Hey Friends! How’s it goin?
Happy belated Canada Day to my Canadian Friends! It felt really weird to have a day off on a Tuesday, but I’m not complaining 😀
Today’s post is gonna be about the next big holiday. And no I’m not talking about July 4th. Tomorrow, July 3rd, is National Eat Your Beans Day and I decided to use today’s post to talk about, well, beans.
The Truth about Beans
A couple weeks ago a friend of mine got a mild case of food poisoning from slightly undercooked kidney beans. My first thought was WHAT? Beans can get you sick? I thought the worse they did was make you toot!
After that slightly hysterical response, I went into research mode.
Side note: packages of dried beans that I’ve seen do NOT make note of the potential toxicity of beans. What the hell?
But moving on:
Anatomy of a Bean
Beans are a good source of high-fat protein usually found in red meats and are also filled with heart healthy nutrients like soluble fiber, complex carbohydrates, folate and iron.They also contain something called oligosaccharides which normal human digestive tracts cannot properly digest, hence the tooting flatulence.
However, a little known fact is that some beans also contain a potentially harmful toxin called Lectins.
What are Lectins?
Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that can be found in varying concentrations in foods such as beans, grains, seeds, nuts and potatoes. They are thought to exist in plants as a protective mechanism, as animals who aren’t used to consuming certain types of lectins experience pain or death if they eat them.
Pretty effective if you ask me.
Why are Lectins Harmful?
Some effects of Lectins in humans include nutritional deficiencies and allergic reactions. However, the most common adverse effects occur when Lectins interact with cells in the gut and cause gastrointestinal distress.
Lectins bind to the protein receptors in the intestinal lining, causing damage. Then the lectins can pass through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, Lectins basically have a free-for-all with any carbohydrate containing protein or tissue in the body.
Not exactly sure what that means exactly?
Here are some Examples
Well, insulin is a peptide hormone, which is a protein. So Lectins can bind with insulin, causing it to destabilize and potentially result in diabetes.
Leptin – the satiety hormone – is also a protein. Letptin is made by fat cells and regulates the amount of fat stored in the body. Imagine if the Lectins in beans and grains was able to destabilize leptins? Yep, obesity.
Of course, these are extreme cases, but they’re always a possibility.
So what can you do?
1. Know the Symptoms
If you have consumed undercooked beans, symptoms may include:
- Gas
- Abdominal Pain
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
Recovery can be rapid and spontaneous, but if symptoms persist, go see your doctor or to the emergency room. It’s definitely better to be safe rather than sorry in this situation.
2. Cook your Beans Properly
The Lectins found in beans can be destroyed by properly cooking the beans. Give yourself enough time to cook beans thoroughly because you won’t be doing yourself any favours by rushing the process and getting sick.
Most beans should be soaked overnight and then cooked for at least an hour. There are some exceptions of course, but be sure to find out the specific soaking and cooking times for the beans you’ll be making to reduce the chance of getting ill.
Check out this article to figure out the cooking times for beans.
3. Use Canned Beans
I don’t cook dried beans myself because I’m lazy (attack of my inner Sloth, clearly). But now, I’m glad that I don’t, cuz I’m also lazy enough to take short cuts with the cooking time.
Canned beans however, are precooked, so you don’t have to worry about those pesky Lectins. I would advise that you wash your canned beans thoroughly before using them to get rid of excess salt.
Other things to note about Beans and Lectins
- They don’t smell or taste ‘bad’ even when the toxin is still present
- Cooking beans in a slow cooker may not destroy the toxins because of the lower temperature.
- Undercooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans
- Kidney beans are the most potentially harmful
- The lectin isolate ricin, is used as a biological warfare agent
I don’t plan to stop eating beans – I’ve actually eaten them numerous times since discovering this information – but it’s always important to be armed with information so you can come to your own decision.
If this sparked a need for you to find out more, check out these articles:
- Spill the Beans: Are they Healthy or Not
- Lectin
- Beans! Beans! The Poisonous Fruit!
- What’s wrong with beans and legumes?
- Eating undercooked beans
What about you?
Did you know about the Lectins in beans?
Do you use dried beans or canned?
Know any other healthy foods with hidden dangers?
Share in the comments below!
Connect with me on: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Google+ | Bloglovin
Subscribe for weekly health tips
This post was added to the following linkups:
Great article! We don’t eat beans so this is really a non-issue for us. I will eat them on occasion if offered but that’s maybe once or twice a year. For the most part I try to avoid them.
