Please catch up on all the soaking grains research for the scoop on phytates, phytic acid, phytase and more!
I’ve been looking for another “real scientist” to balance the Great Debate between Sally Fallon and my Australian PhD contact. Imagine my joy when I stumbled across Stephan Guyenet, Ph.D. a Senior fellow at the University of Washington, Seattle, in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition. He blogs about his studies of “time-tested strategies for achieving and maintaining health and well-being” at Whole Health Source.
Be still my beating heart! 
Not only does Stephan know what phytates, phytic acid and phytase are, but he was willing to share his research with me so I could dig through the journal articles myself. In his post A New Way to Soak Brown Rice, he details the 96% effective method that I’ll share with you today.
New research from China in 2008 explored various methods of reducing phytic acid in brown rice. The trouble with brown rice is that although it is lower in phytic acid than other grains, it has a dismally low level of phytase, so soaking, even in an acidic medium, isn’t going to do much to impact the phytic acid. The authors of the study were able to reproduce some of the effects of sourdough fermentation on phytic acid in wheat by using a unique method for soaking their brown rice.
Termed accelerated fermentation, the process increases both natural phytase activity in the grain, and a sort of lactic acid fermentation, which also creates further phytase activity. I now have a little jar of soaked rice water in my refrigerator as a “starter” for my rice.
SWN is soaking in water, and SWA is a soak in an acidic medium like Nourishing Traditions often recommends. Both are for a whole day. You can see in the chart above that phytic acid is reduced by less than half with both soaking methods, but almost down to nothing with the accelarated fermentation.
Here’s how it works:
Neutralizing and reducing that percentage of phytic acid is unheard of with other methods and grains. Even sourdough only decreases phytates by 64%. The modified fermentation acidifies the water and continues to keep the pH stable and even lowers it, whereas soaking in slightly acidic water ends up moving closer to a neutral (7) pH as time passes.
The Point?
The goal of all this soaking and fermenting is supposed to be to reduce the levels of phytic acid in your grains so that minerals are more bioavailable and easy to assimilate into your system. After taking care to soak brown rice the third time with a bit of old starter water, the phytic acid is almost gone completely.
The sad news is that at the end of this research journal entry, the researchers found that zinc, the mineral in question for their study, was almost no more well-absorbed after the accelerated fermentation than it was before. They concluded that more study is needed; I concur and am left wondering if the work involved in soaking is worth it. There are other positive impacts beyond just phytic acid reduction, luckily.
Another way to reduce phytic acid in rice: germinated brown rice.
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Source: Effects of soaking, germination and fermentation on phytic acid, total
and in vitro soluble zinc in brown rice by Jianfen Liang, Bei-Zhong Han, M.J. Robert Nout, Robert J. Hamer. a College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, PR China
Posted at:
This just strikes me as really artificial. If we have to use such vastly unnatural food preparations to make our natural foods wholesome, can we really call them wholesome in the first place? I have a very hard time believing that phytic acid can really be the all-around “enemy” that NT makes it out to be. Did God know what He was doing when He created grains, or did He not? Such culinary gymnastics make me all the more confident that trying to eliminate this component that God has placed in so many foods is probably not the right track.
.-= Rachel R.´s last blog ..Do You Know Your Best Colors? =-.
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colleen Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 10:18 am
I agree Rachel. For years we have been trying to outsmart God in the unnatural ways of raising animals for food and in our crops. Let’s not continue this arrogance in the opposite direction.
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Jana Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 11:31 am
Rachel,
Rice is a seed. Its primary purpose is to reproduce more rice-grass plants. Birds and mice and other predators to seeds reduce the number of opportunities for the plant to make more of itself, so it needs a defense. Thus, many seeds and sprouts contain antinutrients (prunus species–apples, cherries, peaches, plums, etc–actually contain a form of cyanide in their seeds). Animals who still eat intuitively/instinctively know not to eat too much. Actually, birds have quite a complex mechanical/multistep digestion process for all the seeds that they eat.
