GRAINS AND BEANS
2 min readGrains are at the base of the human food pyramid. Whole grains provide allour nutritional needs: proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, enzymes, and minerals. Being a major source of calories, every agriculture-based culture in the world has selected one of the grains as its preferred staple. In Europe the staple grain is wheat; in pre-Columbian America it was maize and amaranth; in India it is rice; in China it is rice in the south and wheat in the north. Because whole, unhusked grains contain greater quantities of nutrients than polished or processed grains, it is preferable to consume all grains and cereals as close to their natural state as possible.
One problem that may arise from eating whole grains is difficulty in digesting them. This may be partly overcome by thoroughly chewing grains. The process of digesting carbohydrates starts with the action of saliva in the mouth, which converts starch to more easily digestible maltose. The more time grains remain in the mouth, the greater the predigestive efficacy of saliva Like nuts and seeds, beans are rich in carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and enzymes. As with whole grains, beans are also difficult to digest and, once digested, are notorious for causing flatulence. Fortunately, several remedies exist.
Thorough chewing is one of them. Another is to soak beans overnight before cooking, or until they sprout. Sprouting changes the beans’ chemical composition. Although less energetic and cooler than unsprouted beans, they are easier to digest. A common antidote in China to their flatulence-causing properties is to eat beans with ginger; this prevents bloating. Another technique is not to add salt until cooking is almost complete—salt interferes with the proper cooking of the skin of most legumes, thereby rendering them tough and indigestible. One can also cook beans with fennel or cumin seed, which stimulate digestion and the metabolism.
