Choose WellThee: March 2018

Due to various reasons, our generation is witnessing a surge in vegetarian and vegan diets. If plant based foods are common place in your diet, do so with discretion and careful preparation, if you want to reap the benefits. The analogy I put forward should be striking in its simplicity.

Would you ever consider putting a lot of rocks like this one into the gas tank of your car? Even if I told you it contained 10 gallons of fuel? I didn't think so. For the rock to really serve the purpose of being fuel, it has to go through a process that helps extract the fuel and convert it into a medium that actually fuels your car. Plant food is no different. Plant foods are powerhouses of nutrition but IF and ONLY IF prepared and consumed correctly. The focus of the article is going to be plant foods based on seeds/ nuts/ legumes/grains.

Tough nut to crack

Here’s the double whammy. Hulls and husks, the outer covering for grains/ seeds contain enzyme inhibitors because their job is to protect the grain/seed from predators like pests and birds who would feel sick after consuming them. Even though hulls/husks might be high sources of protein/calcium/iron and other nutrients, our bodies do not land up absorbing those nutrients. In addition, they wreak havoc in our intestinal tract as they contain anti-nutrients.

The content of phytic acid (an organic acid) in the seed/nut/grain is also an inhibitor that interferes with digestion and absorbing their goodness.

As a thumb rule:

Phytic acid in seeds> Phytic acid in grains> Phytic acid in legumes

Some people are more affected than others and our bodies do cope over time but again, some better than others. So where do we go from here?

Nuts/seeds/grains to Super Food

We need to be kind to grains, legumes, nuts and seeds so that they can be kind to our bodies. As with all good things, preparation is key. I am NOT adhering to a gold standard preparation where for example certain grains are soaked, sprouted and fermented and the process can take even weeks. Rather, I will share with you today is practical and doable – it doesn't make the grains, legumes, nuts and seeds 100% digestible and bio-available, but it does a fairly decent job. If you suffer from celiac disease or have other intestinal medical conditions , you need to take extra precautions and this post has not delved into those scenarios

As a general rule, soaking gets rid of 1/3 to 2/3 of the phytic acid. The best option is to use sourdough fermentation since the microorganisms unlike humans have the ability to digest phytic acid.

The fundamentals

Definitely Soak, try and sprout and aspire to ferment before you cook
Soaking grains, beans and legumes in an acidic medium and nuts and seeds in a saline environment activates phytase the enzyme that helps eliminate some of the phytic acid.
The process is the same whether they are beans, nuts, legumes and seeds but the time may vary, since at the end of the day they are all seeds of the plant
Soaking means after you have washed, if you have added one cup of nuts/seeds/grains/legumes, add about double the amount of filtered water and let it stand at room temperature for the amount of time prescribed. If soaking for more than 12 hours, empty the water out, rinse and repeat. a couple of times.
Sprouting further makes nutrients more digestible and available for absorption.
Sprouting involves removing the excess water and then letting the grains/nuts/seeds/legumes sprout as they are exposed to air. The most convenient way I have found is to use a regular glass mason jar with a sprouting lid.

Glass Mason jar with meshed lid for easy soaking and sprouting

I personally have been soaking beans, nuts, legumes and seeds and have experienced less bloating.

Below is a cheat sheet that I will be printing and putting up on my refrigerator for easy reference and I think it will be useful to you as well. It's pretty easy once you get a hang of it.

So, as you continue on your health journey, get the most out of the love you put into the preparation of your food.

Also some practical tips

When shopping for trail mix, nut and seed butter, protein bars etc. look for sprouted. Whole foods, Thrive market have options. I personally like the ones from Lupa’s kitchen.

Lupa's sprouted cereal - my current favorite
Sprouted flour is the best but it is a tad expensive and I myself don't purchase it and haven't yet got around to making my own
Diversify your diet so that you are not consuming large quantities of grains.
Do not consume sprouts of larger beans like kidney beans, small red beans, black eyed peas raw as these can be very hard to digest. Preferable to cook them.
The best way to consume nuts and seeds is to eat them in their moist state after soaking. However, this is not always convenient. If you wish to store them, you can make batches in advance. After nuts are soaked , rinse them off and place in an absolutely " warm" oven (8 hours), say under 225* or in dehydrator on 130* dry 12-14 hours. Remember, the lower the heat the better. Enjoy!