I've been reading about nutrition lately, and I've come across many claims stating that one should soak grains to reduce the amount of phytates in them, phytates being a potentially inflammatory nutrient and potential nutrient blocker, if eaten in large enough quantities.
I'm wondering if just boiling the grains until they're soft counts as "soaking;" in other words, if simply boiling until soft reduces the phytic acid just as much as soaking overnight. Obviously I see the time benefits of soaking beans overnight, but It's a lot more convenient if I can eat brown rice and lentils without having to soak them overnight.
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In case if you'd like to read the case against phytates--in other words, what I'm thinking through--here is what I think is a typical but likely overly biased article: http://wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains- ... ou-slowly/
(Tbh I don't like Wellness Mama or the book she bases a lot of her research on, Nourishing Traditions, but they're the one's writing anti-grain literature, so it's interesting to read their points and then reasonably consolidate or refute them).
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Other key considerations is sprouting or fermenting food to both reduce phytic acid content and make more vitamins & minerals available. For instance, soy beans can be difficult for the human digesting system to process, but sprouted soy beans have much more vitamin A & C, and tempeh, miso, or soy sauce are easier for the human digestive system to process.
The controversy of phytates in grains, nuts, seeds, etc.
Re: The controversy of phytates in grains, nuts, seeds, etc.
I would not bet on that, unless you change the water during the cooking OR you cook your grain with a high water/grains ratio.
Soaking activates enzymes (phytases) that degrade phytates, while boiling would just help phytic acid to diffuse in water...
Soaking activates enzymes (phytases) that degrade phytates, while boiling would just help phytic acid to diffuse in water...
Re: The controversy of phytates in grains, nuts, seeds, etc.
I know nothing of phytates, but that webpage really sets of a lot of alarm bells in my head. I'd be very skeptical to any information presented in it. I can see it claiming that paleolithic people didn't eat grains, which is demonstrably false. It also claims gluten is bad for you, even if you're not gluten intolerant, a claim for which there is very little, if any, scientific backing. So the phytates claim might be true, and it might not, but I'd look for a better source than that page.