Why do beans make you fart?

Question

My 7yr old son just asked me it now.

Answer 1

Beans produce gas in your stomach. And there is only one way out. It is more technical, but for a 7 yr old. It is more understandable.

Answer 2

Around 200 different species of bacteria lurk in the large intestine and bean induced wind is mainly down to these millions of tiny 'friends'.

When we eat beans, or cabbage, or any other gassy food, it gets broken down in the stomach and is passed into the small intestine. The types of sugar found in beans are too big to be taken into the body through the walls of the small intestine and we have no enzyme to break them down into more manageable chunks. This means that it remains in our large intestine where the bacteria reproduce and the gas is produced by the bacteria during the breakdown process. The bacteria release carbon dioxide, hydrogen and some methane during this process. These gases don't smell but methane and hydrogen do burn, which is why the gas produced can be set alight. However, this is NOT recommended.

Chemical reactions between stomach acid and intestinal juices can also produce carbon dioxide that also add to the wind creation process.

Hydrogen sulfide gas, mercaptans, nitrogen containing compounds such as indole and skatole also add to the characteristic ... sweet aroma.

Answer 3

beans come under the family of legumes.. These foods have their main constituent carbohydrate.... called oligo saccharide which is a complex sugar.
when you eat bean.. this reaches the small intestine.. and our intestine are unable to digest this[oligosaccharide] properly due to lack of some enzyme.. so this undigested residue reaches the large intestine which then gets acted upon by bacteria..
which then liberate lots of gas...
This gas is basically composed of non offensive gases.. it is the type of food which u consumed which gives the final odour.

now companies have even marketed enzymes as powder to be sprinkled on the beans to render them "fartless"...
also some cooking techniques are also said to reduce the amount of gas produced...

Answer 4

The two things in beans that cause this are fiber(which doesn't irritate your intestines but ferments) and oligosaccharides (medium chain carbohydrates).There are certain enzymes that help prevent the latter but fiber cannot be digested EVER in humans.

Answer 5

Any food that has high amounts of starch AND cellulose will give you gas...if you eat enough of it. We can only digest so much starch at one time, and we cannot digest cellulose at all...so the excess starch and cellulose enters the lower intestines where bacteria attack it...the waste products of this process is methane and Carbon Dioxide...or gas! If you limit your servings of these items, you will not get gas. Good luck

Answer 6

lol.... Thats the first question i heard on hear about farting..................Beans, Beans their good for ur heart the more you eat the more you fart the more you fart the better you feel so eat beans with every meal........lol

Answer 7

Beans are high in fiber. The fiber irritates your intestines and voila, methane.

Answer 8

beans, beans, good for the heart,
the more you eat the more you fart

Answer 9

Farting=indigestible material=lack of the enzyme that does this work.

"Beano" contains that enzyme, and it works beautifully.

Answer 10

beans beans the musical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot!

the more you toot, the better you feel, so eat them up for every meal!