Soak and Dehydrate your Nuts for Optimum Digestibility

It can’t just be at my place that the nut tray comes out at Christmas- it’s as Aussie as the smell of a BBQ. Nuts in chocolate, nuts in sugar, roasted nuts, raw nuts, mixed nuts – we go nuts!

Ever eaten a handfuls full of nuts and wonder why it feels as though you dropped a brick in your stomach? This happens because nuts that have not been soaked contain enzyme inhibitors that can cause uncomfortable digestion. If you have experienced this, please keep reading!

Soaking nuts, not all nuts, is a very important step. This doesn’t particularly apply to your Christmas nuts- well it can, but Christmas is an indulgence on many levels, and predominantly food – how blessed are we in this country! So save this nut soaking advice for your regular diet- not the Christmas nuts!

Make sure that you start off using RAW nuts. Roasted nuts and seeds are “dead”. They have been heated to the extent of killing the living enzymes, which is what we are after.

Seeds and nuts remain dormant until they are in a safe environment to begin the sprouting and growing process. They are high in vitamins, minerals, protein and healthy fats, nuts and seeds are little powerhouses of nutrition but these nutrients need to be released.

Soaking nuts and seeds is a long-lost, traditional method of preparation. When nuts/seeds are soaked and/or sprouted in water, the germination process begins, in which the active and readily available amounts of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, proteins and essential fatty acids begins to be activated and multiplies exponentially. However, nuts and seeds also contain phytic acid and large amounts of enzyme inhibitors which protect them from sprouting until they have the rain and sun they need to grow. They contain enzymes inhibitors that will limit digestion and it will significantly boost the nutrition of the nuts/seeds. And unfortunately, these natural chemicals are quite hard on the stomach, so this simple process can make all the difference in how you feel after consuming them.

Soaking also makes them much easier to digest and the nutrients more easily absorbed by your body. So, if you’ve ever had tummy trouble after eating nuts and seeds, don’t give up on them yet! This technique could make all the difference for you, it did for me.

Soaking and sprouting your nuts and seeds increases their vital minerals and nutrition, while also simultaneously allowing the inhibitor enzymes to shed off the nuts and into the water (that’s why it is important to rinse them off well), making them easier for your body to assimilate and digest out of the body.

Why soak nuts, grains and seeds?