beate64

Hi there, I tried out yesterday the delicious recipe listed here with raw beans and ginger. It was awesome, but… my green beans I picked were already a bit advanced and many of them had big seeds in their pods. I added some other ingredients (swiss chard, mushrooms, peppers) to them, put them into a ziplock bag like it was suggested and tried by one poster and had them for 2 hours in the dehydrator.

We liked the recipe, but the green beans seemed a bit hard to eat, so we just had a few. I have had maybe a handful.

Well, I tell you, after 1 short hour I became dizzy, my stomach bloated like crazy to a balloon, I’ve had cramps, thought I needed to vomit but couldnt. It was terrible! The worst stomach ache I’ve ever had… and my night was one big nightmare, and yes, I’ve had also nightmares on top of it.

Well, I got taught that raw green beans are toxic and should not be eaten but with all those delicious recipes I gave it a try… Well, after researching this topic in a few languages I came up with some good info I like to share and please give me your input on it.

Maybe it is easier to eat the tender fresh and early beans and maybe some people can just take it better, but the matter of fact is that there is a poison in and it cant be talked away:

A toxic compound – the lectin phytohaemagglutinin – found in the bean can cause severe gastric upset. This protein, lectin, binds itself with the red blood cells and can clump those. These molecules also stick to the colon and can produce severe metabolism problems.

This compound is present in many varieties of green beans (and in some other species of bean), but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans and white kidney beans (Cannellini beans). Although in the case of dry beans the ten minutes required to degrade the toxin is much shorter than the hours required to fully cook the beans themselves, outbreaks of poisoning have been associated with the use of slow cookers whose low cooking temperatures may be unable to degrade the toxin. Sprouts of pulses high in haemaglutins should not be eaten. Kidney beans, especially, should not be sprouted.

After a certain amount is consumed, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach and intestinal cramps occur. Toxic reactions appear quickly, usually 1-3 hours after consumption, and disappear 3-4 hours after the meal.

I know many of you eat raw green beans, but maybe some other varieties are better to eat and/or it is different when they are very young and tender.

Anyway, I have had those exact reactions and still have a bloated stomach the night after and dont feel quite right yet.

I like to have your input on this topic. Thanks so much.