How to Reduce Phytic Acid in Grains and Legumes

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Reducing Phytic Acid in Grains and

Legumesby KimiHarris on September 7, 2010

In my post, Phytic Acid in Grains and Legumes, I shared some of my research which

led me to conclude that phytic acid does indeed bind with minerals such as calcium,

Page 1 of 32Reducing Phytic Acid in Grains and Legumes

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phosphorus, iron and zinc. If you depend on grains and legumes for a high portion ofyour diet, then those phytates (phytic acid) could lead to mineral deficiences. This may

be one of the biggest reasons that traditional societies fermented their grains. Now thequestion is, how do we effectively reduce phytic acid? But remember, I am sharingnitty-gritty details. If you find this overwhelming, remember you can simply bypass all

of this, know that using traditional methods are beneficial and be happy. But if youwant to know more information, then keep reading!

Once again, I feel that I still have many (many!) questions on this topic, and there is a

whole lot of research to digest and write about, but here is some of the information Ivegathered so far.

As you will remember, phytase is the enzyme that neutralizes phytic acid (also calledphytates). We produce some phytase ourselves, and those of us with robust probioticdigestive health may produce even more of it. Our bodies should be able to neutralize

some of the phytic acid we consume.

Some grains contain high amounts of phytase making it much easier to neutralize thephytic acid in them, while others are a lot lower. Sprouting, soaking in warm

temperatures in an acid environment and fermenting also activates this importantenzyme. The grains that are high in phytase include rye, wheat, barley, and buckwheat.

[i] Grains low in phytase include corn, millet, oats and brown rice. [ii] How effective issprouting, soaking or fermenting grains? Lets look first at some of the historical

methods of processing grains and then delve into some of the scientific studies done onthis subject.

Historical Methods

Using the source, Fermented Cereals: A Global Perspective, you get a good idea of a

few methods that were used traditionally (and are still used in many places).

For all of these nations and people groups, the art of fermentation is a little different.Many of the Asian ferments use a culture from mold growing on raw or cooked grains.

Some nations would actually chew some of the raw grain and spit it out into a pot. Theenzymes from their salvia would help break down the grain during the fermentation

process (though I have to admit that this American isnt going to try it!).

Other ferments relied on the gathering of wild yeast from the air, which is turn wouldturn their foods into a tangy, and more easily digested product. Examples of this

include our familiar sourdoughs as well as certain Indian ferments. In Mexico a processusing wood ash or lime called nixtamalization is used in soaking corn. I notice that

most of these grain ferments take days, so length of time is definitely a factor I alsonotice that many (though not all) use some type of starter enzyme, especially the Asian




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ferments. Others use malting and fermenting. One African ferment, Mahewu, takescooked maize, and cools it. Then wheat flour is added as the source of inoculum.

After being left in a sunny place for 24 hours, it has fermented. For injera, the dough isinculated with leftover liquid from the last injera dough (like sourdough bread)!.Another, kishk, involves taking boiled wheat and soaking it in buttermilk, then drying

it. All in all, there seems to be many methods and there seems to be evidence for usingsprouting, fermentation, and soaking in a cultured dairy for preparing grains as a

traditional practice

Scientific Research

Although there is an almost overwhelming glut of studies, most are just studying one

grain and even just one method, so there are a lot of gaps still in my mind. However, I

wanted to share a few of the studies as I think that they are helpful.

Sprouting Beans, Lentils and Peas

One study researched the effect that germination had on beans, lentils, and peas. First

the legume was soaked in water (with added chlorine, which I do not recommend!) andthen they sprouted the legumes for 72 hours at 77 degrees fahrenheit. They found that

not only did the legumes have increased crude protein as well as an increased contentof all amino acids, but also a significant increase in phytase and a significant decrease

in phytates. [iii]

Sprouting Grains and Legumes and Fermenting them Together

Grains and legumes were often fermented together traditionally such as for the battersto make dosas and idli. One study tested the effects that germination (sprouting) and

fermentation had. Germination of all of the separate grains and legumes (finger millet,green gram, black gram and chickpeas) showed positive effects on iron and zinc

bioaccessibility. The fermented batters of rice and black gram showed significantreductions of phytic acid and tannins levels, but when they added chickpea and greengram to make another traditional dish, dholka, there wasnt as much of a drop in phytic

acid levels. They found that germination of grains increased the availability of iron, butnot of zinc, while the fermentation batters using rice and black gram had more

availability of both zinc and iron, though for the batter of dholka this was not true. [iv]

Sprouting Peas

Another study found that sprouting peas for 4 days increased the bioavailability of zinc

and magnesium. [v].

Sprouting a High Phytic Acid Pea




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When a high phytic acid pigeon pea was released by the Department of Plant Breedingin India, they tested it for different methods of reducing phytic acid. They found that

germination (sprouting) was the best method of reducing phytic acid ( 35% to 39%),while dehulling, soaking and then pressure cooking also had good results. All in all,soaking, soaking and dehulling, and sprouting and cooking pigeon peas all were

effective in decreasing phytic acid and increasing the availability of minerals such ascalcium, phosphorus and iron. [vi]

Soaking, Dehulling and Sprouting Cowpeas

Another study found that soaking cowpeas for 12 hours, dehulling of soaked seeds andgerminating cowpeas contributed significantly to reducing phytic acid and tannin

levels. Dehulling as well as germination increased the digestibility to of both thestarches and the protein in the cowpea. [vii]

