Today I'm Thinking | Everyone Deserves a Good Soak...
Today I’m Thinking | Blog Post #3
Nuts. Seeds. Beans.
Just like a good soak in a warm bath disarms our cranky mood after a long day - giving your seeds a good soak disarms them too. And this critical step in food prep soaks away more than a bad mood; it releases specific toxins to reveal nutrients that, until soaking, were more or less protected.
Think about it like this. Nuts, seeds, and beans are the beginning of a new life. They are vitally important to the plant they were created by as they represent the promise of the next generation and the continued survival of the species. Like animals and people, plants have evolved to learn the best ways to ensure their survival. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to this whole group of foods (nuts, seeds, beans) as seeds - small, nutrient dense capsules ready to sprout new life.
In a nutshell (pun intended), phytic acid binds to minerals, ensuring that the seed holds on to its vital nutrients for growth. Tannins create a bitter taste so that the seed is undesirable to eat until fully ripe and can interrupt digestive processes if consumed. Enzyme inhibitors interfere with our digestive enzymes, making breaking down the seed and extracting nutrients more difficult.
If you've ever noticed that your stomach feels a little iffy after a meal with seeds, this is most likely why! Your digestive system has to work harder to digest, which can lead to bloating, upset stomach, and indigestion. Your body is trying to battle through all the protective armor of the seed.
These anti-nutrients serve as protection for the seed and are designed to prevent or slow down digestion and absorption so that the seed may still be able to grow once passed. Seeds have evolved with a great setup. Predator eats the seed; predator moves to a new area while seed passes through the digestive tract; predator eliminates seed and other matter leaving the seed to grow in a new location. With its nutrients still intact and with new fertilizer courtesy of the predator, the seed is ready to flourish.
Nature is smart, but humans are clever too. And since the advent of fire, we've been pretty unstoppable. Over the years, we’ve gained knowledge and discovered ways to outsmart nature that have proven invaluable to our species. Soaking and heating seeds are a couple of these clever tricks. When we soak seeds, we replicate their natural process of finding water, and they start to break down their barriers in preparation for growth. When we heat seeds, it further breaks down the protective barriers and makes an incredible amount of nutrients available in an easy-to-digest format.
For a very long time, ancient traditions have known this secret of soaking, but we have lost sight of this in our modern society. We love fast. We love convenient. And so, this critical step of soaking has, for the most part, been removed in the name of ease, convenience, and for big companies, cost savings.
Let’s get back to soaking our seeds!
Here are some basic suggestions. Soaking anything overnight (about 6-8 hours) is a safe bet, and it’s easy to remember. Soft seeds like cashews need less time, hard seeds like beans need more time. Softened seeds will last a couple days in the fridge and can be easier to blend up, but if you prefer to have nuts as a ready to go snack, you can let them air dry after soaking and then lightly toast them in the oven to bring them to a shelf stable existence again. Ayurveda recommends soaking seeds in warm water with a pinch of pink salt for best results.
In short, seeds are little powerhouses of nutrients designed to create new life. For good reason, these nutrients are being protected from predators (like humans) to ensure the seed's health and well-being to become a tree, plant, etc. When we soak the seed, we are essentially tricking the seed into thinking it’s safe to let its guard down and start to grow. The water softens the seed, releases the anti-nutrients, and removes tannins. The soaked, and if you let it go longer, the sprouted seed is now fully ready to be digested by a happy stomach!
Our gut is incredibly adaptive and can adjust to the foods we ingest, and some levels of anti-nutrients can even serve to strengthen our digestive system. However, if there is something we can do to make digestion a little easier on ourselves in this fast-paced, stressed-out lifestyle we live, I say - why would we not?
