods in their raw state, and so I commonly a whole cucumber raw, or a whole head of cauliflower raw. All with no adverse effect.

But then after eating maybe three or four tomatoes, I just had this sensation of "Oh god what have I DONE!"

If your friend feels anything like this, then there is absolutely no need to make friends with beans. There are wonderful grains, starches, fruits and vegetables to choose from, without making a beeline for the beans.

Anyways, what IS it, when a food doesn't pass from the stomach, to the small intestine, to the large intestine?? What an icky experience, and I don't even know what it means.

[Dougalling]

Hi

When I started eating a lot of beans I used a digestive enzyme (Beano).
There is no need to eat beans. You can get protein from all the plants that we eat. A little protein from many sources adds up quickly. Rice with green peas is my mainstay.

[MINNIE]

It sounds like your friend should not eat beans. It's that simple.

No one needs to eat beans. They are an excellent food, for those who can eat them, but not essential to health.

So there is no need to worry if people can't, or prefer not to, consume them.

There are plenty of other nutritious starches to choose from:).

[GeoffreyLevens]

If you do want to eat beans (though as mentioned above not necessary and ate none at all for several years when first came here) most people find they can do so if they start w/ tiny amount. Of course need to be very well cooked to soft then try 1 tsp/day. If that sits well increase to 2 or 3 tsp. As you very gradually over several months increase the amount you eat, your gut flora will change you will likely be able to eat them with no problem at all. Taking BeanO and similar enzyme products (while making them easier to digest) will greatly slow your own adaptation to digesting them

[colonyofcells]

Can try soaking beans overnight. Can also try sprouted beans. Can also try mung bean sprouts and soy bean sprouts (needs to be cooked) which are sold in asian grocery.

[eshqua]

If a person doesn't normally eat beans, then there is likely to be some discomfort and/or bloating because we don't have the good healthy bacteria that breaks them down. I know I had some bloating when adjusting to beans way back. Then I slowly built up the good bacteria and have had wonderful health benefits - like reversing my low thyroid (which I attribute to increasing the health of my gut microbiome) and bringing down my cholesterol to optimal. My friend also has high cholesterol. She has not an ounce to lose. I'm also wondering if her sweet tooth is affecting her gut microbiome. She wanted to be able to eat beans for their health benefits. I know you don't have to eat beans for health. Unfortunately my friend is only willing to go so far so forget eating a lot of grains. She avoids gluten too and isn't too willing to expand to other grains. Oh well, I was hoping to help her get healthier ...

[patty]

We are all a work in progress. As Dr Mc Dougall shares the body is always trying to heal itself. You are a good friend.

Aloha, patty

[roundcoconut]

Oh, yeah, eshqua, it's REALLY tempting to want to heal people and share this with people. I've TOTALLY been there.

I actually went to visit a super-close friend of mine for a few weeks, and I did all the cooking the whole time I was there, and I even left her with a fridge and freezer full of tupperware containers of stuff to eat. And she honestly wanted to go back to Dunkin Donuts, whether or not she had food kindly and lovingly prepared for her.

So WOW have I learned this lesson. People who initiate a change and put in the effort to make things work for them, are really the only ones who get the benefits.

We beg and bargain, but people don't reallly want these behaviors for themselves. Maybe they SAY they want the outcomes, but they are two sides of the same coin. They just don't want the behaviors for themselves, that you want for them.

Gracious, the world we live in!

[bbq]

Try something else like split pea soup since it's much easier to digest while coming from the legume family, and then we've got traditional Asian foods such as miso or tofu etc. for the beneficial phytoestrogens:

How can soy foods have it both ways—pro-estrogenic effects in some organs (protecting bones and reducing hot flash symptoms), but anti-estrogenic effects in others (protecting against breast and endometrial cancer)?
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/who-shouldnt-eat-soy/

How beans, berries, and intact (not just whole) grains may reduce colon cancer risk.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/getting-starch-to-take-the-path-of-most-resistance/

Fortunately we've got three choices for that one.

[Jenna]

I can't eat any beans (no legumes of any kind--not even green beans or peas) because they make my lupus symptoms flare. I do fine without them. My diet is still super high in fiber. I am also gluten free--in fact, I am totally grain-free because, again, lupus symptoms. The only starches I do well with are potatoes and sweet potatoes. I can also eat winter squashes, but I don't care for them. I eat potatoes, lots of veggies, sweet potatoes, and fruits. My total cholesterol is right around 100. I don't think there is any reason that your friend needs to eat beans or gluten grains in order to have a healthy diet. She can eat a healthy diet within the constraints she has if she wants to, but only if she wants to.

In part, I wonder about how you are framing the question. Are beans healthy? Sure, they can be part of a healthy diet, but beans added to a bad diet are not going to make someone's diet healthy. It is not about an individual food, but rather about the bigger picture, the whole diet. If her whole diet is healthy, she doesn't need beans. If her whole diet is unhealthy, then beans aren't going to solve the problem anyway, and making her feel crummy isn't the answer.

[colonyofcells]

Can easily get enough protein from either unrefined starch and legumes or unrefined starch and vegetables. I heard sweet potato and potato also have complete protein but it is a good idea to eat vegetables also. Some whole grains like whole grain quinoa and amaranth also have complete protein.

[eshqua]

Thanks much for further suggestions! She is only willing to go so far and beans were something she wanted to add to her diet. She has fibromyalgia as well as high cholesterol, diverticulosis, digestive problems, chemical sensitivities. She is one of the few of friends/relatives who are willing to listen and wanted to change her ways to a point but she doesn't eat enough healthy food - 2 meals a day and one is oatmeal and toppings for breakfast and the other tends to be sweet potato and salad. I also think she is deficient in nutrients since she is very thin and I'm guessing gets 700-800 calories per day from healthy foods and then likes her sweets. Because of her diverticulosis, she absolutely will not eat berries of any kind or nuts and seeds. I sure wish there was a doctor who was a follower of Dr McDougall or other plant based doctors in our area! Maybe someday.... A friend who is an RN and I give talks on a WFPB diet so right or wrong, i want to offer a suggestion of this diet to anyone with a diet related condition. (My degree was in nutrition from back in the 70s) If they dont want to hear about it, so be it. I feel better that I at least suggested a possible way to reverse or greatly improve their health issue.

[Katydid]

If I eat beans, my throat will eventually swell up to the point I can no longer swallow my own saliva. It isn't deadly - but it is annoying. I substitute blue corn hominy for dark beans and white hominy for light colored beans. Works perfectly in "bean" burgers, loafs, soups and spreads.
Kate