Is Raffinose Bad For You?
Short answer
Raffinose is an oligosaccharide - food for the good bacteria in your gut. Fair warning: it might give you gas.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
Oligosaccharides are carbohydrates. They’re chains of three to ten simple sugar molecules linked together. Raffinose is a kind of oligosaccharide found in beans, lentils, cabbage and whole grains.
We can’t produce the enzymes to break down raffinose on our own. Eat a pot of beans, and the raffinose in those beans will pass through the small intestine undigested. The real action happens in the large intestine. It’s there that colonies of bacteria - which live in our gut who can break down raffinose - get their day in the sun.
That’s a good thing, generally: the probiotic bacteria in our large intestine feed on raffinose. In doing so, they break off simple sugars from raffinose for our digestive system to absorb. Raffinose is a prebiotic - it feeds those probiotic bacteria, keeping them healthy and strong. That’s important for maintaining a healthy digestive system. Raffinose is also partially digestible by the ‘bad’ bacteria that live in our gut, like E. Coli, but that’s not generally a problem unless you accidentally eat some poop.
Eating foods rich in raffinose does have an unfortunate side effect. The probiotic bacteria in your gut produce gas when they break down raffinose. Specifically, they ferment the raffinose to produce carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen.
There’s pretty much one way for those gasses to escape your gut. You need to fart them out. This is why eating beans give you gas. If you’ve got a healthy digestive system and you’re not on a first date, you should be able to pass the gas from raffinose without any problems.
Sometimes, however, flatulence isn’t healthy - particularly if you can’t pass it from your gut. At low levels, gas buildup can cause discomfort; if it builds up for too long, it can cause your large intestine to balloon, which in extreme cases can cause damage to your digestive system. Consult with your medical provider if you think this is the case.
Possible short-term side effects
- gas
-
bloating
-
digestive discomfort
Commonly found in
Benefits
- promotes a healthy digestive system
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