Do green beans cause gas?
Jump To:
Green beans are different than other beans like kidney beans, black beans, etc in many ways. Although they don’t usually cause much gas, for some they can. Two main ingredients in green beans that can cause gas are fiber, and lectins. Let’s see why and what you can do to fix it.
Fiber in Green beans
As you can see, green beans contain 2.7g of fiber per 100g serving with others being Energy (kcal)-31, Protein (g)-1.83, Total Lipid (g)-0.22, Carbohydrate (g)-6.97, Fiber (g)-2.7, Sugars (g)-3.26
Green beans are high in fiber but not too much when considered per serving. Green beans make it much easier to consume larger quantities than other vegetables. Most people find 100g of spinach filling, 100g of spinach contains 2.2 grams of fiber. However, it is possible to consume several portions of green beans at one time, especially if you add toppings.
Green beans have a high fiber content per cup. The fiber is then fermented inside the stomach, producing gas that can lead to flatulence and bloating.
So over consumption can lead to gas.
Are green beans hard to digest?
Carbohydrates are the main reason that make food hard to digest. Your large intestine produces gas when bacterial fermentation happens. The majority of gas comes from the fermentation of carbohydrates which don’t easily break down in the small intestine.
These are the most common carbohydrate that can cause gas:
- Fiber
- Oligosaccharides
- Fructose
- Sugar alcohols
As we have seen, green beans contain fiber.
Green beans also have a very low level of oligosaccharides, which is a significant advantage over other legumes.
The sugar profile of green beans is the last thing that we should look at. This is the sugar and sugar alcohol content per 100g of raw green beans Moisture-87 g, Fructose-1.17g, Glucose-1.62 g, Sorbitol-0.17 g, Mannitol-0.11 g.
Usually, it’s not likely that sugar alcohol (sorbitol or mannitol), is a problem as it is quite low in green beans.
But, green beans contain a good amount of fructose for each serving. Research shows that fructose can cause gastric problems in some people who are intolerant to fructose.
Lectin is high in green beans
The other substance found in green beans that can cause gas is lectins.
Because, lectins bind with carbohydrates, making digestion more difficult. The small intestine has a lower rate of carbohydrates breakdown, which leads to more fermentation and gas in the large intestine.
It turns out that beans and grains have the highest levels of lectins, which includes green beans.
How do you prevent gas from green beans?
Green beans are high in Fiber, Lectins, and Fructose where all 3 contribute to causing gas.
There are two things you can do if you have stomach problems with green beans.
- Start by eating smaller portions.
- Second, cooking beans reduces the lectin content, which may reduce the amount of gas produced by eating green beans.
If this doesn’t work, it could be that something else you are eating with green beans is causing excess gas.
While cooking, you can add a little baking soda to your recipe. The baking soda helps break down some of the beans’ natural gas-making sugars.
