Most of us know the saying ‘beans means farts’ so if you are used to trumpeting after having a plate full of beans then we are not surprised. If you suffer from a sensitive gut then beans can often lead to more unpleasant symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain and altered bowel movements. We completely understand if you’ve ditched beans to reduce your gut symptoms, but just remember that beans provide fibre and nourishment for your healthy gut bacteria. In this article, we’re going to help you get some low FODMAP beans back into your diet to support your gut health.
Table of Contents:
- What’s in beans that makes us windy and triggers gut symptoms?
- Are there any low FODMAP beans and legumes?
- Do you need to rinse low FODMAP beans before you use them?
- How do you bring low FODMAP options back into your diet?
- Low FODMAP recipes with beans and legumes
- What about bringing high FODMAP beans back?
What’s in beans that makes us windy and triggers gut symptoms?
Beans and legumes are a healthy source of fibre that can keep our gut microbiome happy. However, beans and legumes are normally high FODMAP and commonly contain oligosaccharides in the form of GOS or fructans. Often these two types of FODMAPs are found together in larger serves of beans like adzuki beans, moth beans, black beans, four bean can mix, haricot beans, lima beans, navy beans, or soy beans.
Oligosaccharides can make everyone windy. This is because humans lack the enzyme to break down this FODMAP group. Unfortunately for those with sensitive guts, when beans are fermented by our gut bacteria the FODMAPs in them can sometimes trigger a wave of other gut-based symptoms.
The first phase of the low FODMAP diet focuses on reducing these gut-based symptoms by removing high FODMAP foods like beans and legumes that our gut bacteria feed on. So where is the balance? How do we keep our gut microbiome happy while reducing our gut symptoms? The trick is to keep small serves of some beans and legumes in your diet.
Are there any low FODMAP beans or legumes?
Yes, there are! You don’t need to be entirely bean free while on the first phase of the low FODMAP diet. Some types of beans and legumes have small low FODMAP serving sizes that are generally well tolerated. Low FODMAP bean options include:
1/3 cup canned cannellini beans
1/3 cup canned red kidney beans
1/4 cup canned chickpeas
1/4 cup canned lentils
1/4 cup boiled lentils (green or red)
1/4 cup canned butter beans
1/4 cup boiled lima beans
2 tbsp black beans
Portion size is important here – stick to the green rated serving sizes mentioned above during the first phase of the diet. Larger serving sizes of these beans/legumes can contain moderate or high amounts of FODMAPs. Make sure you check out the Monash University FODMAP Diet App for more information.
Do you need to rinse low FODMAP beans before you eat them?
Great question. Fun science fact for you – FODMAPs are water soluble. When beans are canned in brine or water some of the FODMAPs escape out of the beans and into the liquid. This means you need to discard the liquid and rinse the beans before using them to lower the FODMAP content of the meal.
How do you bring low FODMAP beans back into your diet?
If you’ve been bean free for a while now, then you need to start with a small serving. Try mixing 1 to 2 tablespoons of the low FODMAP options listed above into your favourite soup, stew, casserole, salad or roast vegetables.
Be realistic about your symptoms. When you add a low FODMAP serving of beans back into your diet, you are increasing the fibre and food you are giving your healthy gut bacteria. As these bacteria break down the food, they might get a little bit excited so expect a small increase in bloating and gas. Both of these are healthy signs that you are nourishing your gut bacteria and your digestive system is working properly. What we don’t want are gut symptoms that cause you pain or embarrassment, so if your symptoms interfere with your daily routine then reduce your serving size.
If you are comfortably tolerating 1 to 2 tablespoons then continuing increasing your serving size until you reach the above recommendations.
Low FODMAP Recipes with Beans/Legumes
Ideally, we want you to have a low FODMAP serving size of beans/legumes several times per week. These tasty recipes can help you bring low FODMAP beans back into your diet:
- Low FODMAP Zingy Lime & Basil Roast Veggie Salad (with butter beans)
- Low FODMAP Orange & Miso Roast Veggie & Lentil Salad
- Low FODMAP Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Low FODMAP Hummus
- Low FODMAP Curried Carrot & Chickpea Frittatas
- Low FODMAP Minestrone Soup
What about bringing high FODMAP beans back?
