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Beans or beans, called in Spain judías or alubias, are one of the most common foods in the traditional cuisine of many countries. Sometimes people don’t cook their own beans, partly because it’s so common to buy them. In addition, traditionally, they usually require a long time to cook. However, these home-cooked beans taste so much better, which is why most people choose to make them themselves. Currently, thanks to the Internet, the use of alternative cooking methods has become popular. These are methods that save the consumer time and usually provide a fairly adequate flavor. It is still an advantage that such tasty and nutritious food can be prepared in less time.
The following information may be unfamiliar to some people, but it is surprising how common food poisoning can be from these foods today.
Why does food poisoning occur with legumes?
There are substances in food that, in certain amounts, can harm the human body. That is why we only eat some foods cooked. These substances, when present at harmful levels, are considered toxins.
In beans or red beans there is a series of substances called lectins. Lectins are found naturally in legumes and are responsible for naturally protecting beans from pathogens and pests. The problem is that lectins can interfere with cell metabolism in humans. It has been proven that there is a lectin that is especially toxic and that it is in the seeds of legumes, that is, the beans that we consume.
But there is no need to be alarmed, lectins are destroyed by cooking them properly. You only need to remember the basic information about the food in question and put it into practice.
How do we properly cook beans?
Researchers have shown that cooking beans for ten minutes at 100 degrees Celsius largely destroys the dreaded toxins. But it doesn’t always happen completely and to ensure that completely safe levels have been achieved, free of these toxins, the beans must be cooked for a longer amount of time than we have previously mentioned. Thirty minutes is the recommended amount of time as a general rule of thumb.
For your beans, remember to avoid any of the cooking methods known to not reach those important 100 degrees Celsius temperature. For example, the popular slow cookers. This technology, although attractive and novel, may not be the most appropriate in this case, no matter how attractive the beans look when finished using them, studies on it have been very clear about the consequences of incomplete cooking of beans in the human body.
What symptoms can someone with bean food poisoning have?
Diarrhea and vomiting have been observed within a few hours of eating undercooked or raw beans. And it is that only a few poorly cooked beans are needed for the toxin to be present. That is why we place so much emphasis on temperature and cooking time. Outbreaks of food poisoning have occurred in some populations to coincide with the increasing popularity of slow cookers.
To what extent is this type of poisoning common?
Although it’s easy to avoid food poisoning from beans, unfortunately, few people these days know that these legumes can be toxic. Many people have simply gotten used to the very effective traditional cooking methods for beans, buying them canned as well. If the general public were more informed about it, it would be easier to avoid bean poisoning. There will always be new, affordable cooking technologies so it’s best to be informed about the potential toxicity of undercooked beans and spread the word to family and friends.
References
Barral, M. (2017). Lectins: the new food product under suspicion. Available at: https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/ciencia/biociencias/lectinas-el-nuevo-producto-alimenticio-bajo-sospecha/
Theimer, S. (2018). Questions and answers: What are dietary lectins and should you avoid eating them? Available at: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/preguntas-y-respuestas-que-son-las-lectinas-alimentarias-y-hay-que-evitar-comerlas