Sprouting Millet

Four pearl millets were germinated over a six day period and tested to see what the

effects were on mineral levels and phytic acid levels. They found that germinationsignificantly reduced phytic acid and that different minerals were lowered or raised

according to the type of millet germinated. Overall, the conclusion was that there was agood correlation between antinutirtional factors reduced and minerals being more

available through germination. [viii]

Sprouting Rye and Barley

I thought this other study using rye and barley very interesting too. Basically, they tookrye and barley and soaked it, then sprouted it and studied the effects on phytase and

phytic acid. The soaking alone had some effect on phytic levels in the case of rye, butthe sprouting increased phytase, and degraded phytic acid dramatically (84% phytic

acid degradation for rye and 58% for barley). [ix] This study was done for betternutritional for animal feed by the way. Apparently no one was thinking of us poorhumans.

Using Sprouted Flour to Reduce Phytic acid in Non-Sprouted flour

Another study that I found very intriguing (with promise of being helpful to homecooks), was one conducted with sorghum malted flours. Sorghum was sprouted for 1,

2, 3 and 4 days to get varying degrees of malted flour. Then it was added to nonsprouted flour (5% and 10% sprouted flour to 90 to 95% non sprouted) and placed in a

warm environment (86 degrees Fahrenheit) with shaking for 30, 60, 90 and 120minutes. They found that the longer the sorghum had been sprouted and the longer theyincubated it with the non sprouted flour, the more phytic acid and tannins were




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reduced. When using the four day sprouted sorghum flour and incubating it for 120minutes, they had reduced phytic acid and tannins by 92% and 98%!!!![x]

This makes me wonder if we could duplicate this practice at home by adding sprouted

flour to our soaking dishes to jump start the process of reducing phytic acid. It makesperfect sense as sprouting does release phytase. So if you add sprouted flour to say, a

batter for soaked muffins, it makes logical sense that those live and released phytaseenzymes would immediately begin to work to reduce the phytic acid content. Exciting!

Soaking, Fermenting and Using Germinated Flour with Maize

Another study aimed to see the effectiveness of different methods one could use at

home to process white maize. Soaking, fermentation and using germinated flour wereall studied. This study was really interesting because the most effective way to reduce

phytic acid surprised me. Natural lactic acid fermentation slurries resulted in 88%retainedphytates. In other words, it only reduced phytic acid by 12%. When a starter

culture was used, 61% of the phytates were retained, 39% of the phytates removed.When germinated flour was used as a booster, 29% of the phytic acid was removed.But when they used both pounded maize and maize flour and simply soaked it and then

removed the excessive water, the pound maize retained 49% of the phytates (51% ofthe phytates were removed) and the 57% of the phytic acid was removed when soaking

the maize flour. [xi]

A few points here, maize is very low in phytase (the enzyme that helps reduce phyticacid). Using a germinated rye or wheat flour would have most likely had a much

higher effect because they are high in phytase enzymes already. Also note that the morefinely ground flour had even more phytic acid removed than the coarsely ground

maize. We could conclude that it is easier to reduce phytic acid in flour in comparisonto whole grains.

Raw Brewers Yeast Efficiently degrades phytates in corn and soy gruel

Another study that really blew my mind with new possibility was one that found that

soaking with raw brewers yeast was effective in degrading phytic acid in corn and soymeal! They also mention that microbes such as yeast and aspergillus are known to

produce phytase and aspergillus phytase has been used as an additive to animal feed toimprove the phospohorus bioaviability by reducing phytates. [xii] Of course the only

problem for the home cook is this, I think that all brewers yeast sold to the public isgenerally deactivated.

Soaking and Dehulling Millet and Soybeans




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A 2005 study researched the phytates, phytase activity and iron and zinc levels after thesoaking of whole seeds, dehulled seeds and flour of both millet and soybeans. They

found that with millet dehulling and milling before soaking helped both the phytatesand the phytase to be leached into the soaking liquid and result in phytate reduction.Whereas, dehulling soybeans resulted in a marked increase in phytate content, but

milling the soybeans helped there be more interactions between the phytates and thephytases. The phytic acid rato to both iron and zinc only decreased slightly with

soaking. The most phytic acid reduction was found at 8 hours for millet (I wonder ifthey only soaked for 8 hours? They may have had better results with soaking for a

longer period of time or with a phytase addition since millet is low in phytase) andsoaking whole soy beans for 24 hours. They found that cooking the soaked flours in the

soaking water didnt further reduce the phytic acid. [xiii]

Lactic Acid Fermentation of Millet

Because fermented millet slurries are an important food for young children in othercountries, there was a study testing to see the lactobacillus bacteria found in these

fermentations to see if they had phytase activities. The amount of phytase theyproduced varie,d, but phytase activity was found in all five strains selected. They also

found that lactic acid bacteria also produced amylase (the enzyme that helps breakdown starch) and -galactosidase. They concluded that this discovery went hand in

hand with previous studies showing that phytates were reduced in millet lactic acidfermentations. [xiv]

Sourdough Fermentation

I wished that not so many of the studies just used part of the wheat berry. I found one

using just the bran and another just the germ. But they are still useful. It was found thatsourdough fermentation made protein more digestibile, the concentration of total

phenols, phytase and antioxidant activies were increased and the concentration of antinutritional factor raffinose also decreased. [xv] I was also amused to see that one article

looking for phytic acid content in the diet of the modern man in Finland (under theimpression that phytic acid is positive) noted that traditional sourdough rye bread was

not a good source of phytic acid! Its generally understood that sourdough bread is veryeffective in reducing phytates, perhaps one of the best methods.

