Grains and beans are sprouted or fermented to remove a variety of compounds that make them hard to digest and that make the nutrients in them hard to absorb. Some of these compounds are; phytic acid, lectins, enzyme inhibitors, and gluten. I would like to focus on phytates because they are written about and debated a lot, and there have been many studies done that focus on them.
What are phytates?
Phytates, or phytic acid is the storage form of phosphorus in many plants. Phytic acid not only binds the phosphorus in the plant, but will also bind with other minerals such as; iron, calcium, zinc and magnesium which makes them unavailable for absorption during digestion. According to Ramiel Nagel, who has become an expert on phytic acid, it also binds important enzymes required for the digestion of proteins and carbohydrates. In addition to phytic acid, grains and seeds also contain enzyme inhibitors which can also be neutralized by soaking or sprouting.
Mark's Daily Apple has a really good explanation of why people soak, sprout or ferment grains, as well as some good study links here:
Also a discussion of whether fermentation is traditional is here on The Nourishing Gourmet:
Fermentation is also supported and discussed in Nourishing Traditions, which tends to serve as an intro for many people to traditional diets so I think it is safe to say many people learn about it there first.
"The well meaning advice of many nutritionists, to consume whole grains as our ancestors did and not refined flours and polished rice, is misleading and often harmful in its consequences; for while our ancestors ate whole grains, they did not consume them as presented in our modern cookbooks in the form of quick-rise breads, granolas, and other hastily prepared casseroles and concoctions. Our ancestors, and virtually all preindustrialized peoples, soaked or fermented their grains before making them into porridge, breads, cakes, and casseroles."
-Sally Fallon Morell, Nourishing Traditions
I like this quote because, personally, I can attest that when I was studying nutrition in school, there seemed to be some mixed feelings surrounding whole grains. I think it is safe to say that the professors and students generally felt that the 50% whole grains a day that the food guide pyramid recommends is healthy. However, there was a general sense that eating too many whole grains was something that was both unpleasent (due to the fiber), and something that most people would just be unwilling to do. Also, since nutritionists often work in hospitals or for community programs, whole grains were often considered to be unavailable. In my pre-WAPF days, I was outraged by this and thought that whole grains should be the only type of grain promoted and consumed (of course this was partially why my digestion was a mess, more to come on that).
From what I understand (which may not be a ton, I admit), people do not really argue about whether fermenting grains reduces phytic acid. I found some good abstracts from studies that seem to confirm this.
One from a study using wheat and buttermilk (a good method for muffins and biscuits) : http://www.springerlink.com/content/uwt0kxw702857103/
One from lactic-acid and corn: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1983.tb14938.x/abstract
And this one is really fun because it deals with sourdough bread: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf000061g
So in short, fermentation reduces phytic acid. It does this because it activates the phytase in the grains or legumes. Basically, phytase is the enzyme that "digests" phytic acid. The acidic medium serves as a warm comforting bed for the grain and it thinks that it is safe to sprout and mature into a new plant (grains either are seeds or contain them). Phytase levels vary and it is good to have a rough idea of them because it can affect fermentation time. But all it takes is a little time and an acidic medium to enjoy your grains. That being said people do seem to argue about A)whether it reduces the phytic acid and other compounds enough to warrant being able to eat the grain and B) whether we should be really be eating grains at all.
Ramiel Nagel has a really great article where he lists the phytic acid content of a lot of grains talks about experiments he has done himself, which I think definately prove the effectiveness of fermentation.
He tends to be a little more "hardcore" about the fermentation process, which I think differs a little from the WAPF perspective. Only in that the foundation is a little more forgiving (of phytic acid maybe?) about soaking times and methods. Also, Nagel tends to even recommend sprouting and fermenting together, while the foundation generally does an either/or type of thing.
I think it is a very personal choice whether to eat grains or not, but for me, I choose to and I can say without a doubt that without fermenting first I would not be able to tolerate them nearly as well. When I was a vegetarian, my digestion became really bad. I was bloated all the time, especially after eating grains, and had flatulance frequently. I felt my intestines distended after eating, something very foreign to me now. The first time I made beans with the method of soaking in acid first, I felt amazing! I was not bloated at all and had no gas. I kept up this method and was soon baking regularly with soaked flour. I remember being amazed at how "not full" I felt after eating a muffin I had made. I actually think I overate carbs a little at first because I was so used to a full bloated feeling that a "lighter" full feeling confused me. I also switched from buying whole grain pasta to brown rice pasta, which is still high in phytic acid, but easier on the stomach (it is a once in a while treat now); and soaking brown rice, quinoa, or any other grain I wanted to have.
So for me, I would say fermenting grains (and legumes) has been a wonderful discovery and the best option for me if I want to keep consuming grains.
The next post I will do from a more nutritional perspective on grains.
No comments:
Post a Comment