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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Hello, can you please give me some insight to almond flour ( almond meal flour) and it`s connection to Phytic acid…?
For the most part it appears across the board the way the blanch almonds is boiling them in water for a short time then let them cool before removing the skins, so my question is does the Phytic acid still pose a health risk after this process ?
And would making pancakes out of the Almond meal flour create enough heat to neutralize Phytic acid ?
Thank you for your time, lots of great detail in the comments you should do another page or update the old one with all the new info :]
Cheers
My oven’s lowest temp setting is 350° and I do not own a dehydrator. Must I invest in a dehydrator or can I work with a normal oven at 350° for a much shorter time?
That high of a temperature will destroy the fats in the nuts. You really do need lower temperatures.
Hi Halle,
I wanted to make vegan cashew cream. I only have roasted cashews by hand. Do I still have to soak them or are they already soaked by the company that makes them. Or can I just use them without soaking?
Are roasted nuts bad for your health?
Thanks for answering
David
Sorry, I missed this out..
BTW, when we mix the water to blend to make almond milk, it should be’drinking’ water ie not just unfiltered tap water because we are not going to boil the almond milk right?
I would like to know if boiling it will kill all nuts nutrients? (Because I have a gadget that makes soya beans and other drinks – it can blender to very fine and also at same time can boil the liquid – ie can also make pumpkin soup, 5or 10grains drink which requires boiling. They have recipes to include nuts and sesame seeds http://www.joyoung.com.sg/
Thank you very much
This is more so a question than a comment. I soaked Organic Almonds in a glass jar in the fridge for three days without using Celtic Sea Salt or lemon Juice. As I was doing further research someone said they would not soak that it would stop that process. My fridge gets pretty cold on low had to loosen the nuts with a spoon they looked fresh and vibrant to myself. I rinsed them under filtered water and then put sea salt and lemon juice in the water and put them back in the glass jar with a towel over the jar with the top loosely on top on my counter. My question to those who know will I be able to make this work soaking for about 45 min. or hour?, making almond mayo with avocado, garlic cloves water, and olive oil. I am a newbie to this experiment.
I have two questions. Where do I buy raw nuts? And what about peanut butter and almond butter?Are they made with soaked nuts? Probably not I guess. Do we just make our own out of soaked nuts?
Peanut butter is tricky because raw peanuts are not really edible without roasting. Almond butter can easily be made with soaked nuts. You may need to add a little oil to your nut butter though. Here are the almonds I bought the last time I ordered and they were great! http://amzn.to/1MY3rkF
Check out the website nuts.com. they have a variety of items, with info as to what each product benefits have.
Another question, can you put seasoning on the nuts before drying in a dehydrator?
I don’t see why you couldn’t.
I see blanched nuts at the store. Do these have the Phytic acid removed? Does blanched almond flour have the phytic acid removed?
Hi, I have The Nourishing Traditions book by Sally Fallon. In the book alot of the nut recipes are 300 degrees to bake after the nut has been through 12-24 dehydration, and some are for 350 degrees on page 532. Surely this isoxidation of the nuts?
Hi. If I’m using my nuts & seeds for daily smoothies for my family, is it safe to NOT dehydrate them after soaking, but just rinse & store in the freezer until ready for use? I’m concerned that if the nuts/seed soak up the phytic acid inside them, is it only removed (fully) when dehydrated? Also, I’d like to start making nut kefir and seed kefir. After soaking, should I rinse them before adding water & chopping them up in my VitaMix? Thanks!
How long will the dehydrated nuts last?
Thanks for the info. All this time I have been missing out on the benefits of not soaking my nuts