Sprouting Oats

When oats were sprouted, the phytic acid was reduced from .35% to .11% (or in other

words, about 2/3s of the phytic acid was reduced). [xvi]

QUINOA PHYTATE REDUCTION




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I thought that this chart published in the Living with Phytic Acid article, veryinteresting and helpful. You see that soaking and then cooking quinoa reduces phytic

acid by a significant amount, while soaking with whey increases the phytic aciddegredation even further. Finally, sprouting and then lacto-fermenting (fermenting with

lactic acid) almost completely reduced phytic acid.

PROCESSPHYTATEREDUCTION

Cooked for 25 minutes at 212 degrees F 15-20 percent

Soaked for 12-14 hours at 68 degrees F, then cooked 60-77 percent

Fermented with whey 16-18 hours at 86 degrees F, then cooked 82-88 percent

Soaked 12-14 hours, germinated 30 hours, lacto-fermented 16-18hours, then cooked at 212 degrees F for 25 minutes

97-98 percent

Roasting Grains

In the same article, Ramiel also mentions a study that I was unable to get my hands onthat showed that roasting wheat, barley, or green gram (a legume) reduced phytic acid

by about 40%. However, roasting will also deactiviate phytase so when soaking afterthe roasting period, you should add some type of additional culture that contains

phytase (such as sprouted rye flour) to further decrease phytic acid.

Ground Flour and Rolled Oats

On that same note, since a high heat will deactivate phytase, you want to use flour thatwas ground at a low temperature otherwise it will no longer contain phytase. Oats are

also almost always treated with heat, so they will also not have active phytase. Phytasemay also decrease over time after grinding, so home ground flour is superior.

Conclusion

I find that there are adequate amounts of studies demonstrating that soaking,

germinating (sprouting), lactic acid fermentation and other methods do have asignificant effect on phytic acid reduction. It was a little distressing to me at first that

we are often simply reducing phytic acid instead of completely eliminating it, but50% less phytic acid is certainly still a much better percentage than 100%. How

effective each method is seems to depend on a lot of variables, but most oftencombining methods, such as sprouting, and then fermenting a grain or legume has the

most effect. This isnt to discourage us from just using one of the methods if thats allwe have time for, but just to say that doing more than one is even better.




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How do We Recreate This?

While those in previous generations had grandmothers and mothers to teach them howto ferment their local grains with local methods, we are having to recreate and relearn

this process. Heres a few things to get you started.

First, use freshly ground flour is at all possible.

Moisture is the first thing you need(thats why its often called soaking grains).

Warmth The soaking/fermenting period will be much more productive in a warm place.Placing the soaking grains or batter in the warmest place of the house is a good idea,

especially in the winter. You can also place in the oven with the pilot light on. You willsee that many of the studies above used quite high temperatures. If we wanted to get

closer to that, we could try a few things. Placing our bowl of fermenting or sproutinggrains or legumes in a dehydrator on a very low setting is one option. Placing it in a

warm laundry room is another. Making a little pilot light box is another idea. It alsoseems that the more cold it is, the longer you will want to ferment your grains or

legumes.

Acidic Environment: Its also important that the soaking water or liquid is acidic. Thishelps neutralize the anti-nutrients. You should add about one tablespoon of something

acidic to the soaking water per cup of water.

Enzymes: I personally feel that using something that is rich in enzymes for your acidic

addition, such as whey, raw apple cider vinegar, a fermented beverage such asGrainsfields, buttermilk or yogurt, is the best choice as I think that those rich inenzyme additions will help jump start the process of breaking down the grains more

quickly. When I read about the traditional fermented grain dishes, I realized that mostof them had some type of starter or wild yeast enzymatic action going on. Sourdoughs

are naturally acidic and full of wild yeast and enzymes and very effective in breakingdown anti- nutrients.

High Phytase Grain added to Low Phytase Grain: Adding a high phytase flour, such as

buckwheat, rye or wheat to a low phytase flour or grain such as oats, rice, millet, and

corn, can help break down the phytic acid. Think of cornbread with corn and wheatflour. Thats a pretty classic combination and if you soak the corn and wheat flourtogether you will be able to more effectively reduce the phytic acid in the corn. Youshould also do this if you roast grains (the roasting adds flavor as well as reducing

phytic acid), since the phyase will be deactivated through the roasting process.

Using Sprouted Flour: Even more effective would be adding sprouted flour as thephytase is already active and ready to do business! From the few studies that I read




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who used this method, it seems that it could be quite helpful in reducing phytic acid.We can make our own and simply grind it as needed. If you dont have your own grain

grinder you can just buy a cheap coffee grinder and grind enough to add to yourprojects. The one study that we read about up above used only 5 to 10% sprouted flour,so it doesnt have to be a high percentage.

Time (the more the better): Traditional societies often fermented long periods of timeand you see that in many studies time did make a difference in phytic acid reducation.An overall rule of thumb is the longer you ferment or soak, the more everything will

predigest and break down. It will also often get more sour (just a warning). Generally24 hours is better, 12 hours acceptable, especially if at cooler temperatures.

Sprouting: As seen above in many of the studies, germination or sprouting was oftenvery effective in reducing phytic acid. If you followed that with fermentation, theresults were often even dramatic. Sprouting may be the very best way to reduce

phytates in legumes as well.

