Soak your nuts…
If you love brown rice, raw almonds, or black beans they all have something in common: They don’t want to give up their nutritive magic very easily. They need a little courting. Here’s the deal…
Phytic acid is the enzyme inhibitor that keeps these seeds dormant. Until they get “planted” and “watered” they are programmed to stay “locked” up. For those who love to eat raw nuts, whole grains and legumes for their vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and amino acids, there is a key step in the processing of these items in order to unlock all of the nutritional potency and neutralize the phytic acid–sprouting.
What this means is that all of these raw items need to be soaked in water and sprouted. Soaking/sprouting times vary, but at a minimum over night soaking is a good start. The word on the street about brown rice is that a good soak in water over night, change the water in the morning, rinse, drain, and let it go throughout the day prior to cooking at night.
Not only does this soaking/sprouting neutralize phytic acid, but it also allows all of the nourishing elements that are bound up by the phytic acid to be released and made available for easy digestion and assimilation.
The saying, “you are what you eat” is fine. But I heard an amendment to that saying recently: “you are what you assimilate.” True dat. It does no good to eat a whole load of grains or raw nuts without the ability to assimilate their potent profile of vitamins, minerals and aminos.
Now if you want to buy sprouted brown rice you’re in luck. Whole Foods stocks a version from Minsley. They make a good product. Their main marketing gag is that sprouted brown rice has an increased level of GABA (Gamma-aminobuteryic acid). GABA increase in sprouted brown rice ranges from 5-15 times that of regular brown rice and thus is a great source for this feel-good amino. GABA has been shown to have several key health benefits. I will say that any chance you can get a natural source of GABA is a good thing.
So whether it’s quinoa, millet, raw almonds, or brown rice, just make sure you unlock the potential before you dish it up. Remember–sprout your grains and soak your nuts. It’s a good thing. Really.
Word.
