Benefits of Soaking Nuts and Seeds

Almost all nuts and seeds are high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Replacing an unhealthy snack in your daily eating regimen such as chips, bread, sweets, or soda with a handful of seeds or nuts could do wonders to your health. But a lot of people don’t enjoy eating them due to the dry and gritty taste they tend to have. Not only do soaking nuts and seeds increase their nutritional value, but it makes them taste a lot more appealing too. When soaked, nuts and seeds begin the sprouting process, which considerably bumps up their nutrient profile, especially in B vitamins and beneficial enzymes. Other benefits of soaking includes increased digestibility, the proteins are more readily available for absorption, and it reduces phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors that have undesirable effects on the digestion system. This is an ancient practice that the Aztecs used to do using natural salt water. Use a glass container to soak your raw seeds and nuts in warm lightly salted water for several hours or overnight, depending on the size of the nut or seed. Use enough water to cover the seeds or nuts by at least an inch. You can eat them immediately or you can dry them out to eat later. Some people rehydrate them lightly in an oven until dry, but this is not necessary. If you try this, do not over heat them as this will roast the nut and turn the fats rancid. When soaking nuts such as almonds you should change the water and discard of the old soak water, as it will contain the enzyme inhibitors, which is very acidic to the body. It may take some experimenting until you get the desirable result. Some good ones to try first would be flax seeds, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds. This would be a good recipe to make over the holidays, you can make a batch of them and place in a bowl for everyone to enjoy.