Partially Milled Grain: Some grains, such as millet or rice may have been partiallymilled. Both of these grains were naturally low in phytase so by dehulling them, a lot

of the phytic acid would be removed. You can sometimes find milled rice (differentthan white rice), or buy germinated rice.

Do I have all of my questions answered yet? Of course, not. But I am inspired

through this research to continue to keep soaking, sprouting and fermenting away

and to do so even more carefully!

[i] The Influence of Soaking and Germination on the Phytase Activity and Phytic Acid

Content of Grains and Seeds Potentially Useful for Complementary Feeding, Journal ofFood Science

Volume 67, Issue 9,pages 34843488, November 2002

[ii] Wise Traditions, Vol 11, Number 1, Spring 2010, Living with Phytic Acid by

Ramiel Nagel

[iii] [Nutritional changes caused by the germination of legumes commonly eaten inChile] Camacho L; Sierra C; Campos R; Guzmn E; Marcus D, Archivos

Latinoamericanos De Nutricin [Arch Latinoam Nutr] 1992 Sep; Vol. 42 (3), pp. 283-90.




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[iv] Influence of germination and fermentation on bioaccessibility of zinc and ironfrom food grains. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Mar2007, Vol. 61 Issue 3,

p342-348, 7p, 5 Charts Hemalatha, S.1

Platel, K.1Srinivasan, K.

[email protected]

[v] Evaluation of zinc and magnesium bioavailability from pea ( Pisum sativum, L.)sprouts. Effect of illumination and different germination periods. International Journal

of Food Science & Technology; Jun2006, Vol. 41 Issue 6, p618-626, 9p, 5 Charts,

Urbano, Gloria1 [email protected] Lpez-Jurado, Mara1Aranda, Carlos1Vilchez,

Antonio1Cabrera, Lydia1Porres, Jesus M.1Aranda, Pilar1

[vi] Changes in phytates and HCl extractability of calcium, phosphorus, and iron of

soaked, dehulled, cooked, and sprouted pigeon pea cultivar (UPAS-120). Duhan A;Khetarpaul N; Bishnoi S, Plant Foods For Human Nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands)[Plant Foods Hum Nutr] 2002 Fall; Vol. 57 (3-4), pp. 275-84.

[vii] Antinutrients and digestibility (in vitro) of soaked, dehulled and germinatedcowpeas. Nutrition And Health (Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire) [Nutr Health] 2000; Vol.14 (2), pp. 109-17. Preet K; Punia D

[viii] Antinutritional factor content and hydrochloric acid extractability of minerals inpearl millet cultivars as affected by germination. International Journal of Food Sciences

& Nutrition; Feb2007, Vol. 58 Issue 1, p6-17, 12p, 5 Charts, Abdelrahaman, Samia M.1

Elmaki, Hagir B.1Idris, Wisal H.1Hassan, Amro B.1Babiker, Elfadil E.1

[email protected] Tinay, Abdullahi H. El1

[ix] Effect of several germination conditions on total P, phytate P, phytase, and acidphosphatase activities and inositol phosphate esters in rye and barley. Journal Of

Agricultural And Food Chemistry [J Agric Food Chem] 2001 Jul; Vol. 49 (7), pp.3208-15. Centeno C; Viveros A; Brenes A; Canales R; Lozano A; de la Cuadra C

[x] Effect of malt pretreatment on phytate and tannin level of two sorghum ( Sorghum

bicolor) cultivars. International Journal of Food Science & Technology; Dec2006, Vol.

41 Issue 10, p1229-1233, 5p, 1 Chart, 4 Graphs, Idris, Wisal H.1

AbdelRahaman, Samia M. ElMaki, Hagir B.1Babiker, Elfadil E.1

[email protected] Tinay, Abdullahi H.1

[xi] Assessment of home-based processing methods to reduce the phytate content andphytate/zinc molar ratio of white maize (Zea mays). Journal Of Agricultural And Food

Chemistry [J Agric Food Chem] 2001 Feb; Vol. 49 (2), pp. 692-8., Hotz C; Gibson RS

[xii] Brewers yeast efficiently degrades phytate phosphorus in a corn-soybean mealdiet during soaking treatment. Animal Science Journal = Nihon Chikusan Gakkaih




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[Anim Sci J] 2009 Aug; Vol. 80 (4), pp. 433-7. Chu GM; Ohmori H; Kawashima T;Funaba M; Matsui T

[xiii] The effects of soaking of whole, dehulled and ground millet and soybean seeds on

phytate degradation and Phy/Fe and Phy/Zn molar ratios. International Journal of Food

Science & Technology; Apr2005, Vol. 40 Issue 4, p391-399, 9p Lestienne, Isabelle1

Mouquet-Rivier, Claire1Icard-Vernire, Christle1Rochette, Isabelle1Tr&egravel;che,

Serge1 [email protected]

[xiv] Enzyme activities oflactic acid bacteria from a pearl millet fermented gruel (ben-saalga) of functional interest in nutrition International Journal of Food Microbiology;

Dec2008, Vol. 128 Issue 2, p395-400, 6p, Songr-Ouattara, L.T.1Mouquet-Rivier, C.

