Flatulence
Flatulence
Recently, my wife and I tried fava beans, also known as faba beans. These are similar to, although bulkier than, big lima beans. We expected that like all other beans, they would generate a lot of gas. Imagine our surprise when gas was not a problem.
Perhaps the reason was that I had resorted to folklore in an effort to eliminate bean-induced flatulence. I soaked dry beans in water overnight, then discarded the water and cooked the soaked beans in new water. It's an age-old anti-gas strategy.
In addition, I used an old Chinese approach that I got from Chinese Healing Foods and Herbs, a book by pharmacognosist (natural product pharmacist) Albert Leung, Ph.D. The Chinese soak their beans in water to which they add the annual wormwood (Artemisia annua).
Finally, for added protection, I also followed an Appalachian anti-flatulence suggestion and cooked my beans with a small, whole carrot.
If I'd had any wormseed, or epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides), I would have added a dash of that as well. Mexicans cook their beans with this herb to reduce flatus.
What with overnight soaking, wormwood and a carrot to help us, Peggy and I experienced no significant flatulence from our fava beans.
Bacteria at Work
Most flatus is produced in the intestine by undigested carbohydrates. Instead of being broken down in the stomach, some starches enter the small intestine intact. The intestine does not produce the enzymes necessary to digest two specific carbohydrates, raffinose and stachyose, so they just sit there until the bacteria that normally inhabit the bowel ferment them, a process that releases gas.
Guess which foods are highest in raffinose and stachyose? You guessed it--beans. And among beans, the three that are highest in that pair of carbohydrates are English peas, soybeans and black-eyed peas. But those aren't the only ones: Limas, pintos, black beans and other legumes also contain enough of these indigestible carbohydrates to produce gas.
If you think that you're producing more gas than you used to, you may be right. If you've evolved your diet in a healthier direction recently and are eating less meat, fewer fats and more carbohydrates (especially beans), the chances are that you've been eating more of the foods that are most likely to produce gas.
Most people who complain of "excess gas," on the other hand, actually produce amounts that digestive system specialists (gastroenterologists) would call perfectly normal. Studies show that the average adult passes gas from 8 to 20 times every waking hour of the day. In other words, there's nothing unusual about releasing gas more than once an hour.
Green Pharmacy for Flatulence
Just because flatulence is normal doesn't mean it's welcome. Flatus cannot be banished from the body, but you can significantly reduce the likelihood of unwanted exclamations. A number of herbs can help.
Assorted carminative herbs. Any herb that soothes the digestive tract and has a reputation for minimizing flatus is known as a carminative.
Dozens of herbs fall into this category, so it's hard to highlight just a few. The most helpful are those containing the most gas-relieving chemicals, most notably the compounds camphor, carvone, eugenol, menthol and thymol. These compounds are especially concentrated in allspice, cloves, cornmint, caraway, dill, fennel, horsebalm, peppermint, sage and thyme.
In addition, most of the herbs in the mint and carrot families are good carminatives, including aniseed, basil, bergamot, camomile, cinnamon, coriander, garlic, ginger, hyssop, juniper, lavender, lemon, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, oregano, rosemary, savory and tarragon.Try using carminative herbs to flavor starchy dishes, especially those made with beans.
You can also deflate flatus with my Carminatea, made with camomile, caraway, dill, fennel, lemon balm (also known as melissa) and peppermint and sweetened with licorice.
Banishing Gas Besides taking herbs, you can try a number of other natural approaches to help shut off your body's gasworks. One way is to stop eating beans, but I wouldn't recommend that. Beans are inexpensive sources of high-quality protein, fiber and other nutrients. Or you could try Beano. This product, available at pharmacies, health food stores and some supermarkets, contains the enzymes that can digest the gas-causing carbohydrates raffinose and stachyose but which our bodies don't produce. A study has shown that it works. It also helps to eat more slowly. Chew your food thoroughly. Make meals as relaxed as possible. If you eat quickly and wolf your food down, you swallow larger lumps, which are more likely to enter the intestine undigested. Lactose intolerance is another major cause of flatulence. Try cutting down on or eliminating dairy products for a week or two and see if you experience less gas and stomach distress. If you do, you're probably one of the many people who have trouble digesting milk sugar (lactose). To deal with this, you have two choices: Either cut way back on dairy foods (although yogurt is usually okay) or try adding the commercial product Lactaid to milk. Lactaid contains the enzyme that digests lactose. Some people notice an increase in flatulence when they eat foods that are artificially sweetened with sorbitol. Read food labels carefully and try avoiding sorbitol for a time. If you notice that you're passing less gas, you might want to permanently avoid this sweetener. |
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