Soaking Grains: An Exploration

Table Of Contents
  1. What Is Unhealthy about Whole Grains?
  2. What Is Healthy about Whole Grains?
  3. The Biblical Take on Grains
  4. What Are Phytates and Phytic Acid?
  5. What Is Phytase?
  6. What Are Lectins?
  7. How Do Lectins Hurt People?
  8. Lectins and Inflamed Joints
  9. Lectins and Weight Gain
  10. How Can We Avoid Lectins?
  11. What Now?
  12. The Debates
  13. Is White Flour Good for You?
  14. So Far, Sourdough Is the Best
  15. What about Sprouting?
  16. What Does Katie Do?
  17. All About Soaking Grains
  18. Soaked Grain Recipes
SOAKING GRAINS research and recipes

Some say soaking grains increases nutrient content and makes whole grains more digestible. Others say that’s bunk. I looked into the issue extensively via research, personal success stories, historical evidence, Scripture and scientists themselves – attempting to find credible sources beyond the book Nourishing Traditions.

What Is Unhealthy about Whole Grains?

Brown Rice
  • Grains are seeds. (All this information therefore, pertains to legumes, nuts and seeds as well.)
  • Seeds are meant to pass through the system relatively undigested so they can be planted elsewhere (think in nature).
  • To make it possible for seeds to pass through undigested, there are some anti-nutrients built in to make them difficult to digest.
  • Seeds also need to be preserved until the time is right for sprouting, so they have certain compounds that stop the active enzyme activity of germination.
  • These compounds also serve to hinder active enzyme activity in your digestive system.

In other words, when eating whole grains, you may not gain the benefits of all the minerals contained in the grain, PLUS it’s possible that they hinder your digestion of other things. No fair! (Read more on soaking grains basics.)

What Is Healthy about Whole Grains?

The whole grain has all the nutrients God put into grains: fiber, protein, healthy fats, and lots of vitamins and minerals. The straight starch in white flour, in the absence of the whole, is quickly turned into simple sugars in your body.

In my personal opinion, if God created a food with certain parts, those parts should be eaten together, unless there is a clear reason to do otherwise. In the case of whole grains, however, it may become a question not of “separated or united” but of “how to prepare”.

See more of the healthy parts of whole grains and a neat explanation of why we should avoid whole grain breakfast cereals (further down the post), including a description of how the “extrusion” process for cereals really works from an insider to the industry.

The Biblical Take on Grains

This post on grains in the Bible really says it all, and if you’re interested in the topic, I highly recommend you read the whole thing. A very incomplete summary is this:

Some biblical references to grains:

  • God told Adam he would toil and work the earth to survive. (Gen 3:17)
  • Joseph saved the nations by storing grain to prepare for the famine. (Gen 41)
  • The Israelites in slavery were commanded to rid the house of leaven and eat unleaved bread for the feat of the Passover, a tradition Jews also continue to this day. (Ex 12)
  • The prophet Elijah lived for a year on bread in the home of a widow. (1 Kings 17)
  • Christ said, “I am the Bread of Life.”  (Jn 6)
  • After the Resurrection, Christ’s followers recognized Him in the breaking of the bread. (Lk 24:30)  He had bread on the fire in Jn 21:9 when He greeted His best friends, the apostles.
God didn’t say to Adam, “Go hunt for your food.” The first animal was killed in the Garden of Eden as a result of man’s sin (to make clothing for Adam and Eve in their shame, Gen 3:21). That was also the point of agriculture, biblically, when Adam’s punishment for the Fall included, “By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat.”  He had to toil in the fields over the cursed ground, just as Eve now had pain in childbirth. Both man and woman have to labor to bear fruit. Neither is the original intent of our Creator, but consequences of our disobedience.

The first animal was given to man as food when the covenant was reestablished after Noah disembarked from the ark. God was starting over with His stiff-necked, sinful people, and in the new creation after the flood, yet another consequence of humanity’s sin included the death of more creatures:  “Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.”  (Gen 9:3)

The Scriptures are full of references to grains, many, many more than I have noted here. Clearly being solely meat eaters was not in the original perfect plan (but neither was tilling the soil.)  Grains have staked their place as a traditional food and meant for our consumption. The question remains: How to prepare them? On this, the Bible doesn’t exactly read like a recipe book.