2

Icard-Vernire, C.2Humblot, C.2Diawara, B.1Guyot, J.P.2 [email protected]

[xv] Effect of sourdough fermentation on stabilization and chemical and nutritional

characteristics of what germ, Food Chemistry, Apr 2010, Vol, 119, Issue 3, pages1079-1089, Rissello, Carlo Giuseppe and others

[xvi] Physicochemical changes of oat seeds during germination, authors, Tian,

Binqiang, and others, Food Chemistry, April 2010, Vol 119, Issue 3, Pages 195-1200

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{ 41 comments read them below oradd one }

Alaya Morning September 7, 2010 at 2:54 pm

Thank you so much for your exhaustive research! This is interesting andextremely informative! Thanks

Alaya

Reply

Jessie September 7, 2010 at 5:52 pm

thanks for this. how would one contribute to the blog (as you mention at thebeginning of the post)?

Reply




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KimiHarris September 8, 2010 at 10:01 am

Hey Jessie,

Thanks for asking. Its the little donate button on the left hand side.

Reply

healthy mamma September 7, 2010 at 6:25 pm

Very interesting, thank you! It seem that I unknowingly did some of these

methods just because my mom told me to. I use millet, quinoa and brown riceregularly and lentils as well. I need to bookmark this and re-read it for better

understanding. Im not sure how to decrease the phytic acid in lentils when theyare used in soups, burgers ect. ie: w/out sprouting.

thanks again for the info.

~Gwen

Reply

Jean September 7, 2010 at 7:20 pm

Great post! I have a question about natto (you inspired me to try some at home).

Ive eaten two different brands and have gotten a tummy ache, gas and nauseafrom eating them on three different occasions. Do you think its because the

soybeans used were not soaked beforehand? Or is it the probiotic that I am not

accustomed to? Just wanted to know your two cents. Thanks!!

Reply

KimiHarris September 8, 2010 at 10:03 am

Ick! Definitely sounds like it is not agreeing with you! Traditional methodsof natto should have a good portion of the anti-nutrients reduced, but itsquite possible that not all brands do it the traditional method anymore. Or,

you could just not tolerate it very well.

Reply

rhiamom September 8, 2010 at 4:00 am

You rule. I like to see the science. What I learned is that I dont need to bother

with soaking rolled oats (due to the heat used in their processing deactivating thephytase, as I suspected all along) but that it is indeed time for me to start




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sprouting and soaking my wheat and buckwheat flour, as well as my lentils. Andprobably split peas, too!

Reply

Jen @ Oh no! I really do need to eat my vegetables! September 8, 2010 at 7:55

pm

Kool! Ive already been soaking my oats with a little flour; I didnt knowabout the heat processing destroying phytase, but I knew that oats had little

phytase anyway and would lose more just with being cut. Ive also beensprouting and fermenting my grains, sprouting beans, lentils, seeds, etc. Ill

have to start doing that with peas whenever they come back into my diet.Fermenting my beans and pulses after sprouting wouldnt be bad either.

Thanks for digging into the science!

Reply

Laura September 8, 2010 at 5:22 am

wow thanks for all the incredible research. Most of it flew right over my headbut I retained three things soak for as long as possible in a warm spot. Use

something acidic to sake. Finally, mix foods together like corn and wheat.

I can do all of these. Thanks!

Reply

Ingrid September 8, 2010 at 8:11 am

thank you very much for your extensive research. Your article is so

comprehensive and understandable that it has answered just about all myquestions.

Thanks so much.Ingrid

Reply

Judy September 8, 2010 at 1:35 pm

You can ferment any legumes, including lentils, & grains, by soaking them at

least overnight (or even a couple of days) with 1 T raw apple cider vinegar percup of dried legumes or grains & 1 c water per cup of dried legumes or grains.(the next day, drain water from beans & add fresh water; you dont have to drain

water from grains, just add more water per recipe directions) You can also use




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whey (drained from yogurt) or buttermilk or lemon juice or anything acidic likethat. Fermenting & soaking helps reduce phytic acids levels (like Kimi said).

Soaking & fermenting will not sprout your legumes or grains with sproutingyou soak beans, grains, or seeds for a certain amount of time, then you drain thewater off, put them in a dark place, rinse & drain a couple of times a day til they

sprout, then put in a sunny place & continue to rinse w/ water a couple of times aday until they green up.

You can also ferment veggies Sally Fallon gives a lot of good recipes in herbook Nourishing Traditions and she also has articles on the website

http://www.westonaprice.orgAs far as natto (fermented soybeans), it could either just not agree with you (as

someone else said) or maybe its a GMO (genetically modified organism) doesit say organic (non-GMO)? Corn & soybeans, as well as a few other foods, are

GMOs unless it says organic or non-GMO. There is a lot of controversy overGMOs, but Ive read that it may cause cancer, & thats enough for me to want to

avoid it.Its always better, I think, to get whole grains & whole foods, not those whichhave been tampered with. Oat groats, for instance, would be better than rolled oats

or puffed oats/cereal. As Jack LaLane (my hero) said, If man made it, dont eatit. Thats a little hard in this day & age, especially if you dont have your own

farm, but we can do the best we can by avoiding things that we know are bad,such as refined foods, and eating more natural foods.

There are a lot of other fermented foods out there, too, like miso (a fermentedsoybean paste that you mix w/a little water & serve over fish, etc)(my fav is Eden

brand hacho miso), organic gluten-free tamari sauce (instead of soy sauce),yogurt, kefir, etc.

