Why Bother Soaking?

I recently found an amazing website, www.TherapeuticChef.com. Kristin Doyle is an RN, a certified nutrition consultant, and a certified natural chef. Her specialty is helping people prevent disease through diet and healthy lifestyle. One of the things she suggests we do is soak our nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes before eating. Here’s what she says on her site:

“If you have the time, get in the practice of soaking your nuts, seeds, grains, beans and other legumes before consuming. This may sound complicated but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty simple. It just takes a tiny bit of planning ahead. Why go to all this bother? To remove nutritional and enzyme inhibitors and toxic substances:

To remove or reduce phytic acid.

To remove or reduce tannins (polyphenols) and goitrogens.

To neutralize the enzyme inhibitors.

To encourage the production of beneficial enzymes.

To increase the amounts of vitamins, especially B vitamins.

To break down gluten and make digestion easier.

To make the proteins more readily available for absorption.

To prevent mineral deficiencies and bone loss.

To help neutralize toxins in the colon and keep the colon clean.

To prevent many health diseases and conditions.

What are Enzyme inhibitors?
“There are digestive enzymes and metabolic enzymes. Digestive enzymes help break down food. Metabolic enzymes help every biological process the body does. Enzyme inhibitors will clog, warp or denature an active site of an enzyme. They may also bind to the enzyme, which will prevent the intended molecule from binding. “Once again, the habits of traditional peoples should serve as a guide. They understood instinctively that nuts are best soaked or partially sprouted before eaten. This is because nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess.”

What are Phytates?
“All grains contain phytic acid in the outer layer or bran. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in unfermented whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss.

“Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize a large portion of phytic acid in grains. Soaking in water also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors, present in all seeds, and encourages the production of numerous beneficial enzymes. The action of these enzymes also increases the amount of many vitamins, especially B vitamins. During the process of soaking and fermenting, gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.”

How long does the soaking process take?
Soak grains (brown rice, oats, wheat berries, etc.) for 12 – 24 hours.

Soak nuts and seeds for at least 4 hours or longer depending on the size of the nut or seed. Brazil nuts need longer, about 12-24 hours. Sunflower seeds should be soaked about 6 to 8 hours.

After soaking, rinse and drain the grain/nuts/seeds/legumes. Then either use as is to make raw milks or spreads (nuts/seeds), or you can place in the dehydrator to dry them out and then use in recipes (nuts/seeds/grains/legumes), or you can cook them until soft (grains and legumes). You can also place soaked grains and legumes in a sprouting bag and rinse and drain as directed until sprouts appear. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you soak them first.

How do I soak beans and other legumes?
“Soak legumes for twelve hours or overnight in four parts water to one part legume. For best results, change the water once or twice. Lentils and whole dried peas require shorter soaking, while soybeans and garbanzos need to soak longer. Soaking softens skins and begins the sprouting process, which eliminates phytic acid, thereby making more minerals available.

Soaking also promotes faster cooking and improved digestibility, because the gas-causing enzymes and trisaccharides in legumes are released into the soak water. Be sure to discard the soak water. After bringing legumes to a boil, scoop off and discard foam. Continue to boil for twenty minutes without lid at beginning of cooking to let steam rise (breaks up and disperses indigestible enzymes).”