As health coaches, we are not only promoting that you eat whole foods, but also learn the proper way to prepare them to get the best nutrition out of them. No food is inherently bad or good but theway they are prepared will have a huge influence on how nutrient-dense they are and how your body absorbs those nutrients.
Grains have a gotten a bad rap over the years but they are consumed pretty universally and have been for basically ever. BUT, without proper preparation, they can cause digestive distress, including IBS, leaky gut and can worsen autoimmune issues.
One way to prepare them that is not very common in the U.S. but has been used for centuries all over the world is soaking them. Soaking nuts, seeds, beans and grains is incredible for digestion and optimal nutrition absorption. If you are sensitive to these food groups, soaking them can help a lot! For some reason, it’s just not as common - probably because we are BUSY ALL THE TIME and the focus on food as medicine and nourishment is far gone for most of the population on the Standard American Diet (SAD - yes literally, sad).
What is soaking?
Soaking is just what it sounds like, placing your seeds, beans or grain in water before cooking, eating, or for sprouting.
Why/How in the world does this work?
Basically, when you soak, you are breaking down a lot of the elements that cause digestive issues and block absorption in the body. Here’s a detailed breakdown for all our #NutritionNerds:
Soaking reduces phytic acid, a compound found in grains and cereals that binds to certain proteins and minerals minimizing their ability for absorption in the small intestine. When we soak grains, it minimizes the amount of phytic acid, making it easier to absorb in the small intestine.
Soaking also reduces tannins and polyphenols. Tannins are a subclass of polyphenols, and polyphenols are compounds found in some fruits, veggies, grains, beans, and nuts. These two compounds with funny names are what give your coffee that bitter taste. And while polyphenols are a source of antioxidants, they bind to positively charged minerals and proteins, making them unavailable for absorption. When we soak prior to cooking or eating, we reduce the levels of polyphenols and tannins and we enhance the body’s ability to absorb minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium, as well as proteins found in lentils, peas, and chickpeas.
Soaking reduces enzyme inhibitors. Legumes contain factors that are anti nutritional that bind to beneficial enzymes and when we soak legumes, we decrease these factors so that the beneficial enzymes can be absorbed.
When you soak your grains, you will see a reduction in side effects such as bloating and gas. Beans contain oligosaccharide compounds which cause all of these uncomfortable consequences, and because unfortunately we only have one stomach, we cannot break down oligosaccharides due to a lack of an enzyme in the small intestine. This causes the bacteria in the large intestine to use the undigested oligosaccharides, which produce bloating and gas. Soaking your beans before cooking them reduces the degree of bloating and discomfort because it breaks them down.
It’s important to note, however, that if you are truly intolerant to legumes, grains, or nuts, soaking them might not help a whole lot. But if these foods are in your diet constantly, you might benefit from incorporating this practice in your meal prep. How you ask, well, its as easy as poring water over the beans, grains or nuts that you want to cook or eat for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 24 hours and rinse afterwards. If you’re feeling a little extra and want to seriously neutralize your beans, grains and legumes, add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the water, just make sure you rinse them out before cooking!
While it can sound overwhelming, it’s such an easy way to increase nutrition and decrease digestive issues and we are BIG fans of little-to-no-effort required health tips. If you meal prep on Sundays, you can easily toss your grains into a bowl of water and cook them as always the following day. Otherwise, take out the grains when you take out your protein to thaw and throw them in water then. Don’t make it complicated!