Sprouts: Reducing and/or Eliminating Flatulence

Some sprouts, primarily legumes (pulses), can cause gas - flatulence.
The gas is the result of incomplete digestion. Legumes or pulses are
very high in proteins, and are difficult to digest. Legumes also
contain a number of enzyme inhibitors that further impede digestion.

* Why be concerned with flatulence, other than the embarassment issue?

Excess gas can cause abdominal bloating and discomfort. Also, the gas of
flatulence is toxic and actually harmful to your system. Ayurveda
considers the gas to be an aggravation of the vata dosha - "air
humor". Aggravation of vata can lead to an imbalance in the system
which can cause disease, per the Ayurvedic view. Because legumes or
pulses are known for their flatulence generation, Gabriel Cousens
recommends that consumption of legumes, even if sprouted, be minimized.

* Are some legumes better than others?

Among legumes, mung beans are considered the best - easiest to digest,
and producing a minimum amount of gas. Mung beans have only 3 types
of amino acids, soybeans have 17! Adzuki beans are almost as easy to
digest as mung beans. Lentils are much harder to digest; brown lentils
are a coarse food, and often produce a lot of gas.

Many of the large beans, except for soy which is edible if sprouted long
enough, are difficult or unsafe to eat raw. Raw kidney beans can be
toxic, and some people are allergic to raw fava beans. Most of the large
beans - lima, pinto, navy (white), black, and others, have a very strong,
unpleasant flavor when raw; the bad flavor is not improved by sprouting.
The large beans also contain substantial quantities of enzyme inhibitors
which make them indigestible when raw, and the inhibitors are still
present in the sprout. Because of this large beans, even if sprouted,
should be cooked, hence are not of interest to the raw-fooder.

Alfalfa and clover, when grown into greens, become green vegetables and
to a certain extent, their flatulence generation is reduced. Alfalfa
also has very high levels of alkaloids, but that is a different subject.


Listed below are a number of ways to reduce flatulence. The methods
are described for sprouts; however, with some modifications, some of
the methods can be used with other raw, gas producing foods.

1. Always rinse sprouts just before eating - to remove surface sugars
(oligosaccharides) that are a factor in generating flatulence.

2. Add (small amount of) turmeric or ginger to the sprouts. Turmeric
and ginger both assist digestion of protein; they are available dried,
and in some areas, in fresh form. (Note that turmeric is a type of
ginger). Many people like the flavor of ginger; turmeric is slightly
bitter but one learns to like it quickly.

Ginger and turmeric are both well known for their medicinal properties;
they are very good for you. Ginger is considered to be a "universal
medicine", and, "ginger is Ayurveda's supreme toxin digester"; ref:
Robert Svoboda, "Ayurveda: Life, Health, and Longevity", pg.130. As
for turmeric, "Turmeric is the best medicine in Ayurveda. It cures the
whole person.", ref: Vasant Lad and Usha Lad, "Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-
Healing", pg. 216.

3. Fenugreek sprouts are considered to be an herbal digestive aid. You
can add fenugreek seeds to your sprouting mixtures. They grow quickly,
and combine best with fast growing legumes like mung beans or moth beans
(moth beans are a small, brown legume available in Indian stores).
Exposing fenugreek sprouts to sunlight alters the taste substantially;
try them both ways to see which you prefer. Fenugreek sprouts are
also good for the liver and nervous system.

4. If you are an advocate of food combining, pay attention to the other
foods you eat your sprouts with. My personal experience is that sprouts,
when short, are quite versatile and one does not have to be too worried
about combining them with one other type of food. Combining them with
two other food types that are incompatible to each other, doesn't work.
Long sprouts - greens, to be precise, are leafy vegetables and subject
to the food combination constraints for vegetables.

