Effects of Bean Diets on Concentration of Carbon Dioxide in Flatus

Abstract

Experiments were undertaken to study in adult male subjects quantitative differences in flatus volumes and its composition produced by isocaloric diets containing no beans, methylcellulose and six different bean preparations. Although rigid dietary conditions were imposed, flatus volumes and its gaseous composition varied widely from subject to subject. A direct relation exists between the volume of flatus produced and the volume of beans consumed in amounts of 27 per cent or more of the diet. The principal gas accountable for the increased flatus volume is carbon dioxide. Neither the high fiber content of beans nor changing the bean structure by homogenization alters the flatus-producing mechanism in beans.