My closing opinion:

With every other food, notably eggs and dairy, I often claim that what God created whole, we humans shouldn’t be taking apart. I can only believe that the same holds true for grains. Whole grains may need a little help to be super nutritious, but there’s got to be a way for them to nourish us. God wouldn’t sabotage us like that.

Read the whole article HERE.

What Are Phytates and Phytic Acid?

Now, we get into the heady stuff. Strap on your thinking caps, kids!

Phytates and phytic acid are not the same thing. They are related and work together, but one cannot speak of them interchangeably.

Phytic acid is billed as both an antioxidant and an anti-nutrient, clouding the issue from the get-go. It’s technically called a hexaphosphoinositol and is a powerful chelator, which means it binds with other minerals and takes them out of your system. This could be positive, toxin-reducing, and cancer-fighting, or negative, prohibiting your system from absorbing minerals.

That is, if phytic acid can get free in the first place.

Phytates are the bond holding phytic acid. Within the bran layer of a grain/seed, we find phosphorus bound up and unavailable, along with calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. The phytate connects these minerals to the phytic acid. In order to release the minerals into our bodies, we need to break the bond between phytate and phytic acid in one of three ways:

  1. in the gut with stomach acid
  2. via germination
  3. under the enzyme phytase

The problems with this information include:

  • How can the bonds be broken in reality in a home kitchen?
  • What happens to the now freed phytic acid? Is that bad for us too?
  • Will the phytic acid just reattach to the minerals before we digest them anyway?
  • If we rinse the soaked whole grains, does it wash away the phytic acid before it can “grab” the minerals again? Or do we rinse away the minerals too?

You can read the rest of the article on phytates and phytic acid related to soaking grains.

phytates in grains and legumes

The chart above shows levels of phytic acid/phytate in various grains and legumes. As you can see, although you may have heard oats are extremely high in phytate content, they are very similar to wheat. The trick with oats is found in the next section…

What Is Phytase?

Phytase is an enzyme. An enzyme is a protein in a living thing that causes action. Scientists call them catalysts; I’d just call them doers. They make life happen. Enzymes are not always in an active state, but can be dormant and need certain conditions to be activated.

Imagine a vehicle sitting in your driveway. Unless you have the key, it’s just a large object blocking your path. Once you have the key, however, it becomes a mode of transportation and quite useful. Phytase is the key to starting the engine within the grain. Making the phytates move out of the way is not possible without the “key” of phytase.

When activated, phytase attaches to the phytate to help release the phosphorus (phytic acid).

Phytase is in plants, including grains, as well as in the form of microbial phytase in yeast and sourdough leaven.

Various plants have differing amounts of the enzyme phytase. For example, wheat, rye, and barley have considerable amounts of phytase, whereas corn, oats, sorghum, and millet have little or no phytase activity. Baker’s yeast also contains phytase.

phytase activity

The chart above is from the Journal of Food Science, Vol. 67, No. 9, 2002. Wheat and rice are singled out as examples of low and high phytase. The “untreated” column shows phytase levels in natural foods.

Levels of phytase are much higher in freshly ground grain than flour that has been sitting around for more than a few days. The question now is how to activate phytase, realistically, scientifically proven, in a home kitchen?

For the rest on the issue, including phytase in the digestive system and what studies have and haven’t been done on phytase in humans, read What is the Role of Phytase in Soaking Grains?

bread slices

As if the landscape of eating grains wasn’t already confusing enough…I’m so sorry, but I have to throw another evil nutrient into the mix: lectins.

What Are Lectins?

In simple language, lectins are proteins that bind to sugars/starches found in all food substances. Stomach acid has little effect on lectins, so they’re virtually indigestible. The way they stick to other substances in the body plays a large role in inflammation, which means they’re pegged as possible causes or players in diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

The highest levels of lectins are found in grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, and the nightshade family (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, pepper, corn, and a few more), including oils from lectin-containing foods like soybeans. Doesn’t that list look a little like a list of common allergens? Wheat, dairy, peanuts, eggs, soy, corn…  It’s likely that grain-fed dairy and pasteurized dairy allow lectins to be even more toxic.2

It’s likely that our current diet contains more lectins than in years past, because we have hybridized and genetically modified things like wheat to increase its protein content. Since lectin is a protein, our lectin load is increased.