Carla recently posted…Running Forward & July #Giveaway
Great post & some great info! Yes, I knew about the lectins in beans because I eat a primarily Paleo/Primal style diet, but beans never really agreed w/me all that much anyway. The only one I occasionally miss are garbanzo beans, but if I really want them, I’ll eat them. 😉
Thanks for the tips!
Karey @ Nutty About Health recently posted…Did You Know… That Liver is a Superfood?
So so happy you linked up to Did You Know this week! I honestly never knew undercooked beans were so harmful! Luckily I use canned beans! Like you said, you can still eat beans, but it’s just good to have all of the facts.
Great post, friend!
Amanda @ Diary of a Semi-Health Nut recently posted…Did You Know #6 [ Nutrition, Fitness + Health Link-Up ]
Got sick one time off of Pinto Beans. No off taste, color, etc.. But wham, hours after eating I was so sick.
Sarah Fuller recently posted…5 Sea Shell Decorations to Remind You of the Beach Year Round
Found you via SITS! 🙂 This is really interesting. I tend to avoid beans because of the GI problems I get. But I have noticed the more cooked they are, the better my stomach can handle them!
Emily @ Zen & Spice recently posted…Eating Meditation: How To Savor
Wow, that is crazy! I had no idea. I generally eat canned beans because it seems like so much work to cook them from scratch, but if I ever do I will certainly remember this. Stopping by from SITSSharefest.
Bev recently posted…Happy 4th of July from Linkouture!
Thanks for the article. I just had a nasty little bout of food poisoning from canned garbanzo beans. Not sure if they’re beans or peas, and I know you mentioned that canned beans should be safer, but nonetheless they got to me.
I drained them a little but kept some liquid from the can and then poured them into a small pot. I cooked them to near boil and then ate them with some pasta. Well, the next morning I felt weakness and a bit feverish and then that night my fever rose significantly followed by diarrhea. The fever then broke and I feel fine now. I definitely suspected the beans so searched for people who have experienced the same from garbanzo beans. True, they were canned, but perhaps even canned beans require some better preparation?
Interesting. I eat beans everyday with dinner, sometimes they make up the entire dish! I don’t think I could live without my pinto beans. I always cook them until soggy, because I hate hard beans. I’m glad to know I’m doing the right thing. (However, I also have insulin resistance! I’ll remember to ask my doc about beans next visit).
In many cultures, they eat beans everyday for breakfast (like egypt, for example). I don’t know many bean-heavy foreigners that are overweight or unhealthy. I wonder how they do it? Maybe they are not as sensitive to lectins as others are?
“Side note: packages of dried beans that I’ve seen do NOT make note of the potential toxicity of beans. What the hell?”
It’s only quite recently that crazy-people have developed a fetish for eating beans raw or undercooked. It’ll take a while before the labeling catches up, just like it took a while before soda bottlers started putting warning on their bottles not point the things right in your face while you open them…
I like your writing style! The format here is to-the-point and easy to read. I’m going to copy this for my next post. 😉
I’ve read that you can bypass soaking overnight by letting beans sit in boiled water for 30 minutes. Introducing heat is sure to get things circulating at a much faster rate, but I’m not sure how this cheat would affect lectins. Hmmm…
I was out of protein powder so I put a cup of raw black beans in the vita-mix for morning smoothie . Bacramuma in the bathroom after lunch for over an hour. Terrible diarrhea and cramping. Never do this I hurt my wife.
i have a friend that eats beans every day morning noon and night and that’s all he eats .often not cooked all the way (hard) I tell him it cant be good for him…is he at risk of getting sick?…
I get sick from pre-packaged beans all the time. The companies that sell them half the time sell them under-cooked and once they add salt to them for taste, it doesn’t matter how much you cook them; they will never get soft. I am about to stop buying pre-cooked beans in any product because the people handling the manufacturing are a bunch of idiots. I write this right now as I am suffering a stomach ache from this exact issue. Damn them for selling under-cooked beans and making me sick!!!
Ugh, I wish I had known this yesterday. I’m a vegetarian so beans are necessary protein in my diet and this week I decided to buy raw beans and cook them. I think I skimped the cook time just a bit (10-15 minutes) and the next morning I woke up with awful diarrhea. So there I go searching to see if undercooked beans could make you sick and here I am 🙁 Thanks for this info but boooo to the beans! Now I have a whole casserole waiting to make me sick.
Thank you for the clear and informative article. I was wondering about the lectin danger from eating beans. I didn’t know that canned beans are pre-cooked and thus present no issues with lectin.
