My family supported me, but as natural salads and bean eaters, to my astonishment they rather enjoyed it.

They also call their city Beantown, after their beloved Boston baked beans, which gives them something in common with the inhabitants of Florence, another historic city, who call themselves bean eaters.

"Well, they're just a bunch of bean eaters," Augustus said.

Tuscans, like Yankees, are thrifty in their approach to food (truth is, one of their favorite foods is leftovers), and they share a similar passion for beans: other Italians call them mangiafagioli , or bean eaters.

Tuscans have been called the bean eaters of Italy.

It is best-loved in Tuscany: so much so that Tuscans are known as mangiafagioli - bean eaters - by Italians from other regions.

But bean eaters have a very hard time, because most baked beans have a wedge of pork in the can.

I asked a waitress which variety was best and she said with a smile, "They're all good, but I'm a bean eater, you see."

Studies showed that when charcoal capsules (Charcocaps by Requa, sold over the counter in pharmacies) were taken before and soon after a bean meal, intestinal gas produced was greatly reduced and the bean eaters reported fewer problems with bloating and flatulence.