Scientists Take the 'Toot' Out of Beans
By
Bjorn Carey
LiveScience Staff Writer
Bean
lovers know there's some truth to this schoolyard
saying: Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more
you eat, the more you toot! Noisy flatulence following
a burrito is just a part of life for some people.
Chefs
can tinker with beans to make them less offensive,
but oftentimes, pre-treating a food to correct
one problem reduces its nutritional value.
Now
a team of researchers has identified two types
of bacteria that could help take the toot out
of beans while also making them more nutritious.
Gas
primer
Bacteria living in the large intestine are tasked
to break down food that wasn't fully digested
in the stomach or small intestine, particularly
things like the large quantity of soluble fiber
in beans.
As
the bacteria glean the final bits of nutrients
from your meal, they release tiny bubbles of methane
gas. The bubbles conglomerate and eventually find
their way out of the body, potentially disturbing
social situations.
Many bean recipes call for soaking beans in water
overnight before baking. Soaked beans take less
time to cook, but they also ferment a little.
Fermentation breaks down the bean's nutrients
so your gut doesn't have to work so hard and you
produce less flatulence.
Teaming
up
Scientists at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela
determined that adding Lactobacillus casei and
L. plantarum to soaking beans improves the fermentation
process by efficiently breaking down the fibrous
nutrients that can lead to gassy outbursts.
After
the bacteria did their thing and the beans were
cooked, the amounts of nutrients that could be
digested and absorbed from the bean had increased
significantly.
The
study is detailed online today by the Journal
of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
*
Dairy Air: Scientists
Measure Cow Gas
* Engineering OJ: Terrible
Smells Make Juice Fresh
* 21st Century BBQ: Juicier
Beef from Cloned Cows
* Some
Food Smells Hint at Nutrition
* The
Chemistry of Great Coffee