Ive also read that sprouting alone has no bearing on the gluten content so ifyoure allergic to wheat, sprouting will not help. I wouldnt eat wheat anyway,

because its been hybridized to contain a LOT of gluten way more than we can

handle, plus wheat attacks the immune system and contributes to leaky gutsyndrome (per Danna Korn, Living Gluten-Free for Dummies).

Reply

KimiHarris September 8, 2010 at 2:38 pm

Judy,

My only problem with using an acidic addition to legumes is that manyexperience problems with the legume not cooking correctly. I believe that

recipes that call for low temperatures and long cooking times generallywork, but most are inconsistent. I no longer recommend this method.

However, is seems that sprouting is probably the best way to reduce phytic




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acid anyway, otherwise I just do soaking in warm water and try to keep it aswarm as possible.

Reply


http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2010/09/reducing-phytic-acid-in-grains-

and-legumes.html/comment-page-1#comment-78204

Reply


sorry, I meant to post this web site:

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/1893-living-with-phytic-acid

Reply

Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama September 8, 2010 at 2:50 pm

Thanks for all the research and info! I have been working on this issue for awhile.

However, my research has been primarily in how my own family is tolerating it.

We cannot eat unsprouted (or unsoaked) wheat or spelt. We note behavioral anddigestive issues. Family members were labeled gluten intolerant and we did the

gluten-free thing awhile. But I personally believe that a lot of those gluten-freethings are not particularly healthy because they involve heavy starches andunsoaked gluten-free grains like corn and rice. Not so good.

Anyway, I experimented with sprouting. When only part of the grains sprouted, orwhen I let it sprout only slightly (1/8 1/4 tails), the effect was as if we were

eating unsprouted grains. When I let it sprout well (1 or longer tails!), we hadno more issues. Now Im experimenting with baking with it. Yeasted baking ischallenging since the gluten is partially digested. Im trying another recipe tonight

that involves raw milk so well see how it goesit was LOOKING good!

Reply


Katie,




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Wow! Thanks for sharing! Your own experience matches some of thestudies that would sprout for at least several days. Interesting!

Reply

Emily September 8, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to put all of the info together.

Reply

Gigi September 8, 2010 at 4:29 pm

I should read this whole series before I leave this comment, but I havent beenreading much lately, so hopefully this is useful, not redundant. I do love your post

though and have been reminded why you are at the top my blogroll.

I soak my oats WITH 6 grain it definitely sours quicker.I also soak my brown rice (when I do soak it) with some whole grain wheat or

already soaked anything (such as with a handful of the sour 6 grain left in). Wholehealth source blogspot once did a post on the brown rice (with sources) and

mentioned how it needed a warmer temperature to sprout it. I have had it sour,so my unscientific conclusion is that the few minutes of day before prep with

these two points may have been worth it.

It is nice to have some supporting info of my current practice of adding a bit of

sprouted flour to my fresh flour when mixing up waffles/pancakes batter to soak.

Regarding making my own sprouted flour soaking it until it has a bud+tiny rootis great. If the root gets to be looking root-y and long, then it affects leavening

ratios and makes otherwise chewy cookies fluffy instead. So it might be thelonger soak/growing time is making it more acidic and is possibly reducing the

phytic acid more.

My other caution from experience, is to soak, and then if want growing time, thento rinse (keep moist) but drain. Too much soak time, which happens when it is left

to soak water twice as long as I should have in the soaking water meant it

switched to rotting instead of growing and then it doesnt taste right even afterdrying.

Reply

Lisa September 8, 2010 at 4:38 pm




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Kimi, thanks so much for your research and dedication! I LOVE your blog!Is phytic ACID a misnomer or is it really an acid? If it is an acid, as the name

implies, then why do we neutralize it with an acid medium since a baseneutralizes an acid. I am really confused on this one. Do you have any ideas?

Reply


Lisa,

As far as adding the acid, thats to help bring the environment most helpful

for releasing the phytase (and its the phytase that does the magic on thephytic acid).

Reply

Marcia September 8, 2010 at 7:09 pm

I just cant believe how fantastically wonderful all of this information is. You area rock star! Thanks so, so, so much!!!

Reply


Kim, thanks for your insight and all the good work youre doing to get this infoout to people.I agree that sprouting is probably the best method, it increases the nutrients, as

well. Making sprouts, dehydrating, & then grinding into flour is a good flour, also probably the best (as long as you dont put wheat in it).

I dont believe buying gluten-free products is the best, either (as Kate @ ModernAlternative Mama said) tapioca starch, potato flour, and all those kind of flours

are high in the glycemic index, as well as non-nourishing. But eating gluten-freewhole grains is great.

If you do want to eat cooked beans without having to sprout them & withouthaving gas, bloating, etc., just soak 1 c beans, 1 c very warm water (140 deg. F.

perhttp://rebuild-from-depression.com/simplechang/simplechange/simplechange/beans.html), and 1 T

raw apple cider vinegar (or other acidic medium) overnight, in the morning drainall the acidic water, and add 2 c fresh water. Bring to boil, then simmer 20minutes (adding additional boiling water if needed), then put in the crockpot on

low for the rest of the day, and they come out perfect. It is necessary to simmer




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for 20 minutes, as it gets rid of some other thing thats not good for you, of whichIve forgotten what. Fermented beans destroy many of the bacteria that live in the

large intestine that cause flatulence (per a study in Journal of the Science of Foodand Agriculture,http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060426080023.htm#)

(Its also good to eat a big salad before eating any meal, also. This helpsdigestion, as well as preventing a lot of diseases. Make raw about 80% of your

diet and your health will improve dramatically.)Some phytic acid has health benefits, including cancer prevention, but we still get

some even after soaking & fermenting, and we also get a little phytic acid in otherthings, like flax seeds, avocado, broccoli, collards (per

http://www.phytochemicals.info/phytochemicals/phytic-acid.php)

Reply


Hey Judy,

It was from Amanda at rebuild from Depression that I first learned about

keeping beans very warm while soaking. I know that she also found thatsoaking with vinegar or other acidic addition made beans not cook right.

