My soaking experiment

Recently, I've seen a lot of people promoting soaking of whole grains. The reasoning is that whole grains include phytates, which act as "anti nutrients" by binding with nutrients in the digestive system, preventing them from being properly absorbed. Sprouting the grains will also break down the phytates, as will traditional sourdough methods. Part of the argument, used especially in Nourishing Traditions, is that traditionally grains were always prepared using one of these methods.

On the other hand, Sue Becker from Bread Beckers does not think that soaking is necessary. She claims that our small intestine produces enough phytase to properly digest the grains. She refutes claims that grains have always been processed this way.

I couldn't fully choose a "side" just based on my research. (Well, limited research. I'm not claiming that I've researched anything to the fullest). I have an issue with Sue's approach because she is promoting a biblical view of bread but rejects the importance of natural leavening, which is how bread was made in those times. On the other hand, I wasn't convinced that all grain products were carefully soaked in traditional diets, or that it is entirely necessary.

So I did a highly unscientific experiment. I haven't developed the skill of making bread, but I do like to make a lot of whole grain quick breads (muffins, pancakes, scones). So I decided to try both methods; sometimes I soaked my flour, sometimes I didn't, and I paid attention to how I felt after eating two or three freshly made items. I noticed that when I ate the unsoaked versions, my stomach felt a bit unsettled for the next few hours. When I ate the soaked versions, I felt fine.

Therefore, I decided to soak grains before eating as much as possible. I don't feel there's a need to be religious about it, as I'm not convinced that unsoaked grains are indigestible or very harmful.

I also prefer the texture of the final product when soaked. My freshly ground flours end up a bit coarse, and the final products can be grainy and heavy tasting. But when soaked, pancakes and muffins are softer and have a pleasantly mild taste.

Soaking is a simple process. Mix together whole grain with a sour liquid; my favorite is buttermilk but you can also use yogurt, kefir, just make sure your choice has live bacteria (Lactobacillus). Raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice mixed with water can also be used, although the dairy options will give a better flavor and texture. Let the mixture sit at room temperature (cover with a towel or loosely with a lid) for 12 to 24 hours, then add the remaining ingredients and prepare.

A good first thing to try is pancakes. Many soaked recipes can be found online to try.  Nourishing Traditions has instructions and a lot of recipes for soaking grains. This article also looks like a good summary.

Links

Weston A Price
Bread Beckers
Nourishing Traditions (Amazon)
The Nourishing Home
Kitchen Stewardship

Related

My Soaking Experiment

Soaked Whole-Grain Pancakes

Dry skin

I've struggled with skin issues since I was a teenager. Although my acne wasn't awful, it was bad enough. When it continued into adulthood, I couldn't get rid of our and tried a couple of portability creams, and then birth control, which probably caused its own complications.

Especially in the last few years, I've also fought dry skin. The main problem area are my hands and lips; the later peel constantly, especially in winter.

I've long suspected this was all related to some sort of deficiency, either in my diet or in my body's ability to process what I eat. But even with the diet changes I've made, it hasn't gotten any better.

While many will claim dry skin is a sign of dehydration, it's more often a lack of fat soluble vitamins, especially A and D [src]. Although vitamin D can be obtained from a sufficient level of sun exposure, it needs to be well balanced with vitamin A. Because they are both fat soluble, they are most readily obtained from animal fat. 

I've been eating a lot more butter recently, which is high in both. Liver is also a good source, and I have been trying to incorporate it into our diet, but definitely not enough to provide enough a significant amount. Oily fish is also a good source, bit while I love salmon and other fish, good fish is really expensive in Munich. 

I haven't noticed any huge difference since increasing butter consumption, but it's only been two or three months. But I want to try something additional to see if there's anything that will help clear up the issue, so I decided to try supplementing with cod liver oil. It's very high in vitamins A, D, and K. Although I prefer to get everything from my diet, I'm not sure that's practical right now, and by supplementing I can be more consistent and therefore better correlate the change to the results. if I see major improvements from supplementing, I may try to cut back on it and increase food sources to see if I can get the same results.

There's a question of fermented vs. non-fermented. It seems that at least today, most brands that are not fermented are also highly processed and therefore stripped of much of their nutrient content. Fermenting preserves the oil but also gives it a repugnant taste, and some have even reported digestive issues after consuming it. I choose the Green Pasture fermented brand, because it's available from Amazon.de and highly recommended. It came in the mail today - so the next step is to see if I can manage to swallow it.

Links:
Weston A Price: Cod liver oil basics
Nourished and Nurtured: Why we stopped taking fermented cod liver oil
Chris Kresser: Nutrition for healthy skin

The journey so far

This is the brief story of my food journey. I may go into more detail on some things in later posts.

As a kid, my mom followed the "healthy" wisdom of the day. That meant eating margarine, the "healthier" cereals (i.e. not tons of sugar), low fat milk, and the sort of whole grain bread that you can still get today.

When I was a teenager, she began to learn about the value of freshly-ground grains from my aunt. She bought a wheat grinder and started making breads, muffins, and pancakes from freshly ground wheat. She also moved towards replacing margarine with butter and other improvements.

Then I went off to college, where I ate cafeteria food almost exclusively for four years. During this time I started having stomach issues - nothing major, but consistent discomfort and the like. At one point I quit taking birth control (which I had been using to control acne), after my mom read that stomach issues are a possible side affect. This and taking fiber before meals seemed to help, but I continued to have some symptoms.

After I graduated and got married, I started cooking regularly. I was motivated to cook healthy food, especially with my stomach issues. My goals were to cut out processed foods, keep sugar to a minimum, and eat a semi-low-fat diet. (To clarify the last point, I didn't think fat was bad, but I did think that eating a lot of fat was unhealthy).

I continued to have stomach issues and did a colonoscopy, which fortunately came back normal.

I met with a nutritional consultant who is also a long time family friend (Mira Dessy at grainsandmore.com). She encouraged me to make sure I was eating enough protein, getting enough protein, and encouraged me to eat plenty of bone broths. I've definitely seen improvement in my stomach issues since meeting with her.

Recently I've been reading Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. I feel like I've learned a lot, not just from the recipes but from the many commentaries which refer to studies and observations by various people. I'm excited to start implementing some changes based on what I've learned!

Welcome

Welcome! I'm not sure yet what this blog is about, but I spend a lot of time thinking and reading about food, health, cooking, and other related topics. These thoughts might be interesting for others to read, but more than anything this is for my own sake, to record what I learn along the way.

My other blog, muenchenandmunchin.blogspot.com, is mostly a travel and experiences log, but also has some posts about German food or things I've eaten while traveling.