Don’t allow fear of gas to keep from enjoying beans’ versatility and nutritional advantages. Some cooking techniques and Beano, an over-the-counter product, may also help. The unwanted vapor comes from sugars and starches not completely digested by enzymes in the small intestine. Once these carbohydrates travel into the large intestine, normal, harmless bacteria make a meal out of them and produce gas in the process. Beano provides a digestive enzyme the body lacks, so take it when you sit down to your meal. Draining canned or soaked beans also helps, as it rids your meal of some of the hard-to-digest carbohydrate.

Also it may be helpful as well as tasty to season your beans with herbs and spices. To reduce flatulence and intestinal symptoms associated with eating beans, cook with herbs and spices such as fennel, anise, turmeric, lemongrass, dill, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, bay leaf, ginger, cinnamon, and cumin. Experience shows that the body gradually adapts to increased bean consumption.

Bean Gas