Personal gas crisis

Healthy eating can bring with it a seldom-talked-about side effect--gas. But you can prevent the problem with just a few easy tips from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR):

>> Soak Your Beans. When a recipe says to soak beans overnight, do it. Fermentation by intestinal bacteria is what causes gas, and soaking beans helps remove the sugars that are fermented.

>> Cook Your Veggies. Karen Collins, RD, nutrition adviser for the AICR, explains: "Cooking vegetables helps your body do its job--it softens the walls of cellulose fiber in plant foods and starts to break down sugars."

>> Drink Water. "The longer food remains in the digestive tract, the more fermentation occurs," says Collins. "Water is necessary to facilitate foods' transit through the gut."

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