How Do Lectins Hurt People?

“The important point is that some of the lectins consumed in everyday foods act as chemical messengers that can in fact bind to the sugars of cells in the gut and the blood cells, initiating an inflammatory response.” 1 For example, gliadin is a term you may have heard of if you’ve look very deeply into the gluten issue. Gliadin is actually a lectin and component of wheat germ and gluten. It’s highly theorized that gliadin is the culprit in many issues blamed on gluten, particularly those autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Gliadin likely disrupts intestinal flora (good/bad bacteria balance), damages microvilli in the intestines, decreases immune response and causes gut permeability (“leaky gut syndrome” which allows all sorts of large, undigested food particles to enter the bloodstream, causing immune responses and harming the person’s body pretty intensely).

Different people respond differently to lectins, based on their genetics, bacterial or viral infections, use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories)  and other variables.2 Ironic, because NSAIDS are prescribed to treat inflammatory bowel disease.

What is food for some, is poison for others. For example, “The intestinal lining of people with Crohn’s disease and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) appear to be more sensitive to the effects of food lectins because the lining is constantly being replaced by new tissue that is made up of immature cells that are more glycosylated and thus more susceptible to lectin attachment. It becomes a vicious cycle.”1

Lectins and Inflamed Joints

Inflammation of the gut is clinically related to joint inflammation. Lectins are pegged again, and one proof is that nightshade vegetables like tomatoes and potatoes, very high in lectins, often exacerbate symptoms of arthritis.

Lectins and Weight Gain

One possible reason why low carb diets contribute to weight loss is that lectins, found in most abundance in those starchy foods like grains, legumes, and potatoes, can mimic hormones, namely insulin. Their binding property can cause them to bind to the insulin receptor and mimic insulin, telling the body, “Make fat.” Bummer. It also stays attached to the insulin receptor, delivering its message constantly. Bigger bummer.

How Can We Avoid Lectins?

sprouted lentils

Cooking doesn’t really affect most lectins, but two traditional food preparation methods destroy or nearly completely diminish lectin content:

  1. Sprouting not only increases the overall nutrition of seeds, but it completely destroys the lectin. You can sprout both grains and legumes.
  2. Soaking beans in water and tossing the soak water also dramatically reduces lectin content.

Some seaweeds can bind to the lectins, preventing them from doing their dirty work in your system.1

Sullivan2 recommends an elimination diet, cutting all high-lectin foods for 7 days, then eating them from one family (for example dairy OR nightshades, but not both) at every meal for one day, then taking two more days off and examining your reactions/symptoms. You can practice the elimination for each group to see where you might be sensitive, then learn to avoid those foods.

What Now?

Let’s take solace in that at least we know how easy it is to sprout legumes and how to make sprouted flour, and since we can’t really avoid 100% of lectins, we can’t worry our little heads about it. It’s just another piece of information to add to the puzzle.

The Debates

I had a good old time conducting email correspondence between an Australian PhD biologist, Dr. O’Brien and Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions. They heartily disagreed on just about everything, and I just wandered around with my big wooden spoon and questions, stirring the pot.

I can see why the discussions I posted here and here hurt people’s heads. I don’t even know how to summarize them. If you’re feeling very academic, please visit and help me sort it all out! The first post has over 80 comments and some pretty feisty opinions; I had forgotten about the mess I started to make with my big wooden spoon!

In short:

  • Although O’Brien took a great deal of time humoring me and my questions, he seemed to miss the point about phytase being the essential activator in the phytate/phytic acid breakdown. That fact alone renders much of what he says about “soaking” meaningless.
  • On the other hand, Sally Fallon Morell had trouble coming up with actual sources for her claims, and sent me isolated graphs in French, of all things. I was hoping that she would have more specific ammunition to justify the soaking practice.
  • In the second post, I questioned whether diluting vinegar, a pH of 4.5, exactly what phytase needs to activate, with water would change the pH. I now have pH strips and have tested many soaking solutions! Results to come as this series continues…
  • There are some interesting studies that actually involve phytase and phytates cited in the second post, and even one with human subjects, although hardly related to home cooking.
  • The point that makes me upset is Fallon Morell’s claim that soaking reduces aflatoxins. The research she shared with me to back up her claims were about an unfamiliar enzyme and literally days of soaking, rather than the 12-24 hours in vinegar water that she recommends. It can hardly be extrapolated to prove her point. Furthermore, Dr. O’Brien points out that aflatoxin is an extremely deadly carcinogen, and the reduction of slightly less than half cited by Fallon is hardly something to cheer about. I have since read in The China Study about aflatoxin, confirming its toxicity. I’d rather hear no explanation than research that is unrelated and unhelpful.

