SPROUTS A STORE OF ENERGY .. PART III.

In Part II we have read the following regarding grains/beans/lentils and how to unlock the large reserve of energy in these food items.;

1.The nature and importance of anti-nutrients in grains, beans and lentils

2.Phytates-the survival mechanism of the grain but very harmful to

humans

3.Why sprouting? --with emphasis on methods of soaking, sprouting.

4.Effect of sprouting on phytates

In this part let us have a look at the following questions:

* The Phytate threshold

* Is it beneficial to cook sprouts?

* Are Soaked, Sprouted and Fermented Grains Healthy?

(If NOT, should we eat them? …This question is ONLY about grains.)

* Preparation of brown rice

* How to handle phytate problem in beans, nuts, oats, corn ?

* The curious case of coconut.

* Soaking, Germinating, Sprouting and Fermination- Definitions.

1. The Phytate Threhold

It appears that once the phytate level has been reduced, such that there is more available phosphorus than phytate in the grain, we have passed a critical point and the food becomes more beneficial than harmful.

For best health, phytates should be lowered as much as possible, ideally to 25 milligrams or less per 100 grams. White rice and white bread are low-phytate foods because their bran and germ have been removed; of course, they are also devitalized and empty of vitamins and minerals.

In legumes, sprouting is the most effective way to reduce phytic acid, but this process does not get rid of all of it. Germination is more effective at higher temperatures. Consuming grains regularly that are only sprouted will lead to excess intake of phytic acid. Sprouted grains should also be soaked and cooked.

Brown rice is high in phytates. Brownrice has to be soaked for at least 8 hours in hot water plus a little fresh lemon juice or vinegar. If you soak in a tightly closed mason jar, the rice will stay warm as it generates heat. Drain, rinse and cook. If not soak for 24hours. Read 5 th point above.

At a minimum, beans should be soaked for twelve hours, drained and rinsed several times before cooking. Soaking longer , sprouting from 3 to 5 days is beneficial. Longer the duration, better.

2. Cooking with Sprouted Beans

You almost always want to cook your sprouted beans instead of eating them raw.

If cooked, preferably pan-fried or steamed briefly. Too long cooking and should be avoided to because of the loss of vitamins content. If sprout to be boiled, for example made vegetable soup, put the sprouts just before dishes removed. That way, vitamin C and enzymes that damaged estimated at only 20 percent. If boiled longer, the damage could reach at least 60 percent.

The only exception to this is mung .You can use raw Mung bean sprouts in salads, sandwiches and green smoothies. Cooking leads to significant losses in nutrients here.

Some people are more sensitive to raw sprouted legumes, and need to cook them. This is no reason to avoid the nutritious and enzyme-rich sprouts of other seeds.

Keep a written note on which you find digest the best, or which have any side-effects. Try lightly cooking the less-digestible raw sprouts in stir-fry's; the light cooking makes them much more digestible.

3.Are Soaked, Sprouted and Fermented Grains Healthy?

( This question is ONLY about grains.)

From a nutrient perspective, soaked/sprouted grains, if prepared in bread etc have much higher nutrient levels and lower anti-nutrient levels than grains that are just ground into flour and baked, but should they be eaten?

The question remains, do these methods reduce the harmful properties enough to make these grains safe to consume. Mark Sisson sums it up well in his article about traditionally prepared grains:Adding fermentation to the mix reduces the harmful properties even more, but does not completely render them harmless. Wheat is definitely at the more dangerous end of the grain spectrum, but the others aren’t harmless by a long shot, and many of them are higher in simple starches than wheat.

If Not, Should We Eat Them?

Certainly, these methods of preparation do improve the nutrient profile of what is otherwise a harmful food to consume, but this still doesn’t mean that sprouted, soaked or fermented grains (PLEASE NOTE WE ARE TALKING OF GRAINS HERE..) are healthy or that we need to consume them.

There is no need for grain consumption at all. There are no nutrients in grains, even traditionally prepared ones that are not found in other foods, and many other foods are higher sources of nutrients than traditionally prepared grains. If you are going to consume any grains, it would definitely be better to prepare them in one of these ways (or all three!) to make them less harmful to your body.

So, in short, grain consumption is not recommended at all, even if they are properly prepared, as they aren’t an exceptional nutrient source and they do have harmful properties. If you suffer from an autoimmune condition or leaky gut, even these types of grains should be carefully avoided as they can make the condition worse.

