What causes beans/lentils to be flatulent (gassy)? And how can I reduce it?

The insoluble fiber in beans called Oligosaccharides is what causes flatulence in beans. These fibers cannot be broken down easily in the gut and produce gas while being broken down. There are 3 things you can do to help get rid of gas formation during this process:

1) Soak beans overnight and discard the water, and along with the water discard any skin that may have peeled off.

2) If soaking overnight is too long, try the ‘Quick Hot Soak’ method. Preferably using an un-glazed, natural clay cooking pot (the best pot to cook beans/lentils), put the washed beans with twice the amount of water and set it between low to medium heat for an hour. Turn stove off and let the beans soak in that water for 2 hours, pour water out and start cooking the beans in fresh water. You can try this method for most beans, but some of the very hard ones(eg. Kidney beans) might need soaking for more than 6 hours, if cooking in the clay pot and 12 hours in any regular metal pots.

3) Add asafoetida, a spice known to the Middle East and in India for many centuries has many great health benefits and when added to beans, potatoes or cabbage helps reduce flatulence. Add in small amounts, only ½ tsp is required for 2 to 3 cups of beans.

And finally, a few more tips to help you: Eat home cooked (not store bought, canned) beans and lentils, often. This will help the body to learn to digest it properly. Chew thoroughly before swallowing. Also eat yogurt often this helps multiply the good digestive bacteria in the gut. Add salt in the end, not in the beginning. And no, don’t add baking powder/soda, not necessary. Try to cook them in a clay pot. An un-glazed pure-clay pot is breathable and cooks the beans with far infrared heat, a much superior form of heat that penetrates deeper into food and cooks them more thoroughly and evenly.

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Here's why:

"Beans contain a triple sugar, stachyose; a quadruple sugar, raffinose; and a five sugar, verbascose that we cannot digest. We are missing an enzyme that is required to break down these sugars. When the beans get to the colon, the bacteria in the colon begins to ferment these sugars producing gas in the process."

Here's how to lessen the effects:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/avoid-gas-from-be...

We were always told it was because we tend to swallow them whole rather than chewing them properly

Chetak

to make it less gassy add hing (asafoetida) to it while seasoning.