John Myers
Legumes are healthy foods, but most varieties should not be eaten raw. In the unheated state, they can contain various ingredients that are incompatible with humans and can even cause symptoms of poisoning. Only the cooking process or soaking means that these foods become harmless to health.
Depending on the legume, there are different problematic ingredients that mean that you can’t eat them raw. These include, for example, complex proteins, also known as lectins. This group includes, for example, the phasins. They are found in green beans, as well as white and red kidney beans. Eating just five to six raw beans can cause severe symptoms of poisoning in children: phasins cause the red blood cells to stick together and as a result, the oxygen transport in the body is impeded and blood vessels can become blocked. In severe cases, bleeding in the lymphatic tissue, water retention or intestinal inflammation can result. However, if you cook the beans for at least 15 minutes, the phasins are rendered harmless and you can enjoy runner bean recipes without hesitation.
Mung beans, on the other hand, contain so-called protease inhibitors. The substance can inhibit certain enzymes in the digestive tract that are supposed to break down the proteins that have been taken in. The consequences can be vomiting and diarrhea.
Hydrocyanic acid is present in raw lima beans and urd beans, for example. It is highly toxic and is released when the beans are soaked and cooked. Therefore, the soaking and cooking water should always be poured away and not used any further.
Sprouted legumes are also relatively free of these harmful substances. However, only about 90 percent of these are destroyed and rendered harmless during germination. It is therefore recommended to blanch the legumes before sprouting or to cook them before consumption. The consumption of canned or jarred legumes also has no negative health consequences. They are already pre-cooked and free from harmful substances. Sugar snap peas, for example, are one of the few legumes that are free of hazardous substances even when raw.
