Sprouting is the action of germinating seeds, be it grains, nuts, beans, or seeds and makes them easier to digest thus your body can receive the full nutritional content of the food.
It seems more and more people are feeling sick and run down. Why? Did we lose something? Was something forgotten? There may be many reasons for this, but one major contributing factor is grain consumption has steadily risen over the past several decades in the diets of most developed nations.
The technology of soaking, sprouting and fermenting seeds has been a part of almost every culture in one way or another because our ancestors understood and discovered the many benefits of preparing our food in this way.
A huge benefit is that anti-nutrients are greatly reduced when soaking, sprouting, and fermenting. Anti-nutrients are natural compounds found in plant seeds that interfere with our bodies ability to digest the vitamins and minerals within the plants.
Why do these anti-nutrients exist? Two reasons….
1) Anti-nutrients are a survival mechanism within plants. They ward off pests and insects because once ingested the plant’s predators become somewhat sick.
2) Since enzymes are unstable the enzyme inhibitors in all seeds keep the enzymes dormant until germination. Through the process of soaking, the seed absorbs water, begins sprouting, and the enzymes deactivate the enzyme inhibitors, imitating nature’s design of germination. Amazingly, in this process the wonderful beneficial enzymes in the food remain and give us the ability to digest and enjoy these foods without many of the negative digestive side affects that commonly occur.
Types of anti-nutrients:
Phytic acid– Phytic acid or phytate binds up calcium, copper, iron, magnesium and zinc and can stunt growth. Phytate can lock up 80 percent of phosphorous, cause calcium excretion; inhibit zinc absorption by 80 percent and magnesium by 40 percent. Anemia, bone loss and a host of health conditions can result from deficiencies of these minerals. Phytic acid also inhibits our digestive enzymes which are needed to break down starches and proteins.
Polyphenols– Polyphenols can inhibit digestion of copper, iron, zinc and vitamin B1, along with enzymes, proteins and starches found in plant foods.
Enzyme inhibitors– these are found in plant foods and prevent adequate digestion and can cause protein deficiency and gastrointestinal upset. Tannins are enzyme inhibitors and so are other difficult-to-digest plant proteins like gluten. Enzyme inhibitors cause digestive problems, which research has found to exasperate everything from allergies to mental/emotional issues.
Lectins and Saponins– these are anti-nutrients that affect the gastrointestinal lining, contributing to leaky gut syndrome and autoimmune disorders. Lectins are particularly resistant to digestion by humans because they enter our blood and trigger immune responses. Lectins can cause GI upset similar to classical food poisoning and immune responses like joint pain and rashes. Improperly prepared dairy, rice, and legumes like peanuts and soybeans have especially high lectin levels.
Anti-Nutrients, the possible culprit to your gut issues and overall health. Anti-nutrients create an entire host of negative effects on our gut and therefore, our health, like leaky gut, autoimmune disorders, allergies, and the list goes on and on. This is why many people react poorly to eating most grains and foods that are created with these anti-nutrients in place, especially ones that are not sprouted. Humans were not designed to break down anti-nutrients in plant compounds that bind up and/or deplete vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from the human body. Regularly consuming high amounts of anti-nutrients can significantly impact your health. Thank God that sprouting and soaking seeds breaks down anti-nutrients, which makes the seeds more digestible, and unleashes healthy compounds found in plant foods.
Take it a step further with fermentation. Once you soak or sprout your seed then fermenting your foods is a method in which the seeds naturally become fermented by combining them with wild yeast and an acidic liquid. While soaking/sprouting doesn’t always require acid, fermenting does. Fermentation creates probiotics, increases healthy bacteria, helpful enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and predigests foods making it easier on digestion. Therefore, your body works more efficiently to absorb and use the food’s nutrients. There are many foods and drinks that can be prepared and made to enjoy using the process of fermentation.
Soaking and Sprouting:
Soaking – The whole seed is soaked in liquid for a period of time, sometimes mixed with an acidic medium like apple cider vinegar.
Sprouting– The whole seed is germinated. After it’s sprouted, it can be dehydrated and ground into flour.
You must first soak something before you can sprout it. So sprouting takes place after soaking, and further enhances digestibility.
The consensus is that foods which are soaked and then able to sit, sprout, and grow are more nutrient dense and nutrient available to the body, and are easier to digest.
How to Soak & Sprout:
Every seed is not the same so be sure to read and download our guide to individual seeds. Raw sprouts have the potential to grow bacteria (i.e. mold) that can potentially be harmful, so here are a few tips.
Look for raw seeds labeled “certified pathogen-free”. Some companies still sell seeds as “raw”, however they may have been pasteurized and irradiated. You will know whether what you bought is really raw or not if they sprout.
Always add enough water to cover the seeds by at least 2 inches. Remove any floating debris that look uneven or unfamiliar. Keep your sprouting containers sanitized.
Directions to Soak: Click here for our sprouting guide
Directions to just barely sprout (like for flour):
The longer your sprouts get the less flour you will have. Therefore, when sprouting for flour you want to just see the heads of the sprouts coming out and then call it good. Consider soaking your seeds in a one gallon glass jar, then drain and cover with either a sprouting lid or a muslin cloth with a rubber band. Turn the jar on a diagonal so that some air comes through. I balance mine on the edge of the kitchen sink and let the base of the jar lean on my heavy blender. Find what works for you. Generally sprout heads will appear within 8-12 hours. Dehydrate. The soaking and sprouting guide helps with dehydration times. Grind then store in the freezer for a month, use as desired. If you don’t grind them you can still store in the freezer for a month.
Directions to grow tall sprouts:
Strain them and leave them out in a dish where they will be exposed to air.
They will dry out so be sure to spray water on them several times a day or maintain a very little amount of water at the bottom of the plate to feed itself as needed. The bottom water feeding method does have a greater degree of mold growth possibility than top water feeding.
Leave them out until you reach your desired sprout length, anywhere from an 1/8-inch to 2-inches long.
When complete, rinse sprouts well, drain, and store in a jar or container for up to 7 days refrigerated. However, do try to consume them very quickly. Everyday you need to rinse the sprouted seeds and put them on a fresh plate. This will help avoid having any mold or harmful bacteria grow.
To be in the know about…..
Flax and chia seeds are difficult to sprout (though doable) so most people avoid trying this, however you can soak these small seeds easily. When soaking or sprouting, these seeds take on a gelatinous texture during the process, but this is normal.
Macadamia nuts and pine nuts usually just need a soak and not so much a sprout unless a recipe calls for it (which is pretty unusual).
Don’t sprout red kidney beans as they contain a very toxic lectin called phytohaemagglutinin.