Strategies for managing bean related gas

If you're trying to support a healthy gut microbiome, then beans are one of the best foods you can eat The problerom is that the same compounds that feed those microbes also produce a lot of gas. So if you take an enzyme supplement like Bino to reduce the gas, Are you taking away some of the benefit Hello, I'm Monica Reingel, and you're listening to the Nutrition Divo Podcast, a show where we take a closer look at the latest nutrition news, trends, and research and answer your food and nutrition questions. And today's topic was suggested by Debbie, who wrote As I was offering my brother and his daughters some bino so that they could enjoy my famous vegetarian chili, I wondered If we take an enzyme supplement in order to decrease the gas caused by beans, does that somehow decrease the benefits to our gut health Now usually when people ask me about beans and gas, the question is how do I make it stop which is fair Debbie is asking the next level question If the gas is coming from bacterial fermentation in the gut, That fermentation is one of the ways beans help feed and support that healthy microbiome then does reducing the gas also reduce the benefit Okay, let's back up a bit to understand what Bino and similar products are actually doing The beans and legumes contain carbohydrates referred to as Rapenos familyamily oligosaccharides Now humans don't make the digestive enzyme needed to efficiently break down those particular carbohydrates in the small intestine. And so a good portion of them travel on to the large intestine Fortunately, the friendly bacteria in the large intestine, or colon, are very happy to ferment those carbohydrates for you. and that fermentation supports your gut microbiome It also produces short chain fatty acids and other compounds that help support the integrity of your gut lining and really that influence everything from inflammation and immune function to blood sugar regulation So far so good The fly in the ointment is that this fermentation also produces gas hydrogen carbon dioxide and in some people, methane. And that's where the musical reputation of beans comes from And that's also where Bino comes in Supplements like beno contain a digestive enzyme called alpha galactocidase, which can break down more of those raaphenose family carbohydrates before they reach the colon And the idea is that by breaking those carbohydrates down before they reach the colon, there will be less to ferment and to less gas as a result But does less gas mean you're getting less benefit not necessarily Because taking bino with Debbie's famous vegetarian chili does not turn it into a low fiber food. It's just reducing the impact of one specific gas producing fraction of the beans And to be honest Not everyone finds it to be all that helpful If your discomfort is primarily due to those raaphenose family carbohydrates then an enzyme supplement might make a noticeable difference, but it's also possible that your symptoms could be caused by other fermentable carbohydrates in that meal or just a more sensitive gut And in that case, the effect of the supplement may be less dramatic So that's albino or similar supplements might or might not affect you. But now let's take a look at what we know about how Binome might impact your microbiome. To be honest with you I was unable to find any studies specifically designed to evaluate How or whether frequent use of an enzyme supplement might impact the health of your microbiome. Although now that Debbie has raised this question I think it's time someone get on that Studies do show that alpha galactosidase can reduce gas and digestive symptoms for some people, suggesting that they are reducing the amount of fermentable carbohydrates that reaches the colon. But those studies have not gone on to measure changes in gut bacteria or short chain fatty acid production Even so, here's why I'm not that worried about this As I said earlier, alpha galatocidase is not eliminating all of the fermentable material in beans It mainly targets that one particular group of carbohydrates, the Raphenos familyily oligosaccharides. beans still contain resistant starch and other types of fiber that are not broken down by that enzyme and can still reach the colon. So we're not removing all of the microbiome supporting. otential By comparison a low fodMap diet which is often recommended to people with IBS and other digestive conditions reduces a much wider range of fermentable carbohydrates And in fact, research shows that this can have some potentially negative impacts on the makeup of the gut bacteria and the production of short chain fatty acids For people who are suffering from significant digestive symptoms That is sometimes just a necessary trade off post biotic supplements which can supply some of those short chain fatty acids and other beneficial compounds that are produced by a healthy microbiome can also be a helpful tool for those who really do need to follow that low FodMAap diet Taking bino supplements along with a bowl of beans is not the same thing as going on a low fodMAap diet It's a much more targeted intervention. And furthermore, studies show that supplements like this can reduce the amount of gas by fifty to as much as seventy percent which means that some of those sugars are still getting through So I'd think of it this way Taking Vino may trim one source of microbial fuel, but It doesn't shut down the whole buffet Practically speaking, if taking an enzyme supplement allows you to enjoy beans with less discomfort And that allows you to enjoy them more often, I think it's more than worth the trade off And if it doesn't really make any difference for you, then there's probably no benefit to taking it. But here are a few other tips that may help reduce the gas associated with eating beans and legumes First inccrease slowly If you don't eat beans very often, start with a small portion, maybe just a few tablespoons, and gradually increase how much you eat and how often you eat them. ut microbes can adapt, but They usually appreciate a little advanced notice Second, find your personal limit Some people may do fine with a full cup of beans, while others may discover that Half a cup is really their sweet spot. alsoso may find that you tolerate legumes better if you don't eat them more than once a day, or maybe only every other day. Third, make sure you keep them in the rotation. So once you've built up a tolerance, consistency really matters. If you stop eating beans for a stretch, then you may lose some of that adaptation and have to build back up again So even modest regular portions may work a lot better for you than occasional bean blowouts No pun intended Not all legumes contain the same amount of these gas producing sugars. For example, some analyses suggest that chickpeas tend to be the highest Lentils and soybeans somewhat less, and other types of beans even lower. So if one type gives you trouble, it may be worth trying another type rather than writing off the entire category And finally soaking dried beans and then discarding the soaking water can reduce some of those worst offenders ook them in fresh water If you're using canned beans, rinse them well and discard that canning liquid. This won't remove all of the fermentable carbohydrates, but it may reduce enough to make a practical difference As my friend and colleague Tama Duer Freyman, who is the author of The Bloated Belly Whisperer, likes to point out Gut health is not a one size fits all situation. Her best advice is to eat as much fiber from as many different sources as you can comfortably tolerate And in the show notes, we'll include a link to my interview with Tamera about bloating, as well as a couple of episodes on the low FodMap diet if you'd like to check those out If you have a food or nutrition question you'd like me to answer on an upcoming episode, you can email it to nutrition at quick and dirtytips. com And I want to say a special thanks to several listeners who recently suggested me as a presenter to their HR directors or their conference planning committees. and as a result I've had several opportunities over the past couple of months to meet up with longtime listeners at events that they or their colleagues were hosting or organizing If you'd like to find out about having me present at your next live or virtual event, you can learn more at wellnessworkshere d. com Nutrition Diva is a quick and dirty tips podcast Holly Hutchinings is our director of podcasts. Steve Riickerberg is my audio engineer. Morgan Christenson heads up podcast Operations into advertising. Rebecca Sebastian is our manager of Marketing and Publicity, Matt Hoops is our markarketing and operations assistant, and Maram E Magib is our podcast associate. Thanks to all of them and thanks to you for listening