You can read both parts of the great debate here and here.

Is White Flour Good for You?

I doubt it, but wasn’t I surprised when 3 of my 5 “experts” weighed in in favor of white bread or using white flour along with the wheat. Really?

You’ll have to read their thoughts here.

So Far, Sourdough Is the Best

Sourdough preparation is, in my opinion, the healthiest way to prepare grains. It seems to be the most traditional via historical sources, and it also has the most positive research from what I could find. Read about sourdough health benefits if you want more details.

What about Sprouting?

Sprouting seems to have quite a bit of evidence for being healthier than unsprouted whole grains, but some sources say it doesn’t actually reduce the phytic acid content much. Nonetheless, many find that sprouting makes a huge difference in their families. I still advocate for its health benefits, as well, in part due to the research on lectins mentioned above. Read more here.

Do You Believe in Anecdotes?

I find people’s stories of how they find various kinds of grains to affect them positively fascinating. I can’t discount them as valid evidence, because if I found something that made me feel better, I’d do it and tell others all about it, too! There are lots of anecdotal stories about how people have felt when the soak their grains vs when they don’t.

What Does Katie Do?

Many ask me what our family actually does and whether I’ve come to a conclusion on the issue. Some think I should be clear about where I stand before sharing all this information.

1. I use soaked, soured, and some sprouted grains as much as possible. We eat some refined grains and occasionally whole wheat products, but they make me nervous. In spite of being a science geek, I have emotions too!

2. I have not come to a conclusion, scientifically, although I really appreciate hearing anecdotal evidence and other people’s stories.

3. I don’t want to tell people where I stand before presenting information, partly because I stand nowhere sound, and partly because part of my point in all of this is that people should be able to make their own informed decisions. I actually know far less than many other people but like to poke around and bother folks.

4. The end of this series will be a post called “To Soak or Not to Soak.” I can warn you right now, the title will likely be more the topic explored in the post, rather than a question to be answered in the post. Most likely, I’ll land somewhere vague and noncommittal.

Please remember that I’m only challenging the soaking practice to find the truth about how and why one might want to soak. I’m not trying to be a pain in the rear. I just seek balance, between extremes of food preparation, historical and scientific sources, and plain old common sense. Thanks for joining me. I am diving back in head first to share something new with you next week!

All About Soaking Grains

Here’s a wrap-up of my findings:

Soaked Grain Recipes

If you decide you don’t need to soak: How to Read a Bread Bag for Whole Grains

Sources:

1. Lectins Their Damaging Role in Intestinal Health, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Weight Loss by Carolyn Pierini, CLS (ASCP), CNC, here.

2. The Lectin Report by Krispin Sullivan, CN

70 thoughts on “Soaking Grains: An Exploration”

    1. Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Sounds like you’re getting your grains to maximum digestibility before eating them! Way to go!

      Reply
  2. njaimo

    Great informational and scientific article ! So, what is your conclusion ? To soak or not to soak ?

    Reply
    1. Carolyn @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Katie shares her final conclusion around the middle of this post: https://www.kitchenstewardship.com/that-whole-grains-question-is-it-time-for-to-soak-or-not-to-soak/ Basically, she says the data is so conflicting that she doesn’t feel qualified to recommend one or the other universally, but there are enough cases of people seeing a real difference when soaking that you should try it out and see if soaking makes a difference for your family. 🙂 Hope that helps!

      Reply
  3. Thomas

    I just read through your post. You seem to be a kindred spirit who has had your own unique experience with food sensitivities. Our family has been eating “healthily” for many years. Well, at least what we thought was healthy. We keep updating our healthy foods list and food preparation methods as we learn from from our own experiences with certain foods. As such, we’ve been completely off of wheat and soaking our other grains for many years. I personally am very sensitive to gluten as are some of my children and spouse. I feel lucky that I can eat and like the following wheat alternative grains: Rice (organic brown or wild), Corn, Teff (blond and brown), Quinoa, Millet (sparingly), Buckwheat, and Amaranth (which I do not like at all). Teff is my personal favorite. However, there is nothing quite like the wonderful texture and overall versatility and usefulness of wheat. Some day I hope to heal. According to my wife all I have to do is to heal my gut permeability. Alas.