There is one thing I would like to contribute. Another thing to look out for when purchasing canned beans is if the lining is BPA-free. BPA has been show to leach trace amounts of estrogen like chemicals which wreck havoc on the endocrine (metabolic & hormonal) system. In fact, most canned goods and aluminum soda drinks are lined with BPA. Thanks for all the great info.
I have checked your website and i’ve found some duplicate content,
that’s why you don’t rank high in google, but there is a tool that can help you to create 100% unique content,
search for: Boorfe’s tips unlimited content
KareemSmall recently posted…KareemSmall
I have checked your blog and i have found some duplicate content, that’s why
you don’t rank high in google, but there is a
tool that can help you to create 100% unique articles, search for: boorfe’s tips unlimited content
MonikaChief recently posted…MonikaChief
I see you don’t monetize your website, don’t waste your traffic, you can earn additional cash every month.
You can use the best adsense alternative for any type of website (they approve all websites), for
more info simply search in gooogle: boorfe’s tips monetize
your website
BestMargot recently posted…BestMargot
After looking into a number of the blog posts on your web site,
I honestly like your technique of writing a blog. I added
it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back
in the near future. Please check out my website as well and let me
know how you feel.
Vallie recently posted…Vallie
Excellent thanks
It was really insightful.
Thanks for such a nice content.
Cheers
BTW if anyone interested more have a look Get Details babygadgetlab thanks
Wow! Thanks for the article. I just had a nasty little bout of food poisoning from canned garbanzo beans. Not sure if they’re beans or peas, and I know you mentioned that canned beans should be safer, but nonetheless they got to me.
I drained them a little but kept some liquid from the can and then poured them into a small pot. I cooked them to near boil and then ate them with some pasta. Well, the next morning I felt weakness and a bit feverish and then that night my fever rose significantly followed by diarrhea. The fever then broke and I feel fine now. I definitely suspected the beans so searched for people who have experienced the same from garbanzo beans. True, they were canned, but perhaps even canned beans require some better preparation? See here
Wow! Thank you for the article. We just had a nasty little bout of food poisoning from canned garbanzo beans. Not sure if they’re beans or peas, and we know you mentioned that canned beans should be safer, but nonetheless they got to me.
We drained them a little but kept some liquid from the can and then poured them into a small pot. we cooked them to near boil and then ate them with some pasta. Well, the next morning We felt weakness and a bit feverish and then that night my fever rose significantly followed by diarrhea. The fever then broke and I feel fine now. I definitely suspected the beans so searched for people who have experienced the same from garbanzo beans. True, they were canned, but perhaps even canned beans require some better preparation? See here
Thanks for clearing up some of my confusion about bean toxicity. Now I know that cooked beans are are totally non-toxic.
Who knew undercooked beans could pose such risks?
Thanks for sharing this. Its realy a usefull article.
I just eat undercooked beans and I’m afraid what the effect will be. I cooked 8t for long but it won’t still be okay. So I decided to consume it that way and now am afraid of what the outcome will be .
What are lectins, and why are they present in beans?
What are Lectins, and why are they found in beans and other plants?
You blog post is very informative & amazing layout
Hafiz Umar recently posted…How to Remove Watermark from Videos in Wink – Step-by-Step Guide (2024)
Undercooked beans can be surprisingly dangerous due to toxins like lectins—always cook them properly to stay safe! A small step for a healthier meal.After learning something new, unwind with Free content on Loklok, a streaming platform with movies, series, and anime—offline viewing and no ads!
Undercooked beans can be surprisingly dangerous due to toxins like lectins—always cook them properly to stay safe! A small step for a healthier meal.After learning something new, unwind with Free content on Loklok, a streaming platform with movies, series, and anime—offline viewing and no ads!
Undercooked beans can be surprisingly dangerous due to toxins like lectins—always cook them properly to stay safe! A small step for a healthier meal.After learning something new, unwind with Free content on Loklok, a streaming platform with movies, series, and anime—offline viewing and no ads!
Undercooked beans can be surprisingly dangerous due to toxins like lectins—always cook them properly to stay safe! A small step for a healthier meal.After learning something new, unwind with Free content on Loklok, a streaming platform with movies, series, and anime—offline viewing and no ads!
DeepSeek login provides AI-powered tools to explore health topics, such as the dangers of undercooked beans. Consuming undercooked beans can lead to food poisoning due to toxins like phytohaemagglutinin. Proper soaking and cooking are essential to neutralize these toxins and ensure beans are safe to eat.