Legumes contain compounds that may be difficult to digest or even harmful to eat raw, but these compounds are destroyed by cooking, soaking and/or sprouting.   In addition, some of the nutrients are bound in the legumes and the process of cooking or sprouting releases the nutrients making them accessible for the body to use. When growing sprouts using larger and more dense legumes such as chickpeas and black beans, you may find they are too crunchy to eat raw and prefer to cook them. If you are concerned about stomach discomfort, then cooking sprouted beans or lentils may help to make them even easier to digest.