Although bean products are nutritious and have excellent color, aroma, and flavor, they are not suitable for everyone. People suffering from the following conditions should avoid or limit their consumption.
(1) Peptic Ulcers: Patients with severe peptic ulcers should not consume bean products such as soybeans, fava beans, shredded tofu, or dried tofu, as they are high in purines, which can promote gastric juice secretion. The dietary fiber in whole beans can also cause mechanical damage to the gastric mucosa. The oligosaccharides in beans, such as stachyose and raffinose, cannot be digested and absorbed by digestive enzymes but can be fermented by intestinal bacteria, producing small gas molecules, which in turn can cause symptoms like belching, borborygmus, bloating, and abdominal pain.
(2) Gastritis: Patients with acute gastritis and chronic superficial gastritis should also avoid bean products to prevent stimulation of gastric acid secretion and gastrointestinal bloating.
(3) Kidney Disease: Patients with nephritis, renal failure, and those on dialysis should follow a low-protein diet. To meet the body's basic needs, they should choose foods within a limited amount that are rich in essential amino acids and low in non-essential amino acids. Compared to animal protein, beans contain higher levels of non-essential amino acids, so they should be avoided.
(4) Diabetic Nephropathy: Diabetic nephropathy is the main complication leading to death in diabetic patients. When patients have urea nitrogen retention, bean products should not be consumed.
(5) Typhoid Fever: Although patients with long-term high fever from typhoid should consume a high-calorie, high-protein diet, during the acute and recovery phases, to prevent bloating, drinking soy milk should be avoided to prevent gas production.
(6) Acute Pancreatitis: During an acute pancreatitis attack, one can drink high-carbohydrate clear liquids, but soy milk and other substances that stimulate gastric and pancreatic juice secretion should be avoided.
(7) Gout: The pathogenesis of gout is purine metabolism disorder, characterized by hyperuricemia. This disease is more common in affluent families, and high-protein, high-fat diets can easily trigger gout. Food protein is often combined with nucleic acid to form nucleoprotein, which is broken down into purines and then into uric acid. Therefore, foods high in purines should be avoided during the acute phase, including dried beans and bean products. Even during the remission phase, their consumption should be limited.
(8) Galactose and Lactose Intolerance: Because these patients lack enzymes related to the digestion and metabolism of galactose and lactose, they should avoid foods containing lactose in their diet. When stachyose and raffinose in bean foods are broken down in the intestine, they can produce some galactose. Therefore, patients with severe conditions should avoid bean products to prevent worsening their condition.
(9) Phenylketonuria (PKU): This is a common congenital metabolic disorder in children. The main treatment for this condition is to control the concentration of phenylalanine in the blood by consuming specially formulated low-phenylalanine foods, while also avoiding or limiting the use of protein-rich foods such as bean products and animal foods.
Thus, it seems that people should consider whether they should eat bean products based on their own health conditions.