Humans didn’t start eating grains, or directing their growth via monocrop agriculture, until very recently in the scope of human existence. As civilization and sedentary lifestyles began to require food storage, grains became a staple rather than the more varied hunter/gatherer/nomad diet. Traditional people weren’t in such a hurry, didn’t need or expect instant food like we do today, and found ways to make inedible seeds more edible.
I don’t believe any plant exists just for us to eat.
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Alex Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I agree with your point: we do seem to be going to a lot of trouble to eat grains, and it does seem a bit odd.
One possibility that you fail to mention is that perhaps humans were never meant to eat grains at all…
After the rise of grain agriculture 10,000 or so years ago, the size of the human brain shrank, and some of the early diseases of civilization were seen for the first time. There is a line of thinking that says it’s all been downhill since then, nutritionally speaking at least. Also that grain agriculture is fundamentally an unsustainable practice, from an environmental point of view.
Lierre Keith makes these arguments in her controversial, thought-provoking book _The Vegetarian Myth_. I summarize her arguments (very superficially) in my review, here: http://feedmelikeyoumeanit.blogspot.com/2010/03/book-review-vegetarian-myth-by-lierre.html
I haven’t decided yet how much I agree with her, and I certainly have mixed feelings about the conclusions she reaches. But it’s certainly an interesting line of reasoning.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Greater Boston Kimchi Festival 2010 Wrap-Up =-.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:23 am
Rachel,
Katie
I’m with you but still wondering…
Maybe historically the fact that people kept using the same pot to soak their rice ended up with this “culture” passing on from batch to batch on accident.
???
Good questions, though!
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Sure, s/he knew what s/he was doing when s/he created grains. “God” (the universe, evolution, whatever) put the phytates in the grains and beans and seeds to deter herbivores and other animals (like primates/humans) from eating them. Soaking grains is an ancient tradition practiced by all of the peoples of the world. I think, if anything, we are probably just not soaking our grains long enough or with the right influences in the soaking pot. The ancients would have used porous clay vessels that held the bacteria from many previous soakings. They were not fools.
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I wonder if God intended us to be so scientific about our food…maybe there is a reason for phytic acid and who are we to say it doesn’t have a purpose. I’m siding with Rachel R on this! Good info though!
.-= Luanne´s last blog ..Breakfast Blight… =-.
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phytic bob Reply:
November 29th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
A very good point. I have haemochromatosis (absorb too much iron) which is a life threatening illness if not diagnosed in time . So I will be eating plenty of phytic acid in such natural forms from now on, especially in nuts, which I love. I have been undergoing venesection (phlebotomy) – having a pint of blood removed every 2 weeks – for over a year now to reduce my iron to a safe level.
Phytic acid should help speed this up and help maintain safe levels with less venesection
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Rachel, what’s unnatural about soaking grain in water for 24 hours? How is that “vastly unnatural”?
Did we read the same article?
And God did not create the grains you see today. The grains you see today have been vastly manipulated by humans for several thousand years.
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How has rice been eaten in ethnic groups that have been eating it for millennia? Not just how was it pre-prepared, and prepared, but how was it eaten and what with? I think that’s more important than inventing how to eat it now. That would have not been tested by generations upon generations of healthy people. That is the biggest test. Not some test tube or fermentation chart.
.-= Isaac Rivera´s last blog ..L’Ermita =-.
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This is interesting & I’m willing to give it a try. I hope people don’t let the science trip them up on this one. I really can’t see this as complex or artificial- you’re just keeping off part of the water from soaking for 24 hours- that’s less steps than you would have to take to prepare butter from milk, and not much different than keeping a sourdough starter (less work even).
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There is some great discussion on this post! I didn’t respond to each person because…well…I have no idea what I think. Research and prayer! And eating rice without worrying too much…
Katie
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UW – sweet!
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I cannot agree on NOT soaking. It does take extra work. But, Look what happened in countries, Europe (Italy) where they brought in corn from the ancients who had been soaking it for years, centuries. The people got pellagra which is a vitamin deficiency becuase the proper nutrition was not released by soaking. In this case it was lime ( not the citrus) that it was soaked in. God has given us His wisdom, yes it does take some effort, but we shouldn’t (in my opinion) be eating so much grain, anyway. Look at some of the action that phytic acid causes. Anybody ever try to make soy milk? I did it ONCE in my beginning of our family’s health journey ( we don’t eat ANY soy, now), but I was expecting and I got diarreah so bad I got dehydrated and went to the hospital for some extra fluids. Embarassing…
There is wisdom in soaking grains. It used to be the only way to make bread, to get yeast.