    I have recently discovered Almond flour to be delicious and high protein. Also, by necessity, I have learned how to enhance my friendly gut flora by supplementing meals with sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, and other gut friendly bacteria. Many of us are in a similar battle that will take so serious discipline to overcome.

    I’ve learned a lot. More to learn still yet. Onward.

    Reply
  4. john

    Hi, do you suggest adding ACV to rice when soaking or is just in ordinary water sufficient to reduce the Phytic acid.

    John

    Reply
  5. Kris

    Just my thought on “What God created whole, we should eat whole”.

    I think it apply only to the garden of Eden. Since the fall, man has to sweat over his food, which I understand as, it will require work to prepare food for consumption. Not only harvesting but also grinding is part of that sweat in my view.

    Reply
    1. Joanne Guth

      I think you may have a point there.
      Genesis 3:17c-19a “You will eat from [the cursed ground] by means of pain all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will eat bread (or food) by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground…”

      Reply
  6. Lynn

    Yo! Just wanted to let you know I put a link to your post “Soaking Whole Grains,” up on my blog. Would have left a comment on the original article, but was unable to. Anyways, I love how you break down topics so thoroughly with links (and even opposing arguments!). It’s made for some great reading over the years.

    Reply
  7. Julie

    Hi Katie,
    Is there any way to remove the videos running on your website? They use loads of bandwidth, which is a problem for those of us with slower internet connections.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Hi Julie,
      I’m so sorry about that – we’ve been working with the ad networks to block those, as I am also not a fan! I highly recommend for you to install an Ad Blocker extension – that way you won’t have to wait for any ads, video or not, to serve on any sites, and everything will run much faster. 🙂 Katie

      Reply

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  10. Deanna Furrey

    Hi, I have what is probably a silly question but if you are soaking a recipe to make later, is it considered “soaking” if it is not wet? I made pizza dough to soak and it looked almost like regular dough. The word soak makes it seem to me like it should be a pretty wet batter. Thanks Deanna

    Reply

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  12. Andrea Hewitt

    I recently purchased a five pound bag of One Degree Organics -sprouted whole wheat flour from whole foods market. Is there any additional advantage, in your opinion, to soaking this? I’m mainly interested in trying your bread machine recipe, but a little scared that it won’t turn out if I soak the sprouted flour. Thanks for you input.

    Reply
    1. Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Andrea,
      Soaking sprouted flour is pretty much redundant…so you don’t need to, and you’re right, it might be too sticky. I’d use a sprouted flour recipe like this one: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/01/11/seeking-the-perfect-homemade-whole-wheat-essential-eatings-sprouted-bread-and-rolls-no-2/

      It’s super easy and so good, too! 🙂 Katie

      Reply
  13. Beth Lopez

    Thanks for the info! I currently mill my own grain but do not soak. I am trying to figure out what is best before I change what I am doing. I found this article on phytic acid at the Bread Beckers website that I thought was interesting (breadbeckers.com). Sue Becker presents a case against soaking…
    http://info.breadbeckers.com/phytic-acid/

    Reply
    1. Sal

      I’m afraid it’s an extremely flawed case Becker presents. For example, she misrepresents sara Shannon by stating that phytic acid is good for chelating radiation etc and that as long as you keep a quality diet all will be well. However, Shannon says the opposite, that you will actually need to supplement with zinc to counter the counter nutritive effects of phytic acid. Becker also claims that humans have the enzyme phytase –err.. no, we are not cows or sheep,. But perhaps Becker is used to regurgitating her food and reswallowing the vomit to ferment it somehow to imitate ruminating animals? She also claim sourdough left to ferment for several hours before baking will not be fermented! All in all Becker is a fruitcake.

      Reply

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  20. Nia

    So when I use Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, using whey as my water, does that count as soaking, or am I supposed to soak my flour before mixing a batch of dough?

