What is your experience with Lentils/Legumes?

DZFriend

I definitely had a bad reaction to them last night. I ate them from an Indian restaurant, so it is likely there were other ingredients that contributed to the problem, and that I ate too much at one sitting. I had gas soon after eating them and then very loose stools today, more than 12 hours after eating them. I also had an emotional discussion with a friend while I was eating them, which could also have contributed to the problem. Nearly every time, I eat legumes, such as lentils or chickpeas, I have some sort of distress, gas, or worse, loose stools. . . , so even though I like the taste of them, I will stop eating them. . . my body can't seem to handle them at this time. . . Of course, I have not cooked them myself at home, but at this point, I don't want to see a lentil for awhile. . .

bcattoes

I have no idea how IBS would be affected by eating legumes, rice or any other food.

But my exerperience with legumes is that I have eaten them darn near every day since I began eating solid food, which was more than 1/2 a century ago. I have never had a long term health problem (I carry no diagnoses on my medical chart). I rarely get sick. I have been prescribed no daily medications. I have never been obese or even close to it.

I think of legumes as a "super food". One of the best things I can put in my body.

I also eat a lot of brown rice, though not nearly as much as I do legumes. But then, there is a lot more variety when it comes to legumes.

Spectroman

Your problem with lentils might be related with the amount of lectins in lentils. Lectins are protein that binds with carbohydrates making it difficult for the body to break them down. Some people have more reaction to it, some people have no reaction.

Researches have shown that lectins might be associated to: “leak gut syndrome”, IBS, Chrohn’s disease, Arthritis, Fibromyalgia etc.

Soaking lentils overnight will reduce the amount of lectins in it. Try that and see if it works for you. Certain grains are also high in lectins.

Lectins are common in grains, legumes and certain starchy vegetables.

avskk

I love lentils, but I tend to avoid a lot of other legumes because the caloric load is too high for the minimal enjoyment I get from them. Lentils are worth it to me (so versatile, so cheap, so delicious, so high in protein) but beans and the like are not (so gross, so farty, so high-calorie).