Utilising cooking methods can reduce the fodmap content of legumes to assist in increasing fibre intake

摘要

Background/Aims: While legumes are an important source of dietaryfibre, they may be avoided due to their potential to provoke functional gutsymptoms (bloating, abdominal pain and change in bowel habits) due totheir high content of FODMAPs. The solubility of FODMAPs offered anopportunity to specifically reduce their content by appropriate cookingtechniques. The aim was to investigate the effect of cooking times andstraining on the FODMAP content of legumes.Methods: As a prototype, red lentils were simmered in water for variablelengths time. Seven variations were made including raw; simmered for 5,10, 20 and 30 minutes and subsequently strained; simmered for 30 minuteswithout straining; and the strained liquid. Samples were analysedfor their FODMAP content by enzymatic and HPLC techniques.Results: The main FODMAPs present were fructans and galactooligosaccharides.Simmering reduced total oligosaccharide content from1.78 to 0.44-0.53 g/serve, with no differences across different simmeringtimes. The strained liquid after 30 min cooking contained 0.49 g/serve totaloligosaccharide. Fructan content reduced from 0.50 g in raw to 0.13 (0.12-0.14) g in cooked and strained lentils, whilst unstrained lentils were higher(0.18g). The galactooligosaccharide content followed a similar pattern.Conclusions: Due to rapid leaching of oligosaccharides, cooking legumesfor a short duration with removal of the strained liquid reduces the FODMAPcontent by three-quarters. This strategy may facilitate the use of legumesto increase fibre intake in those attempting to reduce FODMAPintake because of functional gut symptoms.