Why does eating beans and potatoes cause gas? 

Dr why is it that when I eat sweet potatoes with beans, I get a lot of stomach gas? I keep passing wind a lot , so I have decided to avoid eating potatoes with beans.– Annet Kakule
Dear Annet,
Beans contain three oligosaccharides; raffinose, stachyose and verbascose that are not digested in the upper digestive tract. So, the oligosaccharides pass through the digestive tract and reach the big intestines unchanged for gut bacteria to ferment and produce gases (hydrogen and carbon dioxide) which are responsible for  gassy stomach symptoms. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, contain only raffinose, which also contributes to the gas.
Soaking beans before cooking them and then discarding the used water, and drinking lots of water while eating the beans may reduce the gassy tendency associated with beans. Eating beans with supplements containing alpha galactosidase enzymes can help break up the oligosaccharides before they reach the big intestine.
Beans are a good source of proteins among other nutrients and have substances that help fight cancer of the gut among many nutritional advantages. They should not be abandoned because of merely causing a gassy stomach. Sweet potatoes also have lots of nutritional value for which they should not be avoided because of gas.  It’s a wise idea not to combine sweet potatoes with beans when trying to avoid the gas formation.


Why do I always have bad 
breath in the morning ?

Dr,  I have a smelly mouth every morning but fortunately, it stops smelling after I eat breakfast. What is the cause because I am tired of it and it embarrasses me!I have used mouth washes in vain.  Aheebwa. A

Dear Aheebwa,
Bad breath is usually caused by the bacteria that live in a person’s mouth, consuming foods left between the teeth and on the tongue and excreting waste there. These waste products are mostly volatile sulphur compounds that cause a bad smell most prominent after we wake up.
Dental decay, gum disease, tongue and food stagnation between the teeth are key factors in harbouring excess bacteria leading to breath odour. 
Every day, we produce 1-1.5 litres of saliva, which flow in the mouth washES away much of the food left in the mouth after one has eaten.
When we sleep, saliva production drops to almost zero, leaving bacteria to have a feast night, resulting in early morning breath odour. After waking up the automatic flow of saliva induced by breakfast, olfactory fatigue (stopping smelling the same thing one has smelled for some time) and brushing teeth may make the smell less noticeable or go away like in your case.
That said, there are other causes of bad breath, which include certain foods, smoking, and medical conditions associated with the respiratory system (enlarged tonsils, sinuses, nose, lungs or bronchial), liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal (stomach and intestines) systems which have to be sought out and dealt with to further stem bad breath.
It is generally advised that people brush their teeth (and tongue) for at least two minutes, twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and also floss once a day to keep teeth and mouth healthy while preventing breath odour. 
Mouthwashes can be used for bad breath, prevention of dental caries or gum disease among others but to be effective, they should be used in addition to brushing and flossing.  Also, alcohol-based types of washes can actually cause mouth drying and worsen breath odour.