For the small percentage of the population that doesn’t have any food related problems and that have excellent gut health, some of these grains might be ok occasionally in moderation, but other than taste, there is no reason to eat them. For the little bit of nutrition they might provide, the benefit is still overshadowed by the harmful properties that still exist in small amounts (gluten, lectin, phytic acid, etc) and they take an extreme amount of preparation time and energy for this small amount of nutrition. There are no negative effects of removing it.

There is also a definite difference between grains high in anti-nutrients like wheat, barley, etc and ones like white rice (not brown rice) which are naturally free of the more potent anti-nutrients like gluten) and which seem to be somewhat less harmful. A higher percentage of tooth decay problems have been observed in populations consuming wheat than white rice.

4.Preparation of brown rice.

1. Soak brown rice in dechlorinated water for 24 hours at room temperature without changing the water. Reserve 10% of the soaking liquid (keep it in the fridge for later use). Discard the rest of the soaking liquid; cook the rice in fresh water.

2. The next time you make brown rice, soak it in plain water PLUS the reserved soaking liquid from last time. Repeat the same process for cooking the rice and reserving 10% of the soaking liquid in the fridge.(fermentation helps)

3.brown rice becomes significantly softer and more digestible after the fourth cycle.

5. Preparation of beans, nuts, oats and corn

If beans are a staple of your diet, extra care is needed in their preparation, including soaking for twenty-four hours (changing the soaking water at least once) and very long cooking. In general, soaking beans and then cooking removes about 50 percent of phytic acid. Germinating and soaking, or germinating and souring is the best way to deal with beans; Idlis and dosas made from soaked and fermented lentils and rice is a good example from India. In Latin America, beans are often fermented after the cooking process to make a sour porridge, such as chugo.

We still do not have adequate information on nut preparation to say with any certainty how much phytic acid is reduced by various preparation techniques. Soaking in salt water and then dehydrating to make “crispy nuts” makes the nuts more digestible and less likely to cause intestinal discomfort, but we don’t know whether this process significantly reduces phytic acid, although it is likely to reduce at least a portion of the phytic acid.

Roasting probably removes a significant portion of phytic acid. Roasting removes 32-68 percent of phytic acid in chick peas and roasting grains removes about 40 percent of phytic acid. Germinated peanuts have 25 percent less phytic acid then ungerminated peanuts. Soaking has been suggested as a means to reduce the phytic acid content in grains and nuts. Almonds have a high value of Phytic acid. Better to soak them for 24 to 48hours.

Oats contain very little phytase, the good enzyme/protein.. Soaking oats at 77 degrees F for 16 hours resulted in no reduction of phytic acid, nor did germination for up to three days at this temperature. On the plus side, the process of rolling oats removes a at least part of the bran, where a large portion of the phytic acid resides. Corn is high in phytic acid and low in phytase. Extrusion as used in popcorn has some other ill-effects.

Seeds—such as pumpkin seeds( Rich source of Magnessium)—are extremely high in phytic acid and require thorough processing to remove it. Some may be removed by soaking and roasting. It is best to avoid consuming or snacking on raw seeds.

6. The curious case of coconut.

The mineral-binding effect of the phytates in coconut is essentially nonexistent. It is as if coconut has no phytic acid at all. Therefore, soaking or other phytic acid-neutralizing processes are completely unnecessary. In the tropics coconut has been consumed as a traditional food for thousands of years. Those people who use it as a food staple and regard it as "sacred food," do not soak it or process it in any way to remove phytates. It is usually eaten raw. This is the traditional method of consumption. They apparently have not suffered any detrimental effects from it even though in some populations it served as their primary source of food.

7.Soaking, Germinating, Sprouting and Fermentation- Definitions.

Soaking - This is simply letting the grains/legumes sit in water. This usually precedes germination, but with high phytase grains like wheat and rye, this may be sufficient to reduce a significant amount of phytates. Soaking in an acidified liquid (with whey, vinegar, etc. added) will encourage the activity of phytase.

Germinating - an early stage of sprouting, usually involves soaking the grains/legumes for ~12 – 24 hours, draining, and keeping in a warm place for 1-3 days, rinsing often, until the seeds open up and you can see the beginnings of a shoot.