Just my two cents.
Happy Resurrection Day!
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Christina, I’m not talking about soaking it being unnatural. I’m talking about the whole mindset: let’s analyze this, break it down, decide which components are actually anti-nutrients, do all kinds of studies, and finally determine that even soaking isn’t good enough. We have to make sure we save some of something and soak the rice only in that, or it isn’t good enough. And in the meantime, it still isn’t good enough.
I find it very interesting that all of the comments that completely contradict me are from folks who don’t believe the Bible. According to the Bible (which, even if you aren’t a Christian, should be understood by any reasonable person as a better-preserved record of history than any of the other highly-regarded historical records), people have been cultivating crops since at least Cain and Abel; we did not “evolve” to the point of eating grains. So we (those who believe in the God of the Bible and those who don’t) can’t really even ask the same question.
That phytic acid is something to be avoided as much as possible is an assumption that has not ever been absolutely confirmed. Yes, it reduces our ability to absorb certain nutrients from certain foods. It also protects against colon cancer. So…good or bad? Nobody seems to solidly know, so why jump through hoops to eliminate it?
A LOT of other really healthy foods include “anti-nutrients,” too. If we were to avoid all of these things, we would really just have to stop eating about half of our plant foods – including greens. A more basic, common-sense approach makes more sense to me: eat only real foods (that is, not chemical cocktails) in as whole a state as possible/practical, eat a variety of foods, and eat some of it cooked and some of it raw. Since different foods contain different nutrients, and we tend to get different ones from the cooked version of a food than from the uncooked, this should ensure a broad spectrum of nutrients in our diets.
I think that a similar approach to our grains is probably the “right” one – eat some of them soaked and some of them unsoaked.
.-= Rachel R.´s last blog ..Ideas for Overheating Computer? =-.
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Naomi Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
While everything that God created is good, not everything is compatible with being ingested by humans (e.g. lead) and the sicker our society becomes the more problems we have with things that are, for healthy humans, normal. Gluten, pollen, and peanuts all have practical purposes, were created by God, and yet some people react against them.
While the scientific approach is not for everybody, I find it fascinating. A table like the above may not be necessary to healthy eating, but it creates in me wonder, wonder that the nature God created is so amazing. After all, He made it that germination increases nutrients. Maybe he meant us to soak grains in clay pots until we had the knowledge to break it all apart, and then we would see how great the process is and soak even without clay pots because the reason He gave us allows us to figure it out.
Not that I am accelerating fermenting my rice yet, but just another Christian viewpoint…
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Linked this one, too. :>)
.-= Lenetta @ Nettacow´s last blog ..No More Plastic Food Storage Containers? =-.
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This is fantastic!
I have been making “oat yogurt” (basically, it’s the same thing as making a sourdough starter, just using oats — I grind up oat flakes in a blender first, then add water and let it culture for a day or two), kefir, and am generally using culturing/fermentation all the time for the foods I eat.
It helps me a LOT because I’m such an absent-minded person — psychological stress and isolation really got to me over the years, and after all this time, my memory is starting to get pretty bad. So this is a double benefit: friendly bacteria AND a cooking method that allows for a lot of leeway!
I accidentally left the brown rice soaking for 2 days. The water’s a bit bubbly now. I wonder, instead of discarding it, shouldn’t it be good to drink? This seems to be the same thing as “rejuvelac,” which is commonly made using wheat berries. I’ve seen recipes for “oat yogurt,” actually (as well as raw nut/seed yogurt) that use “rejuvelac” instead of water, as a kind of starter culture.
I love it. This doesn’t seem unnatural to me at all — actually, it seems so appropriate and so stupidly simple, and I’m thrilled to see studies now showing how effective these really obvious methods are for removing phytic acid.
