Not to be sniffed at: a chance for bean-eaters to go fart-free

By Washington
April 27, 2006


TWO strains of bacteria have been found to be the key to making beans flatulence-free.

Venezuelan researchers say the bacteria, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, can be added to beans so they cause minimal distress to those who eat them, and to those around the bean lovers.

Flatulence is gas released by bacteria that live in the large intestine when they break down food. Fermenting makes food more digestible earlier on.

The researchers, from Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, found that adding the two gut bacteria to beans before cooking them made them even less likely to cause flatulence.

They tested black beans, known scientifically as Phaseolus vulgaris.

"Legumes, and particularly Phaseolus vulgaris, are an important source of nutrients, especially in developing countries," the researchers wrote.

"In spite of being part of the staple diets of these populations, their consumption is limited by the flatulence they produce."

Smart cooks know they can ferment beans, and make them less gas-inducing, by cooking them in the liquor from a previous batch. But the researchers wanted to identify which bacteria were responsible for this.

When they fermented black beans with the two bacteria, they found it decreased the soluble fibre content by more than 60 per cent and lowered levels of raffinose, a compound known to cause gas, by 88 per cent.

They fed the beans to rats and then analysed the rats' droppings to ensure that the beans were digested and kept their nutritional value.

When pre-soaked in the L. casei, the beans stayed nutritious and produced few gas-causing compounds.

"Therefore, the lactic acid bacteria involved in the bean fermentation, which include L. casei … could be used as functional starter cultures in the food industry," the researchers wrote.

They said cooking the beans after they had been deliberately fermented also reduced subsequent flatulence.

Why would I want this? I personally enjoy a good fart after a good meal. It's one of those satisfying moments in life. Yesterday, I lifted one ass-cheek off the chair and let out a flutterblast like none other. I could smell the Mexican wedding dinner I ate four years ago.

well Ile be damned

Oh get serious, you have to know that somebody, somewhere has a copyright on beans and will never allow for "bean tampering"

That would be Monsanto.

De-farting beans is probably a good idea. The RIAA probably has an artist who has recorded the sound of several different farts on an album and they'll sue you for copyright violations and unauthorized sampling if they catch you farting. Does having gas without expelling it constitute distribution? And of course some defendents of these lawsuits will claim they never fart or that it was the dog that perpetrated the copyright-violating flatulence.

I don't think the Riaa has an artists that has done that BUT Dmusic does have an artists that did!!!!! http://bob-dixson.dmusic.com

Now, THAT'S funny. Thanks for posting this article, I needed that.