Is It Necessary To Soak Nuts?
Many of us consume nuts for their healthy fats and their good source of protein. They make a great quick snack that can easily be taken with you, making it an ideal snack. But many of us do not know how to properly prepare nuts so that we can better digest them. Is it necessary to soak nuts? The answer to that question is yes, absolutely!
Nuts have phytic acid. Phytic acid is also found in grains and legumes. Just as with grains and legumes, soaking nuts is essential for proper digestions. When eating nuts that haven’t been soaked, the phytic acid binds to minerals in the gastrointestinal tract and can not be absorbed in the intestine and to many bound minerals can lead to mineral deficiencies. By soaking, you are breaking down the phytic acid so it can be absorbed properly.
Nuts also have high amounts of enzymes inhibitors. This is another reason why un soaked nuts are hard to digest. Soaking nuts can neutralize the enzymes allowing for proper digestion.
Signs That You Aren’t Digesting Nuts
Have you ever had a heavy feeling in your lower stomach after eating too many nuts that were not soaked?
Have you noticed the next day that the nuts are in your stool? These are a few signs that the nuts were not properly digested.
It isn’t hard to soak and dry your nuts. It actually only takes a few minutes of hands on work to accomplish this task. Time is what you need to allow the nuts to soak and dry.
How To Soak Nuts
I have learned this method of drying and soaking from the research of Sally Fallon and her great book ~ Nourishing Traditions: The book that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. If you do not have a copy of her cookbook it is a great resource of information and is an essential cookbook for traditional cooking.
So the basic method of soaking nuts is pretty much the same with some slight variations. Basically, you soak the nuts in salt water (salt is necessary to help neutralize the enzymes) and then you dry them.
Be sure to fully dry your nuts or they could become moldy. You do not want to dry your nuts any higher than 150°F. You can use a Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster Encore Dehydrator or an oven to dehydrate your nuts.
A lot of the newer ovens do not go below 200ºF. You can most likely change the default setting of 200°F. Check your owners manual to learn how for your make and model. You can also set your oven to the lowest temperature and leave it slightly a-jarred. Use an internal thermometer to reach the desired temperature.
One last thing I want to note. Soaking the nuts not only helps with digestion but it enhances the flavor tremendously! They are slightly crispy, have a nice texture, and taste amazing. That alone encourages me to soak my nuts! If you haven’t tried to soak your nuts, give this method a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how easy and delicious soaked nuts are!
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Recipes
Almonds
- 4 cups almonds – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp
Macadamia Nuts
- 4 cups raw macadamia nuts – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Cashews
- 4 cups raw cashews – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Pecans & Walnuts
- 4 cups raw pecans or walnuts – shop for quality nuts here
- 2 tsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Pine Nuts & Hazelnuts
- 4 cups pine nuts or hazelnuts – shop for quality nuts here
- 1 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover nuts)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12-24 hours or until crisp (do not use temperature above 150°F)
Pumpkin seeds
- 4 cups pumpkin seeds – shop for quality seeds here
- 2 tbsp unrefined sea salt – shop for unrefined sea salt here
- filtered water (enough to cover pumpkin seeds)
Soak overnight or a minimum of 7 hours
Dehydrate for 12 hours or overnight (do not use temperature above 150°F).
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Phytic acid is a big problem – especially for those of us who have taught ourselves to eat healthy! Most grains, and in particular whole grains contain phytic acid too – so ironically all those people who don’t eat any whole grains, wholemeal products, nuts or seeds are probably just fine for iron and zinc etc (although maybe lacking elsewhere)!
I don’t have a dehydrator, but I’ve just been drying nuts in the sun after soaking (cover with muslin/cheesecloth to keep the bugs off) same as I do sun-dried tomatoes. Just move them to partial sun if it’s a really hot day though.
Hi Halle,
after soaked, how many time I have before they got not edible ?
Store them in a cool dry place and they should last quite awhile. You will know if the fats go rancid, the nuts will taste off a bit.
So how do i drained them and let them dry properly?
Just wondering how salt activates these enzymes? Is it a process that naturally occurs in nature… with the salt water I mean? Thanks.
Great post! I’ve recently gone raw & tried a couple recipes that called for soaked walnuts & got terribly ill. (Vomiting+loose stools). I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I will definitely try soaking+dehydrating to see if that makes a difference. Thanks!!
#1: I have soaked my nuts for years now, but I think the nut butter made from these nuts usually tastes bland. I dehydrate them so they are nice and crunchy, but…sometimes the taste is just too bland! ???
I also read on a blog post from a nutbutter manufacturer, that roasting hazelnuts brings out the oils, (so one will have a nicer end product). I use up my nut butter quickly, so I can’t see that they would go rancid in the fridge for a week., after gently roasting them. Doesn’t heating them remove enzyme inhibitors as well?
Thank you for your reply!
I forgot about the frosting I’m making for a German Chocolate cake, which calls for 2 cups of pecans. I have about 17 hours until the party, so assuming they dry for 12 hours, that’s 4 hours of soaking (and an hour to put the frosting together). In this circumstance I’m guessing a little soaking is better than none at all?
I normally blend a cup each of peeled almond, pumpkin seed, pine nuts, pecan, cashew nuts, walnut, chia seed, eggs, almond milk, banana and brown sugar to make muffin without soaking the nuts. I bake it for about 45minutes at 350 degrees. I eat this as lunch as I am trying to lose weight. Is this safe and healthy?
It is best to soak the nuts for best digestion. Also, with that many nuts, watch the calorie intake…it might be high. Less is often more when eating nuts.
Thanks.
I have a water softner that uses salt. Will this be sufficient? First time I soaked nuts I did add salt but after drying they tasted too salty for me.
It really isn’t enough. I would add a little more salt into the nuts.
Do you think the pink himilayian salt would be ok to use or does it have to be the sea salt. I haven’t read the book so I wasn’t sure if the reference specifies only certain salts can be used? Thanks
Hi there Halle, I was just browsing through your site and noticed above that you put the soaking times for all the nuts at 7 hours. With all do respect, that’s impossible because of the different density of the nuts. The one type absorbs the moisture a lot quicker than the other. The link I placed here below is a list of soak times necessary for each type of nut. You can however mix the nuts in one jar as long as you make sure they come out of it at the same time. For instance, I just made a new batch starting with Almonds(12 hrs) I start at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. That means they’re ready at 1am(I’m a chronic insomniac…but that’s another story). To mix with Hazel nuts(8 hrs) I just count back from 1am to 5pm and put them in then. Cashews(2 hrs) are then put in at 11pm. That way you can leave them to dry together at 130-150 degrees over night(on a timer of course) and in the morning you can dig in for your morning juice or smoothy. Nutrients are safe and sound, enzyme inhibitors deactivated and actual nutritional value of each nut at least quadrupled. I’m just saying….grtz from across the pond (the Netherlands) Steve
Soak time list:
http://www.sixstepstobetterhealth.com/seeds.html
Thank you for posting this link. When you state times Does it matter how many ounces of nuts or seeds ?.. And how much water should it be in?