Phytic acid is supposed to have health benefits; people also traditionally abstained from fermented foods for periods of time. The main point? I wouldn’t obsess about it! But this is probably the easiest way to prepare food I know of — what can be easier than just letting it sit in a bowl and have friendly bacteria pre-digest it for you? Sounds like a gift from God to me.
I think I’ll try drinking the bubbly liquid from the brown rice. Sounds like legitimate “rejuvelac” to me…and so the ongoing “accelerated fermentation” process seems to be using rejuvelac from the previous batch to kickstart it. This is very much like leaving the curds clinging to the kefir grains when you start a new batch — it speeds it up — and also the same thing with “oat yogurt” — save a bit from the last batch, and it speeds up the next one. And of course, it’s the same thing with sourdough starter.
It works out perfectly. I couldn’t see anything more natural than preparing brown rice this way, and a lot of other foods — we have blenders now, thank God, but when you just had a mortar and pestle, you could grind up all these grains and ferment them, and you could eat them as is, no cooking required, after a good period of bacterial pre-digestion.
My grandma never had an ice box growing up. Her aunt would keep the fresh milk in a big crock on the dirt floor in the cellar, and it was fine. Of course, raw milk will sour and pasteurized milk will just spoil, but we have kefir grains to fix that problem — I’m positive that they’re the solution to the “pasteurized milk” problem. They also pre-digest the fats, apparently, and I’m wondering if that takes care of the xanthine oxidase problem in whole milk. I bet it does at least something.
Anyway, yeah! This is AMAZING! I was really happy to find this — thrilled, actually — and it’s just amazing how it makes so much sense. Kefir, yogurt, sourdough, rejuvelac — we have access to all these great foods, and they’re free. God gave us these little friends everywhere, and if we treat our food well, they can help us have better health, and also make our lives easier. Ha! Little bacterias are putting on their chef hats and aprons and saying “Leave it to us!” And they prepare our food for us — how nice of them
Maybe I’m a nut for drinking rejuvelac from brown rice (you know, you could probably add some of that raw Bragg apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, to the soaking water, which might be of use *if you plan on drinking the ‘rejuvelac’ like me*…maybe I shouldn’t drink it, but hey, if you do drink it, now you have a recipe for fresh rejuvelac you can either 1) drink 2) use as a starter culture for nut/seed/oat yogurt — on TOP of having phytic acid-reduced brown rice, ready to cook).
Maybe I’ll try adding this bubbly soak water to my next batch of oat yogurt and see what happens. Hm! Well, the possibilities are endless. But it sounds very natural to me not to waste anything we use, and if this is really how we’re meant to be, maybe God intended for rejuvelac and all these things to be used! *dies of strange disease after ingesting pathogens from soak water*
Well let’s hope for the best. If all goes well, it’s safe to drink, and now we have a way to make nut/seed/oat yogurts faster. I really don’t think I’m obsessed with this (okay, I do have obsessive compulsive tendencies, but that just means I’m much more easily amused than most people, which is a blessing
even if I have no friends! – remember, the bacteria are our friends!) LMAO
OKAY! Well I think I’ve said quite enough. Thank you for sharing this wonderful information, though; and I definitely think science is a good thing, and we should keep analyzing things and learning more about the world we live in. This is hardly a problem in a world where torture, rape, and all these horrible things are happening all around the world.
Maybe someday we’ll be primarily focused on making food and medicine as good as we can. I sure would love to see science go in that direction; less money for bombs/nuclear arms/guns/violence, more money for helping people/nourishing people and helping them grow and develop and learn how to be happy and have love instead of so much suffering and resentment and hatred.
Yes, this is definitely a step in a positive direction, without a doubt. Once we get more knowledge, we can start applying this stuff on a global scale, and I think that’ll help a lot with reducing nutritional starvation in the world. There are so many horrible things in this world that make me so sad — but this is one of the good things that makes me feel happy
And remember, it’s nutrition research that’s allowed us to understand how to rehabilitate people who’ve been starved/are starving, and have severely impaired digestion. Check it out:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/6/1347
I say keep it up, and thanks again for sharing this. I’m *beyond* thrilled
Thank you!
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Wow! I’ve finally found someone more excited about food science and whole grains than me!
