Hi Martha,

You wondered:

>Recently I read somewhere that high levels of saponin exist on beans
>and is destroyed when cooked.  Is this the toxic antidigestant, do you
>think, or would this be a separate issue?

Methinks 'tis another issue.  Never heard of FRESH beans (not dried out)
giving anyone any real problems.  In fact, many a raw fooder I know love to
use them in salads...fresh or sprouted.  To me it's just a matter of taste.
I eat them occasionally, but they just don't tickle my palate enough to gain
my special attention.

>One of my favorite snacks is raw string beans.  But several months ago
>someone on another list was talking about the people on still another list
>(organic gardening aficionados) debating whether string beans should
>be eaten raw because of the toxins.

Again, my suspicion is that they're talking about the dried beans, not the
fresh ones.  If they're relatively clean, or have some clean organic dirt on
them, no big problem.  Again, just a matter of taste.

>At the time I didn't ask for details.  I
>think I was in a place back then where I just didn't really want to know.
>So, does anybody have any more specific info on this?  Are raw string
>beans bad news?  What about peas (not beans but closely related)?

All good stuff if you like the taste and eat them raw or sprouted, if
they've been dried after harvesting.

On the other hand, some items like swiss chard and rubarb leaves have given
out many a severe tummy ache, but, most people don't dig that acid flavor,
so no big problem.  We used to have people admire our beautiful chard plants
(which we just grew for aethetic value) in the garden...and sometimes sneak
a bite off a leaf...and it was trouble, spelled with a capital T.  So we
made signs and then quit growing the stuff.  But Fresh beans and
peas...never had any problems..nor heard of any, till this message of yours.

Anyway, that's Ric's opinion.

Cheers,

Ric