5. Stimulate digestive fire with a gentle herb, fennel seed. This can
be taken as 1 teaspoon of powder 15-30 minutes before a meal, taken with
warm water, or by chewing fennel seeds at the end of the meal. The seeds,
powder should be raw. You can use soaked fennel seed (can sprout it
but it takes a long time) instead, but soaking makes the fennel bitter,
while the powder form is convenient, fast acting, and has a pleasant flavor.

6. Use gentle anti-gas spices. One of the most effective is cumin seed,
which you can add to your sprout mixtures, soak, and let sprout with
your seeds (tested for 1-1.5 days sprout time; should work fine for longer
sprouting periods but haven't tested it under those conditions). The
cumin does not develop a root shoot in 1.5 days.

7. Use gentle spices that are digestive aids: dill seed, mustard seed
(in small quantities), coriander seeds; all these can be added to
your sprouting mixtures. Cardamom seed is another gentle spice that
can be used, but it should be added just before eating, in dry form
(powder) or whole seeds that are soaked separately, as it can overpower
the flavor of everything else.  Cinnamon is another gentle spice; add
just before eating.

8. Try to counteract the gas (vata) by eating oily foods (anti-vata)
with the sprouts: avocado, oily salad dressing (tahini), sunflower
seed sprouts (not greens), nuts.

9. Use an enzyme supplement product specifically for carbohydrates,
e.g. "Beano", or other, general digestive enzyme supplement(s). The
attitudes of raw fooders vary on supplements; some take them, others
consider them inappropriate as they are processed.

10. Use not-so-gentle spices, added to sprouts shortly before eating:
rajasic (stimulating) spices: cloves, black pepper, hot peppers
tamasic (depressing) spices: garlic.
Note that I do not recommend use of the above strong spices; am including
this information for those that choose to use them. The above spices
serve to stimulate digestion.

Some notes on using herbs and spices. Most sprouts have mild flavors,
and their flavor is easily overshadowed by the spices. So use small
amounts to begin with, adjusting the amount as appropriate for you.
The spices that are seeds can be added dry if you insist; however
there is real benefit in soaking them and allowing them to sprout
with your seeds - the spice seeds "wake up" as their sprouting process
begins, and their flavor is increased, allowing you to use less.

Besides the methods above, a number of things are indirectly useful
in promoting good digestion:
* eat slowly, moderately, and chew thoroughly. Make mealtimes peaceful
and non-stressful, and sit quietly after a meal for a few minutes to
allow digestion to begin unimpeded (usual common sense). Hatha yoga
suggests sitting in vajrasana, a simple meditative pose, for a few
minutes after eating - vajrasana reportedly increases digestive fire.
* The following is relatively obscure, but will mention it to be
complete. Swara yoga, an obscure type of tantric yoga that is concerned
with breathing, suggests eating when the right nostril is dominant in
your breathing pattern, as your digestive fire is higher then. You can
force right nostril dominance by laying on your left side for a few
minutes before a meal. (Difficult to do in our high stress society.)
* exercise: abdominal exercises. Possibly the best abdominal exercise
is nauli kriya of yoga - it gives a complete massage to the abdomen
and all the organs therein. Some exercises actually strengthen the
stomach and intestinal areas, not just muscles in that area.  Certain
types of abdominal and diaphragm breathing exercises tone the abdominal
organs as well.

I encourage you to experiment with the above ideas to see which work
for you. Good luck in your experiments!

References:

(Ayurveda)
Vasant Lad, "Ayurveda - the Science of Self-Healing"
Vasant Lad and Usha Lad, "Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing"
Vasant Lad and David Frawley, "The Yoga of Herbs"
Robert Svoboda, "Ayurveda: Life, Health, and Longevity"
David Frawley, "Ayurvedic Healing"

(Raw Foods)
Ann Wigmore, "Rebuild Your Health"
Gabriel Cousens, "Conscious Eating"

(Hatha Yoga)
Swami Satchidananda, "Integral Yoga Hatha"

(Swara Yoga)
Harish Johari, "Breath, Mind, and Consciousnes"

Tom Billings
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