Thanks for all your valuable insight – Katie
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Hailey Reply:
December 16th, 2011 at 3:02 am
Hey. I always thought soaking grains and legumes caused phytic acid to be released into the water. Is that not true? If it’s true, wouldn’t you want to avoid drinking it?
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Katie Reply:
December 18th, 2011 at 3:31 am
Hailey,
Katie
That’s the bugger – no one really knows for sure if the water collects the bad stuff, or if it’s simply neutralized. This whole issue is one gray area after another… But good question!
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I love this post, and the comments too! I soaked my rice for the first time and kept some of the soaking water, now will be doing my first soak with it. I was really excited to see this post come out and will link to it from my soaked brown rice entry on my blog.
thanks again!
.-= Kim @ The Nourishing Cook´s last blog ..Cheddar Cheese Dip =-.
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No, thank YOU!!
And yes, I’m excited to, to find another person who’s into this stuff…I won’t admit it most of the time, but sometimes it gets lonely over here!
Anyway, I wanted to stop in one more time to mention this: I’m aware that oats are also very low in the phytase enzyme, and I just thought this morning, why wouldn’t this accelerated fermentation technique work for the oats?
So now I’m doing an oat yogurt starter, i.e., I am having my oat yogurt right now, but I saved some of it as a ‘starter,’ and am now fermenting a new batch of oat yogurt with that starter, fresh water, and freshly ground oats.
It’s just amazing to me how easy it is, and how much sense it makes. Now I feel like nothing could be more natural: I have to only cook things minimally — I don’t even cook the oat yogurt, I just eat it as is — if I use the accelerated fermentation technique (similar to continuous fermentation traditionally used to make kefir), I can have phytic-acid reduced and pre-digested oats and brown rice every day. Maybe, at last, I won’t have to worry about what I’m going to have for breakfast :p
By the way, it’s pretty rustic, but oat yogurt / brown rice / honey / virgin coconut oil make a great breakfast.
I just wanted to say thanks again. I’m probably getting inappropriately excited about this, but it’s just AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this — and please, please, keep learning more, and keep sharing more. You’re helping more people than you know, just by getting the word out about these things. Keep it up
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Interesting article! In Iran basmati rice is soaked overnight in very salty water, then rinsed and cooked. I’ve often wondered if the salt helps break down the grain. It tends to make it fluffier. Perhaps in your quest to find the answer to rice you might want to ponder this tradition.
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Katie Reply:
May 1st, 2010 at 1:27 am
Maggie,
Katie
Thank you so much for sharing! Since we’re talking fermentation, that would make sense – lacto-fermentation can be achieved by using whey or a very salty brine. Is there a salty taste to the rice at all, or is it all washed away?
Thanks again!
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Maggie Mahboubian Reply:
May 1st, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Hi Katie,
It gets washed away, so the cooking water is also salted the way pasta is cooked. The rice kernals are drained when they are al dente and then returned to the pot and steamed with a lid that has many layers of fabric over a wicker frame.
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Since lacto-fermentation can be achieved with whey or with salt would it be possible to soak oats overnight in salt instead of whey and have it help to break down things? My daughter is allergic to wheat and dairy (also eggs and nuts) so I am trying to find some ways to try soaked grains for her and hopefully make granola bars for her.
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
September 21st, 2010 at 10:03 am
Rebekah,
Katie
The soaking theory uses an acidic medium rather than lacto-fermentation, even though it’s my theory that LF works even better for oats, for example. You’ll want to just use vinegar or lemon juice for soaking (lemon juice is better with oatmeal, just don’t overdo it), or something like water kefir or kombucha for LFing it. The phytic acid is a salt itself, so lots of salt not only would probably taste nasty, but wouldn’t do the trick. Great dairy-free question, though!
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Do you cover the reserved soaking water in the fridge or do you leave it in an open container?
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Katie Reply:
September 24th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Covered! I would spill it otherwise, for sure.
Katie
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I don’t know if I asked this before… but do you adujst the amount of water you cook with after having soaked the rice? I’ve been approximating about 1/4 C less liquid per cup of rice after soaking (I think), but just wondering what others do.
