[log in to unmask] asked a question about string beans:

> Do you mean that no one ever has eaten them raw or that no one has ever
> warned us against eating them raw?

"String beans" are the green immature seed pods (say, 4"-8" long) of certain
bean plants.  It's a vegetable in my book.  Once mature, and dry, you can
shell out the white (most common---although they come in many, many, colors)
seed.  So, when I go in the grocery and ask for "string beans" I get the
pods.  Conversely, when I go in the seed store and ask for "string beans," I
get the hard dry bean itself.

This hard dry seed---like many seeds---is amply equipped by Mother Nature to
defeat simplistic digestion.  Quite honestly, when I commented that "no one"
eats them raw, I meant no one I've ever met.  Grinding a raw bean up in an
average set of human teeth would be a feat indeed.  Of course, people have
consumed everything from razor blades to kerosene and I must admit dry beans
probably have a place in there somewhere.

I've sprouted string beans as a germination check, but never tried any as
food.  I assume you know that buy-anywhere bean sprouts are pretty much
de-toxed and I assume string-bean beans could be used as well as any other.

If you're cooking string-bean beans, you first soak out some of the
anti-enzyme factors and *DISCARD* the water.  I have to say that with double
emphasis because I keep encountering people who figure ways to 'save' the
nutrients (truly anti-nutrients) for some other purpose.  Let me say that a
bit clearer: DISCARD ALL SOAK WATER!

It wouldn't surprise me to find that many who have failed on all-raw diets
later found where they were regularly consuming anti-nutrients that messed
things up.  Is this entirely separate from those who may have got poor results
from eating poor quality food?  I don't know, but I have a strong suspicion
that low-quality in any particular food item doesn't just mean a lack of
nutrients---it also means more abundant toxicity.

Regards,
Rex Harrill