By Article Expert, Abbi Miller, Certified Holistic Health Coach
Nuts are amazing and nourishing foods! Because of their high polyunsaturated fatty-acid content, nuts are best when eaten raw, so the oils haven’t gone rancid. The high-heating process of roasted nuts can lead to free radicals in the body which means potential inflammation. Not to mention roasted nuts are often heated in icky veggie oils that are no bueno for our lovely bods. I recommend buying organic whenever possible, as toxins are stored in fats, and nuts are deliciously high-fat.
Simply put: nuts and seeds are best when soaked or sprouted before eaten. This makes them way easier to digest. They come with fascinating components called enzyme inhibitors (which keep our own digestive enzymes from easily breaking them down) and phytic acid (a sneaky coating that can be anti-nutritious, and impede our body’s absorption of the vitamins and minerals present in the food). Soaking is a great way to start the sprouting process and make more of their nutritional potential available. It is unknown what actual percentage of these acids and inhibitors are left after soaking, but definitely worth the step to eliminate what we can!
How: Place nuts / seeds into mason jar, cover with filtered water (when possible). Let sit on counter, or in a fridge if you are in a warm climate. Soak (times below). Rinse well, and devour!
Suggested minimum soak times:
almonds, 12 hrs
buckwheat, 6 hrs
cashews, 8 hrs
flax, 8 hrs
pecans, 2 hrs
pumpkin seeds, 6 hrs
sesame seeds, 4 hrs
sunflower seeds, 6 hrs
walnuts, 2 hrs
Article originally wrote for the Breakfast Criminals’ mouth-watering e-book, available here. To learn more about insanely delicious breakfast elixirs, I highly suggest buying one!
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