(Ive also heard rumors that the next Nourishing Traditions book wontrecommend using an acidic addition for soaking beans, but I dont know ifthats true). I bet you are having good results with soaking with vinegar

because you cook for such a long time in a crockpot. Slow cooked beansseem to do okay with vinegar added to the soaking water. But what a cool

study you linked too! The study said, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillusplantarum are the key bacteria. for the fermentation process. I am very

curious as to where direct sources for this specific bacteria is. This study,http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=jbs.2009.810.814, suggest that fresh cabbage

contains both. I bet it would be a safe bet that homemade sauerkraut containshigh amounts, so perhaps using a little sauerkraut liquid as a start for

fermenting beans would be a good choice. I would have to try it to see if itmade the beans not soften correctly. In my other post, I also mentioned someof the positive research in regard to phytic acid, though we should remember

that those studies often use rats which (as I mentioned) have much higherphytase levels than us. So their results with a high phytic acid dose could be

different than what ours would be. However, flax seeds as well as otherseeds are extremely high in phytic acid, so you are right. It would be simple

to get all of the phytic acid you want while still soaking grains and legumesfor better mineral absorption.




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Reply


Lisa, this might help answer your question.phytic acid (organic chemistry) C6H6[OPO(OH)2]6 An acid found in seeds of

plants as the insoluble calcium magnesium salt (phytin)(http://www.answers.com/topic/phytic-acid)

Lemons are acidic, but the alkalinize the blood (sounds strange, but it does) (perDelia Quigley, The Complete Idiots Guide to Detoxing Your Body).

Perhaps lemons work like hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is also an acidthe only acid the body produces, and helps keep us alive by maintaining proper

alkaline/acid balance. It becomes alkaline after its job in the digestive process isover. (per Dr Theodore A. Baroody, Alkalize or Die).

Reply

Kedesh Simmons September 12, 2010 at 1:03 am

I am gluten intolerant and have found a recipe, Serenes Rejuvenation Granola, by

Serene Allison in her book Rejuvenate Your Life very useful as a breakfastcereal replacement. The base of it is sprouted buckwheat (with long tails!) and to

it she adds all sorts of healthy yummies! I highly recommend it. It is obtainablethrough the Above Rubies website.

I have lately been making delicious muffins using freshly ground buckwheat flouras a replacement for wholemeal wheat flour and coconut oil as a replacement forbutter (am also lactose intolerant) and regular vegetable oils. However, I am going

to try sprouting and dehydrating the buckwheat before using it in my recipe nowthat Ive read your article.

Thanks for all your hard work, Kimi!

Reply

Mary P. September 14, 2010 at 5:17 am

EXCELLENT article Kimi thanks so much!

Reply

Jaime September 21, 2010 at 1:55 pm




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Thanks for all of your research and work on this for our benefit! Just now gettingaround to reading these posts.

Reply

Deborah February 10, 2012 at 6:56 pm

Hello,

Thank you for making this process easy to understand. Sometimes, the mountainof material and explanations are too over-whelming.

Id like to ask where I may find more information on the Indian (I assume this

refers to East Indian?) ferments you mentioned above. I know they use yogurt in alot of their cooking, but I dont know if they actually soak their grains.

Traditionally, they use cultured milk for their ghee.

Thanks again,Deborah

Reply

Liz March 20, 2012 at 10:58 am

Your article makes for a fascinating read, but Im failing to grasp what exactly

you mean by fermenting grains. Do you mean soaking in the warm environment

with an acid medium for a period of time? OR is it something more??

Reply

Pekoe June 6, 2012 at 9:22 pm

WOW! Thanks so much for compiling all this research! I currently soak grainsovernight in water with ACV but this makes me want to experiment with some

other methods to break things down even more.

Reply

Scott August 2, 2012 at 8:07 pm

Hi Kimi,Thanks for all your efforts and sharing on this matter.

What about nixtamalization(alkali treatment, rather than acid treatment) withmaize, and how that could be advantageous with other grain processing for better




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human nutrition? Btw, I add a teaspoon of baking powder(non-aluminum) to thecooking of my multi-grain rice blend(no white rice) and that addition makes a

substantially improved eating quality, makes the rice a little softer and morenourishing feeling. The quantity of rice is two scoops of a typical rice cookercup/scoop, to 4 scoops water.

I dont pre-soak, I just put the rice, baking powder, and water together in thecooking pot and then immediately put it in the rice cooker, press the on lever,

and it cooks up nicely in about one hour.Btw, Ive tried adding the baking powder to oatmeal for cooking up, but the

baking powder causes a poorer quality, and kills the yummy oatmeal aroma.

Reply

Lisa October 16, 2012 at 4:01 pm

Kimi, thanks for putting this all in one place. Ive been using the NT method of

soaking overnight for about 7 years, and I was highly discouraged when I readRamiels article in Wise Traditions, because it seemed that simply soaking is justnot enough, especially when one already has absorption problems from celiac and

yet undiagnosed possible metabolic issues. Anyway, I did more research, and Istarted using a homemade sourdough starter (made from purple cabbage leaves

and fed with buckwheat). Besides using the sourdough to make breads products,Ive been adding a couple tablespoons of the sourdough starter to all my soaks.

