Jul 4 —Written By Tally Atkinson
How to properly prepare your grains, nuts, and legumes!
Recently I have been sharing with clients the importance of properly preparing grains, nuts, and legumes before we eat them. There are many important health factors as to why we should do this. This is a HUGE reason why I even got into making sourdough bread products in the first place. I love fresh, homemade bread! I wanted to make it as healthy as possible.
There are so many wonderful plants and crops that God has given us to nourish our body with, but it is important to know how to best use the nutrients that they can provide. Both people and animals alike try to protect themselves from harm or predators. It is our way of survival. Plants do this same thing, only they can’t move around. It is because of this that they have developed some anti-nutrients on the outside that protect them from potentially being eaten. These anti-nutrients include phytic acid (phytates), lectins, and other enzyme inhibitors. When we eat grains, nuts, or legumes that have not had these anti-nutrients broken down then we are also consuming the anti-nutrients along with the food.
Phytates or phytic acid are in all grains and seeds, some nuts, and even some vegetables. What happens when we eat it? Phytic acid binds to minerals that are in our body. Namely calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and zinc, all in our digestive tract. This makes these minerals, that we might otherwise absorb from the grain, unabsorbable. It can lead to mineral deficiency and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins that can manage to make it through digestion without being broken down. These large particles in undigested food then can make their way into the intestines and make holes in the micro-villi, creating leaky gut. This leads to many different parts of GI distress, some auto immune diseases, and also nutrient deficiencies.
Here is a guide for you that explains different soaking methods for properly preparing different kinds of grains, nuts, and legumes. Each item might be a little different, but the concept is the same.
There are so many wonderful plants and crops that God has given us to nourish our body with, but it is important to know how to best use the nutrients that they can provide. Both people and animals alike try to protect themselves from harm or predators. It is our way of survival. Plants do this same thing, only they can’t move around. It is because of this that they have developed some anti-nutrients on the outside that protect them from potentially being eaten. These anti-nutrients include phytic acid (phytates), lectins, and other enzyme inhibitors. When we eat grains, nuts, or legumes that have not had these anti-nutrients broken down then we are also consuming the anti-nutrients along with the food.
Phytates or phytic acid are in all grains and seeds, some nuts, and even some vegetables. What happens when we eat it? Phytic acid binds to minerals that are in our body. Namely calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and zinc, all in our digestive tract. This makes these minerals, that we might otherwise absorb from the grain, unabsorbable. It can lead to mineral deficiency and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins that can manage to make it through digestion without being broken down. These large particles in undigested food then can make their way into the intestines and make holes in the micro-villi, creating leaky gut. This leads to many different parts of GI distress, some auto immune diseases, and also nutrient deficiencies.
Here is a guide for you that explains different soaking methods for properly preparing different kinds of grains, nuts, and legumes. Each item might be a little different, but the concept is the same.
There you have it!
Please let me know if you have any questions at all.
Please let me know if you have any questions at all.
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