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Date: | Sun, 21 Feb 1999 09:44:06 -0500 |
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[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
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