Sprouting - sprouting is sometimes used interchangeably with germination, but I think of it as the next stage after germination when you continue rinsing the sprouts for several more days, encouraging longer shoots to form. Longer the better.

Fermentation (this could also be referred to as "souring") - in this context, this usually refers to introducing (or encouraging the propagation of) lactobacilli and/or other friendly acidifying flora by adding whey, yogurt, buttermilk, sourdough starter or fermented brine to the grains/legumes that you want to ferment. If you keep grains warm and wet you will often get spontaneous fermentation, though you may also get rot, the smell will be your guide.

The intention of the article in three parts I, II and III( Please read in the same order for better understanding) is not to impose a decision about whether or not to consume grains, nuts, seeds and beans; rather it is to clarify how to consume them with awareness.

It is not necessary to completely eliminate phytic acid from the diet, only to keep it to acceptable levels. In the context of a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin C, good fats and lacto-fermented foods, most people will do fine on an estimated 400-800 mg per day. For those suffering from tooth decay, bone loss or mineral deficiencies, total estimated phytate content of 150-400 mg would be advised. For children under age six, pregnant women or those with serious illnesses, it is best to consume a diet as low in phytic acid as possible.

I have outlined methods by which you can maximize your health by making grain-based foods more digestible and absorbable. Now it is very clear which foods contain phytic acid, what the health effects of phytic acid are and how to mitigate phytic acid in your diet with complementary foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin D and calcium. Methods for preparation of grains, seeds, and beans have been clarified, so that you can estimate how much phytic acid you are consuming. One meal high in phytic acid won’t cause a healthy person any harm. But high phytic acid levels over weeks and months can be very problematic.

Putting it altogether:

*.Soaking, germination, boiling, cooking, and fermentation all inactivate phytic acid and free up minerals for absorption. In real-life situations, for otherwise healthy people, the consumption of grains in recommended amounts undergoing the above processes has had no adverse effect on mineral status.

*.Whether fermented or not, gluten-containing grains can wreak havoc on our health, and eliminating them can change our health dramatically.

*.I find it interesting that when we start looking at one nutrient in the foods we eat, we start to often get into heated discussions and factions often may form. People then often relate everything to this one nutrient and forgetting that nothing in nature is offered only by itself. However, after vegetables and fruits grains/legumes/beans are the largest food source for mankind and Nature has evolved a way to prevent beings from consuming them. The highest evolved species on earth has found ways to counter this hidden code.

*.Phytate does not "grab and deplete" the body of minerals. There is a competitive dynamic equilibrium which controls the amount of minerals absorbed and available to the body in the presence of phytate. Also, like most things, phytic acid is not 100% evil. It's not black and white. It is okay and even beneficial to have in small amounts,( this is still being contested) but the danger comes when people eat way too much of it. Moderation is again the key, 300 to 400mg/day.

*.Vitamin A reduces the inhibition of iron absorption by phytates and polyphenols. Eat sprouts together with a piece of raw milk cheese, lots of butter.

*.Unfermented soy products, extruded whole grain cereals, rice cakes, baked granola, raw muesli (w/o rolled oats) and other high-phytate foods should be strictly avoided.

It is believed that Cocoa beans are generally fermented and roasted to make chocolate. (To be verified)

ANTI-NUTRIENTS AS PROTECTORS

Some of the substances commonly referred to as anti-nutrients are actually powerful cancer-protecting phyto-chemicals. These include protease inhibitors and tannins. Research shows that protease inhibitors are one of the most powerful anti-carcinogens we have in our arsenal. They have proven to be particularly protective against cancer of the colon, breast, and prostate. Tannins have also been shown to give substantial protection against cancer (including cancer of the stomach and lungs) when ingested orally. Total pomegranate tannins extract ( TPT) were evaluated for its benefits as antioxidants.

The benefits of moderate levels of phytic acid in patients with kidney stones and some types of cancer have been reported but they were not in controlled experiments. Phytates also have the potential for use in soil remediation, to immobilize uranium, nickel and other inorganic contaminants.

Many of the natural and synthetic inhibitors of the proteases prevent the dissemination of cancer cells and have also inhibitory effect on tumor growth.

Let us be NOT

“Too soon old! Too late smart! “- George Bernard Shaw.

EMPOWER YOURSELF WITH INFO….THAT IS THE ONLY WAY…..

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