Between the high phytase in the buckwheat and the high enzyme activity in thesourdough, I feel like Im getting a better reduction of phytic acid. Ive also been

souring everything in the dehydrator for around 24 hours. It does make for a moresour tasting product, but my children are used to it, and from what Im reading,

this is the way to go. Ive not had good success with the sprouting, as my sproutsinvariably mold in the warm humid months (even using a special sprouter). I may

just have to start sprouting in large quantities over the winter, then dehydrating it

and keeping it in the fridge until I need to grind it. I spend so much on organicwhole foods that I want to make sure were getting every last scrap of nutrition

out of it!

Reply

MelanieNovember 22, 2012 at 3:23 am

My unanswered question is whether to cook in the soaking water or rinse before

cooking. This never seems to be specified in directions, either way.

Reply




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KimiHarrisNovember 22, 2012 at 8:05 pm

I always rinse my grains.

Reply

Angela @ Organic Eco Baby December 17, 2012 at 6:57 pm

Rinse for sure!

Reply

nigel January 8, 2013 at 11:02 am

You dont actually understand how phytic acid works. It is already bound to a

mineral (provided by the food itself) so it doesnt steal anything from your body.

Foods high in phytates are already rich in minerals anyway, and so there is no riskon mineral mal-absorbtion. Try imagine a fruit with a small amount of chemicalthat was already bound to the fructose, preventing a small amount of fructose

absorbtion, risky? Nope.

Besides that Phytic acid has an affinity to bond if anything to heavy metals andacts as a cleaner.

So literally, you do not need any pre-prep work, unless you want to change

texture and taste. You can eat raw.

Hope this helps you lot thretting over this subject.

Reply

anoninonandon April 20, 2013 at 4:28 am

Interesting idea. It fails in experiments I have seen conducted where diets

were increased to 80% using high-phytate foods and no calcium foods, forexample milk. Within three weeks the person involved was in the emergency

department of a hospital suffering with peripheral neuropathy and problemswith breathing and the nervous system and possible losses of minerals in the

urine, evident by the cloudiness and colour of the urine. The situation washypophosphaturia / hypophosphatemia. The phosphate in the blood has a

fine balance with other electrolytes and calcium is used to counter theacidification in the blood. Before reaching the hospital the person was losing

balance and coordination with thoughts of possible heart failure.

Approximately four hours of emergency-room-diagnosing found the




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problem. The individual felt better within 1 hour of diagnosis, afterconsuming effervescent phosphate and potassium tablets dissolved in water.

Improvement occurred throughout the coming week by consumption ofelectrolytes and milk to restore stores of minerals.

One study I read, which I can not reference here and now, showed that when

an acidifying product enters the body, particularly the blood, then the bodyneutralizes it from existing sources and not from the food just eaten. IE. therequired calcium to neutralize a phytate or oxalate in circulation does not

come from the calcium eaten at the same time, as that has not yet beenprocessed, the calcium is often leached from available sources such as the

skeletal system. That may be the same situation for other minerals.

I am not suggesting all people are the same and will have the same reaction.If you can eats phytates well and live to tell the tale then I am happy that you

have adapted in that direction.

Reply

anoninonandon April 21, 2013 at 2:31 am

I should have proof read.

Eats does not read right.

Reply

Faolan January 30, 2013 at 4:10 am

Nigel,Before you enter a discussion like this, you really should brush up on basic

chemistry. Phytic ACID ring any bells? It cannot be bound to a mineral,because if it were, it wouldnt be an acid anymore it would become a mineral

salt. And thats just the point phytic acid binds to minerals, and removes themfrom your body. Yeah, it can bind to heavy metals, too but apparently you are

not even aware that iron and zinc, essential nutrients, are heavy metals too!

Reply

Laura March 14, 2013 at 6:51 pm

Hi Kimi,




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Appreciate your selfless sharing of this great piece of info. However, I found thatthis line you wrote We produce some phytase ourselves, and those of us with

robust probiotic digestive health may produce even more of it. contradicts Non-ruminants (monogastric animals) like human beings, dogs, birds, etc. do not

produce phytase. from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytase. Which is correct?

Reply

KimiHarris March 14, 2013 at 7:34 pm

Hey Laura!

I wish I had linked to where I had read that, as I am having a hard timeremembering where I got that tidbit of information (its been a little while

since I wrote this). This isnt exactly in answer to your question, but Ramielmentioned this, Interestingly, the body has some ability to adapt to the

effects of phytates in the diet. Several studies show that subjects given highlevels of whole wheat at first excrete more calcium than they take in, but

after several weeks on this diet, they reach a balance and do not excreteexcess calcium.11 However, no studies of this phenomenon have been

carried out over a long period; nor have researchers looked at whetherhuman beings can adjust to the phytate-reducing effects of other important

minerals, such as iron, magnesium and zinc.

It may be true that the study/article I read saying that humans can make

varying amounts of phytase in their digestive tract wasnt completely true though it it seemed pretty definite when I read it. I cant say for sure, since Idont remember where I read that. However, I also noticed that Wikipediadidnt seem to have a source for that information either, so I would take it

with a grain of salt.

Reply

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