Editing Bean (section)

=== Other hazards ===

It is common to make [[beansprout]]s by letting some types of bean, often [[mung bean]]s, germinate in moist and warm conditions; beansprouts may be used as ingredients in cooked dishes, or eaten raw or lightly cooked. There have been many [[Beansprout#health concerns|outbreaks of disease]] from bacterial contamination, often by ''[[salmonella]]'', ''[[listeria]]'', and ''[[Escherichia coli]]'',  of beansprouts not thoroughly cooked,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sprouts: What You Should Know |url=http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/fruits/sprouts.html |access-date=23 January 2016 |newspaper=Foodsafety.gov}}</ref> some causing significant mortality.<ref>{{cite web |date=2011-07-27 |title=Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC): Update on outbreak in the EU (27 July 2011, 11:00) |url=http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/activities/sciadvice/_layouts/forms/Review_DispForm.aspx?ID=602&List=a3216f4c%2Df040%2D4f51%2D9f77%2Da96046dbfd72 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315061038/http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/activities/sciadvice/_layouts/forms/Review_DispForm.aspx?ID=602&List=a3216f4c%2Df040%2D4f51%2D9f77%2Da96046dbfd72 |archive-date=2017-03-15 |website=European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control}}</ref>

Many types of bean like kidney bean contain significant amounts of [[antinutrient]]s that inhibit some enzyme processes in the body. [[Phytic acid]], present in beans, interferes with bone growth and interrupts [[vitamin D]] metabolism.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harrison |first1=D.C. |last2=Mellanby |first2=E |date=October 1939 |title=Phytic acid and the rickets-producing action of cereals |journal=Biochemical Journal |volume=33 |issue=10 |pages=1660–1680.1 |doi=10.1042/bj0331660 |pmc=1264631 |pmid=16747083}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Ramiel |last=Nagel |date=26 March 2010 |title=Living With Phytic Acid |url=http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/ |access-date=23 January 2016 |newspaper=The Weston A Price Foundation}}</ref>

Many beans, including broad beans, navy beans, kidney beans and soybeans, contain large sugar molecules, [[oligosaccharide]]s (particularly [[raffinose]] and [[stachyose]]). A suitable oligosaccharide-cleaving [[enzyme]] is necessary to digest these. As the human digestive tract does not contain such enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are digested by [[bacteria]] in the large intestine, producing gases such as methane, released as [[flatulence]].<ref>{{cite news |date=25 April 2006 |title=Health: Experts make flatulence-free bean |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4943486.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331165557/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4943486.stm |archive-date=31 March 2009 |access-date=25 February 2009 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Flatulence – Overview – Introduction |url=http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Flatulence/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/What-is-it.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221200429/http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/flatulence/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages%2FWhat-is-it.aspx |archive-date=21 February 2009 |access-date=25 February 2009 |publisher=Nhs.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Harold |last=McGee |title=Food and Cooking |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2003 |isbn=978-0684843285 |page=486 |quote=Many legumes, especially soy, navy and lima beans, cause a sudden increase in bacterial activity and gas production a few hours after they're consumed. This is because they contain large amounts of carbohydrates that human digestive enzymes can't convert into absorbable sugars. These carbohydrates therefore leave the upper intestine unchanged and enter the lower reaches, where our resident bacterial population does the job we are unable to do.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Barham |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9783540674665/page/14 |title=The Science of Cooking |publisher=Springer |year=2001 |isbn=978-3-540-67466-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9783540674665/page/14 14] |quote=we do not possess any enzymes that are capable of breaking down larger sugars, such as raffinose etc. These 3, 4 and 5 ring sugars are made by plants especially as part of the energy storage system in seeds and beans. If these sugars are ingested, they can't be broken down in the intestines; rather, they travel into the colon, where various bacteria digest them |url-access=registration}}</ref>