    Reply
    1. Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Nia,
      Sort of. A long, long soak in the fridge does it, but you might leave the dough on the counter for a time too – http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/02/24/whole-wheat-artisan-bread-in-5-minutes-a-day-reviewand-soaked/
      🙂 Katie

      Reply

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  25. Felicia

    Thank you for putting together a great collection of information sources. I’ve been reading and re-reading your “Is your flour wet?” ebook. So far, every time I soak my flour, it gets dark on the top if left for more than 6-8 hrs. Is this OK? I’ve read through many websites on the subject and the comments and can’t find anyone else with a similar experience. I’d love to get your thoughts and those of your readers. Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship

      Felicia,
      Actually, that almost always happens to me, too – I always just figured it was a partial drying out or whatnot. I just mix and forget it! 😉 Katie

      Reply
  26. Lisa

    Hi there. I just found your blog and I am excited to have another resource for traditional cooking and food prep. However, all the links on this post are not working. Thought I would send up an FYI.
    ~Lisa

    Reply

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  29. Anna

    I have looked a little at soaking grains and the conclusion I came up with, albeit somewhat uneducated, is that the argument for soaking grains is like the argument for cooking vegetables; It seems to have benefits, yet there are also benefits to not doing it. Historically, people have done both, so I think that it is a matter of what is the needed nutritional help at the moment, and also personal preference.

    Reply
  31. Beth

    thanks for all your research! did you happen to come across anything that said soaking grains made wheat tolerable for people with wheat allergies? i would think it would be so for celiac dis, but wheat allergies are a reaction to the wheat itself, not it’s digestibility…trying to find answers! 🙂 thanks so much for your great content!

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Beth,
      Unfortunately, for celiacs, there is nothing known that can help. Gluten sensitivities are another story, and properly preparing grains can make a huge difference, as can cutting out grains for a time to allow the gut to heal. Two posts you should read:
      gnowfglins.com/2009/09/11/reverse-allergies-through-nourishing-foods/
      http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/10/27/the-comparison-the-specific-carbohydrate-diet-scd-gaps-diet-gut-psychology-syndrome-and-the-makers-diet/
      Good luck! 🙂 Katie

      Reply
    1. Katie

      Elena,
      You can absolutely make homemade soaked or sourdough pasta…but it wouldn’t work to soak boxed pasta. Mush. Bummer, right?
      🙂 Katie

      Reply
  33. shannon

    Hi Katie; well, I’m doing my own looking into this area again and am glad to have started sourdough. But, now after doing some browsing online, I’m wondering if phytic acid is even as bad as it sounds. Yes, I gather that it’s an anti-nutrient but it also sounds as if it’s an antioxidant. So, the idea that soaking is even necessary starts with the assumption that the phytic acid is “bad” to begin with and I’m not sure I’ve even come to that conclusion yet myself. I don’t know. I find this all fascinating but I know processed for sure isn’t the answer!

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Shannon,
      I know, I know…there is some research that phytic acid is good for you. The thing is, it is good because it detoxifies, which is kind of saying the same thing as “leaching things from your body.” So it’s just a matter of what you want from grains, in some way – put things in or take things out?

      Certainly it’s not that simple – but I’m still glad sourdough has such good research and history behind it, too! 😉 Katie

      Reply
  34. Frances

    Umm…I know I’ve seen it somewhere. I’m looking for one of your soaked whole wheat bread recipes without a sourdough starter. We started eating grains again and all of our health problems have returned but we just can’t afford a grain-free diet so I was hoping soaking would help. I’m going to start a starter too but that will take awhile. Thanks for being an amazing resource!

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Frances,
      All the whole wheat bread recipes I’ve been posting lately are listed at the bottom of this post: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/01/04/introducing-seeking-the-perfect-homemade-whole-wheat-bread/ or a breadmaker soaked version: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/recipes/soaked-breadmaker-bread/
      I really, really hope soaking helps! Sourdough will be a worthwhile effort too, for sure.
      🙂 Katie

      Reply
      1. Star

        Katie, I’ve been making your 100% soaked whole wheat breadmaker bread for years and love everything about it: the ingredients, flavour, texture, ease of making, etcHowever, somewhere between last week and this week, the link has become unavailable. Please fix so I can continue making it for my family? 🙂

        Reply
        1. Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship

          Whoops, sorry about that, Star! We didn’t change the recipe at all but did update the post and had some lag in fixing the new URL. Here it is: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/recipes/soaked-whole-wheat-bread/ (and soon the old one will redirect to the new one now that you reminded me!). So glad you enjoy it! 🙂 Katie

          Reply
  35. Noelle

    Question? I need to start adding solids to my baby’s breast milk meals. His doc says to add baby cereal to the milk but what would the “experts” say? How do I soak grains for him? Any advice for starting him right?