Once you know that the low FODMAP diet has helped you reduce your symptoms, you can jump in to your FODMAP reintroductions. High FODMAP beans usually contain GOS, fructans or a mixture of both. This means you will need to do a couple of dedicated food challenges to see how you tolerate these different FODMAP groups and determine if you can bring these foods back into your diet while keeping symptoms settled.
Final Thoughts
The low FODMAP diet doesn’t need to be bean and legume free. Instead, focus on bringing small serves of low FODMAP beans and legumes into your diet a few times a week. Not only will this boost your fibre intake but it will also help you support your gut health.
Image credit: Morinka/Shutterstock.com
Love this article!!! I’m always on the fence on whether or not I can have beans. Thanks for clarifying this for me. 🙂
Hi Fabiola,
You are welcome. Lots of people find they can tolerate small serves of certain beans so it’s a good idea to try a small serve of one of the beans we mention above.
Thanks Alana. I have also noticed that my body tolerates black gram (a n Indian Chickpea relative) than the white variety.
Hi Paramjit,
It’s awesome to hear that you’ve found a legume that you tolerate well. Use that knowledge and bring any legumes you can enjoy with minimal symptoms back into your diet.
I’ve heard that cooking beans for longer reduces FODMAP. Is this true?
Surely if you throw juice away you are also throwing away nutrition. Why not add the juice to a separate meal, like soup for super slow FODMAP uptake. That makes more sense.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for commenting. We do know that boiling high FODMAP beans and then straining the beans can reduce some of their FODMAP content: https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/cooking-legumes/
However, just be aware some of the FODMAPs will transfer to that liquid and we won’t know where on the FODMAP scale that liquid will fall. So we’d recommend not using the liquid/juice until after you’ve tested your tolerance to GOS and fructans.
I understand that if I cook beans in a pressure cooker or an instapot this will in fact eliminate the issue of gas etc. Have you tried this solution? I welcome your feedback on this option!
Hi Allana,
Thanks for commenting. Where did you hear that information from? We don’t have any information in our records that shows that pressure cooking beans eliminate the FODMAP content. We do know that boiling high FODMAP beans and then straining the beans can reduce some of their FODMAP content: https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/cooking-legumes/
Great article. In the UK we have a brand “Heinz” baked beans. I believe they are Haricot beans. Where do these stand in the high/low FODMAP scale?
Hi Steven,
Okay so haricot beans are also called ‘navy’ beans and these are high FODMAP for GOS in small serves and in larger serves they contain both GOS and fructans. This means we recommend avoiding baked beans until after the reintroduction phase. We hope that helps.
Do we know much about legume flours like chickpea, yellow split pea etc? I am trying to find gluten free treats for my daughter but almost all of them at Woolworths contain chickpea flour or lentil flour
Hi Myri,
Thanks for commenting. We don’t know much about these legume based flours. We do assume that large serves of these flours are most likely high FODMAP. However, if the chickpea or lentil flour isn’t one of the first 3 ingredients in the gluten free treat and your daughter’s symptoms are settled then you could try testing her tolerance to the product and just see how see goes: https://alittlebityummy.com/can-i-eat-this-testing-your-fodmap-tolerance-to-untested-foods/
what about cooking dry (not canned) low (or high) FODMAP beans? Should we discard the cooking liquid after cooking, before seasoning?
Hi Liana,
Thanks for commenting. If you are trying to reduce the FODMAP content of the dry beans then we would recommend that you discard the cooking liquid before seasoning. We’d also suggest you check the Monash University Low FODMAP app to see which dry beans have a low FODMAP serving size. We hope that helps.
Very informative article but I notice you don’t mention peanuts, which are also low FODMAP legumes and generally well tolerated in moderation.
Another great source of low FODMAP legumes is tempeh (fermented soy beans), which also has a very high protein content and a much firmer consistency than tofu (made from soy milk).
Hi Phil,
Yes, you are right. Peanuts, tempeh and even firm tofu can be enjoyed on the low FODMAP diet too. In this article we were focusing on the foods people traditionally think of as ‘beans’ but you’ve brought up a great point. Thank you for your comment.