We green monsters know that nuts, seeds grains and legumes are all good for us. Whether it is the omega’s in walnuts, vitamin E in almonds, calcium in sesame seeds, protein in quinoa or iron in lentils they all have tons of nutrients and benefits to our body.
When we eat nuts, seeds, grains and legumes they all taste great in their natural form, so why would to soak your nuts, seeds, grains and legumes when they taste great just the way they are??
One of the reasons is soaking mimics nature, meaning when it rains the nut, seed and grain gets wet and then can germinate to produce a plant. That is what your doing when your soaking nuts, seeds or grains.
The other main reasons for soaking is nuts, seeds, grains and legumes contain toxins and inhibitors, which protect them until they have what they need to grow. Which is great for the plants, but not optimal for us. You see, when we consume nuts, seeds and grains that haven’t been soaked, they are harder to digest, reduces vitamin intake, especially B vitamins and reduces the amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are absorbed in your body.
The key inhibitors and toxic substances found in nuts, seeds and grains are enzyme inhibitors, phytic acid, tannins and goitrogens. Enzymes inhibitors and phytic acid are the biggest barriers when it comes to getting all the benefits of nuts, seeds and legumes. Enzyme inhibitors can really strain your digestive system so soaking the nuts, seeds and grains neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors. Phytic acid is a substance that can bind to some minerals which can inhibit the absorption of minerals into your body, when you soak nuts, seeds and grains it reduces or removes the phytic acid which increases absorption. Nuts actually contain higher amounts of enzymes inhibitors and lower levels phytic acid.
Now we know why we should soak our nuts, seeds, grains and legumes, now HOW do we soak them?
You want to use warm water and salt, the salt helps activate the enzymes that deactivate the enzyme inhibitors. For grains, you want to soak them in an acidic solution to get rid of the phytic acid, such as lemon juice.
4 Easy Steps to Soaking
1. Dissolve salt in a bowl of water
2. Cover nuts or seeds with water – (Twice as much as the amount of nuts or seeds – 1 cup of nuts to 2 cups of water
3. Cover the bowl with something breathable like a cloth towel – depending on the nut, seed, grain or legume you will have to soak them from 3-48hrs
4. Ideally you should drain and rinse the nuts, seeds, grains or legumes every 3 or 4 hours.
You will notice once the nuts, seeds, grains or legumes have been sitting in the water for a while the water will look cloudy or merky. It might not look good, but it is good, the cloudy water that your seeing is the phytic acid being reduced or removed.
Now green monsters, you can enjoy your nuts, seeds, grains and legumes so much more now that you can digest them easier and absorb more vitamins, minerals and nutrients into your body.
**Please note there are many different soaking charts available on the internet that have the types of nuts, seeds, grains and legumes that can be soaked and how long they have to be soaked for
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