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Katie Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 4:34 am
Sarah,
Katie
Thank you for reminding me that I should update this post. I didn’t use to reduce the amount, but I do think it makes a big (good) difference if you do leave out 1/4 – 1/2 cup to make up for what the rice has already absorbed. You could be more precise if you wanted and measure what you pour off, then add that amount back in with fresh water.
Thanks!
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Sarah W Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 11:48 am
That would work… if I measured the amount of soaking liquid!
I find that the soaked rice cooks a bit faster than unsoaked rice (or faster than the package says it will take). Do you find this too?
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Katie Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 12:14 am
sarah,
Katie
So many others say it does, but I always have not found that. ??? I’m still a rice novice, I feel, like sometimes we’re eating crunchy rice and I can’t figure out why. Keeps me humble!
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Hello!
I was wondering how to store the brown rice after soaking it if I do not want to use it in a recipe immediately? Is it possible to do this? Do I need to dry it or should I just store it, as is, in the fridge after soaking? Thanks for the help!
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 1:16 am
Sabrina,
Katie
I would just cook the rice up after soaking, then store it if you’re not ready for it right away. Seems like a big hassle to dry it out and store, then cook later!
[Reply to this comment]
Sabrina Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 2:42 am
I agree:) I soaked about 7 cups dry!! it was a lot! so what i did was cook it in 2 batches in my rice cooker and wait until it cooled to store in containers that i put in the freezer. i guess i’ve got rice for quite a while and for any type of rice recipe now
thank you!
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Hi Katie!
I am sure you are thoroughly enjoying Blissdom!
I am wondering if, when you have time, you could expand on the other benefits here to soaking and send me a good link. I am trying my oat bran muffins http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/oat-bran-muffins/ today w/ some buckwheat flour added to the soaking medium. We can’t use whey here due to older son’s life threatening dairy allergy.
As I have time, I look forward to digging into this with you.
I will get you my great bread recipe soon. I sure hope you like it!
- Adrienne
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Katie Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 12:17 am
Adrienne,
Katie
Everything I know about soaking is right here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/seriescarnivals/soaking-grains-an-exploration/
Enjoy!
Btw, you can make yr recipes look prettier by pushing “shift+enter” between ingredients, which will take out the space in between.
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I also can’t help wondering if this (issues with food, nutrients, digestion, etc.) is part of the extra “toiling” that came with “the fall”! I do believe all creation suffered from the fall- our food as well.
I have a few questions: do you rinse the rice after soaking it? And can you continue this process indefinitely, or do you need to eventually start all over again? Also, do you think you could do this with oats and very coarse corn meal, or use this liquid to soak oats or corn?
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
February 4th, 2011 at 2:25 am
Teresa,
I LOVE that theory.
I don’t rinse the rice, just drain it. I’m not sure what the “official” word is on that though. As long as your “rice water” doesn’t get stinky, you can keep it up forever. My rice now absolutely bubbles when left overnight. So cool! Oats soak up so much water, so I don’t know about that one. But you could use sourdough to soak oats, and corn is a different beast anyway and is supposed to be nixtimalized with lime. It’s a deep well to jump into here!
Katie
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Dear Katie!
First of all, thank you for your blog, I am very happy, that I’ve found it. Can I have a question for you?
What about puffed rice? How can we make it more digestible? Is a short soaking enough?
Thx!
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
February 21st, 2011 at 3:37 am
If by puffed rice you mean like a rice krispie cereal, I think it’s beyond repair! Puffed rice cereal has already been subjected to great heat and pressure, so it’s oxidized like mad. Best to start with your own real, whole grains and soak from there. Is there another kind of puffed rice I don’t know about? Thanks!
Katie
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Yumm Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 7:29 am
Thx for your answer! I think it is the same as the rice krispies, but no sugar, no salt, only the rice… For example: http://elj.hu/files/product_pictures/136307_0.jpg
Thx in advance 
Is very unhealthy to eat this type of rice? I do not eat gluten at the moment, and when i haven’t got time for soak or cook, I eat this or puffed millet. Is it very bad for me?