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Noelle,
      Most traditional foods folks say to avoid all grains for babies under one year old anyway. You could soak oatmeal and grind it finely with breastmilk once it’s time. Here’s a good post on feeding a baby: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/10/01/feeding-a-real-food-baby-breast-is-bestbut-then-what-guest-post-from-emily-at-live-renewed/
      (and see part two)
      🙂 Katie

      Reply
  36. erin

    I too love to “hear” your brain work and thank you for your study. This is a site that you might find interesting
    http://www.rebuild-from-depression.com/
    She has many graphs etc. where she shows how grains have been tested. blessings Erin

    Reply
    1. erin

      I feel a little silly. Amanda who I was referring to as my new expert in the above comment, already wrote you a note here! Oh well Amanda if you come back here I really am learning alot from your work.

      Reply
    2. Katie

      Thanks Erin! I do work with Amanda Rose of Rebuild from Depression and have her phytic acid white paper. Fascinating stuff!

      Reply
  37. Frances

    Thanks for the email with this link! I will try a few of these to see how they effect our health conditions. We are both very sensitive to carbs, although I’m still not sure which ones.

    Reply

  38. Pingback: Questions Answered | Domestic by Design

  39. Susan

    Have you ever soaked almond flour? I would like to know if soaking almond flour in water with yogurt will remove phytic acid.

    Also, would you use about 1 tablespoon of yogurt in the soaking water per cup of almond flour? I’ve been soaking almond flour this way, but I’m wondering if it’s really effective.

    The bread I make from the soaked almond flour has a strong yogurt taste, which I don’t really like. Do you have any suggestions about how to counteract the yogurt taste? I’m afraid to cut down on the amount of yogurt, because I’m afraid it won’t be as effective in removing the phytic acid.

    Thanks

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Susan,
      Great question – if the almond flour is from “blanched” almonds, first of all, without the “skin” or seed coat, it shouldn’t really have phytic acid problems, because that’s in the outer covering of the nut/seed. Otherwise, soaking as any other flour should do the trick. I find that whey is much more mild in flavor than yogurt for soaking. You could also try buttermilk or lemon juice.

      🙂 Katie

      Reply
  40. sclindah

    I was wondering in your research on soaking the grains if you have ever seen anywhere that soaking them helps reduce blood sugar levels after eating it. I am diabetic and find that I have to use whole grains sparingly!

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Sclindah,
      I don’t think I’ve seen any research to that end – BUT – sprouting grains decreases the starches/sugars and thereby the carbs, so I bet sprouting grains would be a great option for you. If you take your blood sugar after meals, you could sort of experiment on yourself with small amounts and see if if affects your sugar. You might want to read these posts:
      How to Sprout Grains and Legumes
      The Health Benefits of Sprouting
      How to Make Sprouted Flour

      Hope that helps!
      🙂 Katie

      Reply
  41. Joanna

    I have a question with your soaked granola bar receipe. How do I soak the oats… do I just soak them in the honey since that is the liquid in the receipe or do I add water as well?

    Also if I do not have Whey can I just use a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar?

    Thanks so much for your help.

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Joanna,
      For the granola bars, I soak oats and dehydrate them (in the oven) first, so they’re dry again before they go into the bars. (See instructions here. ACV is a great choice instead of whey, and lemon juice would work too.
      🙂 Katie

      Reply
  42. Amanda @ Phytic acid

    Katie — The whole grain versus milled grain issue is covered in my white paper. I think I even have a graph that displays an experiment comparing the two. You can see that it is easier to reduce the phytic acid in the milled grain, so the botanist is definitely on to something there.

    Amanda

    Reply
    1. Katie

      Thank you! That’s one of my many resources, to be sure, and I just made a “note to self” to look for that particular issue. 🙂 Katie

      Reply
  43. Annie

    I appreciate all your research about soaking grains. I look forward to reading the emails between S.F.M. and Teri O’Brien. For now I think I’ll try to just reduce our grain consumption…

    Reply

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