Mindful Eating: Soaking Grains

Jill Davies, director of Sustainable Living Systems, is a pure food activist living in western Montana. She speaks and writes on current trends in the production of foods and medicines with a focus on GMOs, and on organic agriculture and seed saving.

Part 4

Continuing the discussion of “Western diseases” which are linked to trace mineral deficiencies and the effects of our consumption of highly processed foods, the first nutrition researcher to bring this information to light was a dentist, Weston Price, in his book, “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration,” first published in 1938. Dr. Price traveled around the world to study population groups whose diets were still traditional, living entirely on local foods. He found 14 distinct groups of people in which almost every member of the tribe or village enjoyed superb health. They were free of chronic disease, dental decay and mental illness, and were strong, sturdy and attractive.

Later research focused on their food preparation techniques and finally the Weston A. Price Foundation was formed in 1999 to disseminate the research and to work toward restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet. The president of the foundation, Sally Fallon, has compiled a book, “Nourishing Traditions,” full of recipes, and relevant articles from various sources. It is a treasure trove of information.

We are hearing a lot these days about people being allergic to wheat (also barley and rye) or being gluten intolerant, or even the extreme case of having celiac disease. This is an inflammatory reaction of the small intestine to a grain protein called gluten, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients and leads to a variety of symptoms including diarrhea, weakness and fatigue. These people are being told that the only effective treatment is a gluten-free diet.

Meanwhile, our health advisors, including me, are telling us to consume whole grains “as our ancestors did.” Whole grains are indeed very nutritious, but while our ancestors ate whole grains, they did not consume them as is currently the practice. Virtually all pre-industrialized peoples soaked or fermented their grains before making them into breads, cereals, etc. There is a good reason for this. Gluten protein is difficult to digest for everyone.

Also, grains are seeds and they contain compounds (phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors) that inhibit their sprouting until the conditions are right for growth. These compounds are “anti-nutrients” and make the grains hard to digest and can lock the minerals in a form that cannot be absorbed in the intestinal tract. Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize the anti-nutrients and to start the breakdown of gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins and encourages the production of beneficial enzymes that aid digestion.

Thus the problem may not always be with the patient, but with the industrial food system that has gone the route of corporate profits and discarded the knowledge of our ancestors. “Nourishing Traditions” tells how to soak and prepare our grains into the foods we cherish. If you like oatmeal for breakfast, mix all the ingredients the night before and let it soak overnight. For baking, mix most of the flour with the liquid ingredients and let them soak overnight. Adding whey to the soak will also improve this process.

“Nourishing Traditions” also tells what foods to avoid, like boxed cereals, which are made by an extrusion process in which little flakes are formed at high temperatures and pressures, destroying valuable nutrients.

Here is how one researcher describes boxed cereals: “Since WWII, the food industry in the U.S. has gone a long way toward ensuring that their customers (and children) do not have to chew breakfast. The bleached, gassed and colored remnants of the life-giving grains are roasted, toasted, frosted with sugar, embalmed with chemical preservatives and stuffed into a box much larger than its contents. Fantastic amounts of energy are wasted by sales and advertising departments to sell these half-empty boxes of dead food.” — William Dufty in “Sugar Blues.”

Another so called “health” food, granola, is made from grains subjected only to dry heat and therefore is extremely indigestible. Demanding your body to deal with these foods takes a toll. When you see words that make health claims on marketing materials or packaging that is the time to start asking questions and reading labels. We have been led astray from the knowledge our ancestors had about what constitutes a healthy diet. §