[Reply to this comment]
Katie Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 4:39 am
Puffed grains are supposed to be pretty bad for you…they’re called extruded grains and aren’t very natural.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! I have a little more information on the science, or at least the process, behind puffed grains here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/02/11/food-for-thought-nutritional-value-of-whole-grains/
Katie
For a quick cold cereal, you might try making granola with GF oats. Good luck!
[Reply to this comment]
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom.com Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:40 am
Just adding my 2 cents to Katie’s “spot on” comments. I have been on a special diet now for quite awhile and am limiting my starch intake, among other things. One week I got a bunch of organic puffed brown rice on sale to indulge myself as we almost never eat processed foods in our home. Well, I ate some and even on the days when I kept to my limit, my conditions really flared up. It was awful. Since this stuff is processed the way Katie mentions, its glycemic index is through the roof. I looked it up and it is awful. Even the brown rice kind. Basically, all processed cereal is junk, unfortunately. It’s hard to get away from our boxed food mentality, but those cute little shapes in cereal boxes just aren’t doing your body any favors. (Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here as well
)
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Yumma Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 6:55 am
Katie, Adrienne, thank you very much for your comments! I am not sad, because I know something new about this, and that’s great!
Thank you again, very helpful informations!
Should I use 1/3 tbsp acidic medium if I use 1/3 cup water for the soaking of 1 cup oatmeal?
So granola… Sorry, but I have a question about it.
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Katie Reply:
March 19th, 2011 at 2:43 am
yes, perfect!
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This is interesting but I think I’m confused. Are you saying that you soak one batch of rice a total of three times – soaking each time for 24 hours and saving 10% of each soaking liquid – before the rice is ready to be cooked?
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Katie Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 3:42 am
Gopika,
Katie
Sorry my reply was so delayed! Not quite on your interpretation – it just means that you soak the rice one time, but by your third batch of rice, you’ve got really good soaking liquid that gets 96% of the phytic acid out. Your first 2 batches will have less phytic acid than unsoaked rice, but not quite the “almost all of it” as the third batch. Make sense now?
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Well, shoot… part of the reason I have been looking into soaking and sprouting with renewed vigor is that my 3-year old, who is on the autism spectrum, turns out to be deficient in zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium, and since he is such a little carb fiend, I was hoping that the extra step would help his absorption of those nutrients without making him choke down supplements and foods he refuses to try. Too bad they weren’t testing more than zinc levels!
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“The sad news is that at the end of this research journal entry, the researchers found that zinc, the mineral in question for their study, was almost no more well-absorbed after the accelerated fermentation than it was before. They concluded that more study is needed; I concur and am left wondering if the work involved in soaking is worth it. There are other positive impacts beyond just phytic acid reduction, luckily.” -
What IS the point then? – What are the other benefits and where is the scientific evidence for it? As a concerned mom, I am willing to do almost anything within reason to provide healthy food for my family – but I hate to think of spending precious time doing something that is really not proven.
Thanks for addressing this, I really enjoy your articles/blog and am looking forward to reaching a final conclusion on the soaking issue!
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Katie Reply:
October 3rd, 2011 at 10:18 pm
LilMissMom,
I still wonder whenever I soak, to be honest…but I lean, for now, on anecdotal evidence on digestion from soaked vs. unsoaked experiences and some research (noted in other soaking posts) that points to the health benefits of soaking. For rice, it takes no more time to soak than not to soak, so I usually do it but don’t freak out if I don’t plan ahead on accident. ???
There is a LOT of research demonstrating the health benefits of sourdough, so you may want to look into that method of preparation – one I can really stand behind with citations.
Katie
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soaking the raw rice reduces the phytic acid?is it good to eat raw soaked rice(i.e raw rice soaking in water)is eatingraw soaked rice(i.e raw rice soaking in water)is beneficial to our health?please tell me explain
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Katie Reply:
December 22nd, 2011 at 4:43 pm
No, you need to also cook the soaked rice – that step is imperative.
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I’ve read this long line of comments and was looking for information about soaking NOT oatmeal, but OAT GROATS. I have an oatmeal press. Would I soak the groats the same way rice is soaked? Then let them dry out a bit before pressing them into “oatmeal”? Thanks so much!
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