If I say the word “beans” and you squint your face funny, I know one thing is true. Beans make you bloated.
There are two reasons why this is happening. And you need to figure out which reason is your issue because beans are almost a superfood, so you want to find a way to love them and have your belly love them.
Why You Get Bloated With Beans
REASON 1: You’re not preparing beans properly.
All beans (and grains and nuts and seeds!) have phytic acid in their outer coat. Phytic acid makes it very hard to digest these foods and causes bloating and gas within hours after eating them. Don’t blame the poor beans for having this protective coating – it’s how they stay preserved in nature until the rain water activates them to germinate and become plants.
SOLUTION 1: Soak then pressure cook beans.
Soaking in water for around 8 hours, rinse very well, then pressure cook, then rinse well. This deactivates the phytic acid and makes beans an easily digested food. Lentils and split peas are the exception – they only need 1 – 2 hours of soaking before pressure cooking. In case you haven’t heard, there’s this amazing invention called the Instant Pot that will forever change your cooking world.
REASON 2: You need to address your digestive habits and health.
If you’re preparing and cooking beans properly, and you still turn into a bloated gassy mess, then it’s not the beans, it’s you. It could mean that you are not producing enough stomach acid or digestive enzymes. It could mean that your microbiome is significantly imbalanced with possible yeast and/or bacterial overgrowth. It means that right now your digestive system cannot process beans well. But that does not mean that you should ban beans for life because you will surely be missing a very powerful part of a healthy diet.
SOLUTION 2: Heal your gut.
So instead of hating on beans, please let your bean-bloating be a blessing and sign that you need to fix your gut asap. The best option is to work with an integrative health or functional medicine practitioner. There is no health without a healthy gut. I see too many people who say they have no digestive problems, but oh, wait, “I can’t touch beans” and they go on for years and decades avoiding beans and remaining ignorant or in denial of their underlying gut problem.
Once you fix your gut, you should be able to eat beans like any other food. Except beans are not like any other food. This source of protein and fiber is one of the key pillars of all diets in people from the longest living parts of the world, the blue zones.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup pinto or peruano beans
- ¼ onion roughly cut in large piece
- 1 clove garlic barely smashed
- 1 tsp sea or Himalayan salt
METHOD 1 (without a pressure cooker)
- Soak beans overnight, drain, rinse well.
- Add beans + 2 cups water + onion + garlic to a pot.
- Bring to boil then cook covered on low-med for about 1 hour or more, add salt at the last 5 minutes.
- Save with some of their water in the fridge, or without their water in the freezer.
METHOD 2 (with a pressure cooker)
- Soak beans overnight, drain, rinse well.
- Add beans + 2 cups water + onion + garlic to a pressure cooker.
- Choose “bean” setting and let it do its magic.
- Add salt at the end.
- Save with some of their water in the fridge, or without their water in the freezer.
I keep beans in the fridge at all times so I can quickly heat them up as part of a simple lunch or even a snack. If you keep chopped onions and cilantro around, they make a great topping with chopped avocado. And a little something spicy, if you’re adventurous.
If you don’t want the “yummier” version of beans, or you’re doing a protocol that excludes onion and garlic, then ignore the step where you cook them with onion and garlic.
