0The New Complete Book of Food
insulin themselves) to cut their daily insulin intake by 38 percent. For patients with type 2
diabetes (who can produce some insulin) the bean diet reduced the need for injected insulin
by 98 percent. This diet is in line with the nutritional guidelines of the American Diabetes
Association, but people with diabetes should always consult their doctor and/or dietitian
before altering their diet.
As a diet aid. Although beans are high in calories, they are also high in fiber; even a small
serving can make you feel full. And, because they are insulin-sparing, they put off the rise in
insulin levels that makes us feel hungry again soon after eating. Research at the University of
Toronto suggests the insulin-sparing effect may last for several hours after you eat the beans,
perhaps until after your next meal.Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Allergic reaction. According to the Merck Manual, legumes, including soybeans, are one of
the 12 foods most likely to trigger classic food allergy symptoms: hives, swelling of the lips
and eyes, and upset stomach. The others are berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries,
strawberries), chocolate, corn, eggs, fish, milk, nuts, peaches, pork, shellfish, and wheat (see
wheat cereals).
Intestinal gas. Soybeans contain raffinose and stachyose, complex sugars that human beings
cannot digest. The sugars sit in the gut, where they are fermented by intestinal bacteria,
which then produce gas that distends the intestines and makes us uncomfortable. You can
lessen this effect by covering the beans with boiling water and soaking them for four to six
hours before you cook them so that the indigestible sugars leach out into the soaking water,
which can be discarded. Or you may soak the beans for four hours in nine cups of water
for every cup of beans, discard the soaking water, and add new water as your recipe directs.
Then cook the beans and drain them before serving.
Production of uric acid. Purines are the natural metabolic by-products of protein metabolism
in the body. They eventually break down into uric acid, which forms sharp crystals that may
concentrate in joints, a condition known as gout. If uric acid crystals collect in the urine, the
result may be kidney stones. Eating dried beans, which are rich in proteins, may raise the
concentration of purines in your body. Although controlling the amount of purines in the
diet does not significantly affect the course of gout (which is treated with allopurinol, a drug
that prevents the formation of uric acid crystals), limiting these foods is still part of many
gout regimens.Food/Drug Interactions
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