Everything about Edible Seeds, how important it is for our health to SOAK all of them & how to do it

Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά

Did you know that soaking our seed plays a great role regarding anaemia, osteoporosis, vitamin intake, hormonal balance, anti-ageing, strong immunity, and anti-cancer protection?

Here is my research. Let’s dive into it !!

I’m sure everybody knows that legumes, seeds, nuts, and grains (I’ll be calling them seeds) are among the most nutritious, and healthy foods that provide:

· Good quality – bioavailable Proteins.

· Healthy (monounsaturated & polyunsaturated) Fats.

· Carbohydrates.

· Phytochemicals that act as Antioxidants.

· Essential Amino-acids.

· Minerals, such as: iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, copper, selenium, potassium.

· Large quantities of Dietary Fibres.

· Vitamins, such as: B1, B2, B3 (niacin), B5, B6, E.

They protect our cardiovascular system, help to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol, to maintain a healthy blood pressure, reduce the risk of developing diabetes, and they help a lot with our weight management, due to their lower fat absorption and their dietary fibres, which keep us full for longer. They are low in saturated fats.

Furthermore, they protect our gastrointestinal system, as their fibres are the vehicle that moves the “rubbish” out of our body, and…it’s known, since Hippocrates in ancient times, that all diseases come from the gut..!

More details

They’re just delicious super-foods, and extremely versatile to include in our daily dishes, meals, and we can experiment creatively in our kitchen with them. I do that a lot!! ;)

But most people are unaware that we should soak all of them, before consuming!

Soaking our seeds is essential for several reasons.

1. Phytic Acid, Calcium, and Vitamin D.

Seeds contain phytic acid and other anti-nutrients. These compounds prevent our system from absorbing essential micronutrients and minerals, such as zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium and iron!

Think about Anaemia, and Osteoporosis. Especially Osteoporosis affects more and more people, not only women, but also men nowadays!

Read about Osteoporosis Read about Anaemia

Calcium deficiency, or Hypokalaemia, also causes fatigue, muscle aches , hormonal imbalances, hand-face-feet twitching, memory loss, anxiety, paraesthesia, arrhythmia, bronchospasm, neuromuscular excitability, tetany, confusion, carpopedal spasm, numbness, and more symptoms.

Read about Hypokalaemia

Legumes, leafy greens, and nuts like almonds are rich in Calcium.

The myth that in order to supply ourselves with Calcium we need diaries…is banned..!

Milk is linked to Osteoporosis (read more), Arthritis, it is considered a cause of inflammation (read more), skin conditions such as acne and eczema (read more), causes gastrointestinal disorders (read more), allergies (read more), and even cancer (read more)!!!

In order to neutralise the acidity that animal foods cause in human blood, our bodies drain calcium from our bones…!

Considering all the above, it’s way better to choose seeds and greens to increase our calcium intake.

Note that we also need vitamin D in order to absorb Calcium, and retain it in our bones. So make sure to expose your skin to direct sunlight for a few minutes daily, and allow your body to create this essential and rare vitamin. Also, consume foods that contain Vitamin D, such as eggs (pasture-fed only, read my article with everything about eggs), fatty fish et.c.

Vitamin D deficiency causes a lot more imbalances and symptoms.

Read more about Vitamin D

2. Enzymes.

The seeds’ enzyme inhibitors can neutralise the enzymes in our digestive track, something that impedes proper digestion, slows down metabolism and our body’s natural chemical reactions, causes bloating, gas, dysphoria, and even pain, and, unfortunately, makes people reduce consuming those essential foods, to avoid the symptoms.

Read about enzymes

Soaking our seeds, not only neutralises those inhibitors, but also activates the seeds’ enzymes, making them even more nutritious and easy to digest.

3. Vitamin C.

Soaking our seeds activates them, in total. They put all their power in producing a complete new plant or tree! That means that they can provide the vital resources of minerals, vitamins, enzymes, as we mentioned, and energy. They develop considerable amounts of Vitamin C among others, which is vital to us humans, as we are the only primate mammal that cannot produce vitamin C in our bodies, and we need to take it from our diet.

Lack of Vitamin C can cause weakness, nausea, flu-like symptoms, blood and vessel disease, dry hair and skin, hand and foot bleeding, and even death…

Besides, in order to absorb the essential iron, our bodies need vitamin C. So vitamin C deficiency can also lead to iron deficiency and anaemia.

As vitamin C is a heat sensitive water-soluble vitamin, which means that high (cooking) temperatures will destroy it, or it will be lost by evaporation (boiling), we have to make sure that we accompany our cooked, iron-rich seed meals with fresh-raw sources of vitamin C, such as raw lemon juice, raw peppers, thyme-oregano, black fresh ground pepper, raw leafy greens, etc.

Read more about vitamin C

4. Anti-nutrients, PMS Syndrome & Cancer.

Soaking our seeds, eliminating the mentioned anti-nutrients will also help ladies fight conditions such as PMS (premenstrual Syndrome), and protect us from cancer!

I was among the “lucky” ones who were hit severely hit by PMS, and after doing my research, I discovered that Phytoestrogens, egg Oestrogens, and Magnesium, help fight the PMS symptoms. I experimented a lot, and I really experienced improvement. All I did was add an egg to my daily food intake for the oestrogens, consume more legumes, nuts, almonds, spinach, broccoli, garlic, celery, flaxseeds, rice, wheat, potatoes, etc for their phytoestrogens and magnesium.

Read more about Phytoestrogens

I repeat that magnesium, and other essential micro-nutrients, can only be absorbed when the phytic acid is eliminated by soaking our seeds.

5. Taste.

As soaking our seeds activates their enzymes, they become alive, and their taste and flavour develop too!!

They taste fresher, they become softer, but still crunchy, and their aromatic oils mix well with their flesh in our mouth J

6. Cooking time.

As we activate our seeds by soaking them, they become softer, which means less cooking time and energy!

7. Sprouting.

Soaking our seeds is the first step we take to germinate them, and turn them into a complete super-food, full of vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6, and Carotene, which increases dramatically, even 8 times higher!!

Stay connected to be informed when I post that article.

Summarising, imagine a small seed capable of producing a whole plant. Activating and consuming them gives you all the energy and strength they develop to create a new and complete form of life J

How to soak our seeds

It’s the simplest thing in the world :)

1. We thoroughly wash our seeds, rubbing with our hand, changing the water until it comes out clear.

2. We fill our container with filtered water, making sure that the water amount is double the seeds’ volume. E.g. 2 cups of seeds + 4 cups of filtered water.

*Some old traditions suggest adding some unrefined salt to the soaking water, to break down the phytates (phytic acid). Research shows that it’s not necessary, as the phytic acid will be eliminated anyway, but you can try that too.

Be aware that quantities of salt will be absorbed by the seeds, so if you are on a low-sodium diet, you might need to avoid soaking them with salt added.

3. Start the soaking the day before cooking / eating your seeds. It’s best to allow seeds to soak for 12–24 hours, changing the water every 8 hours in cold temperatures, and every 4 hours in warm temperatures, to avoid spoilage.

You might see some bubbling/foaming in your soaking water. That’s a good sign that they reject their phytic acid, and their enzymes become activated.

4. Discard the soaking water, eat your seeds, or cook your delicious dish and enjoy it in less than an hour :)

TIPS

1. Add fresh lemon juice to your serving plate, after the food's temperature is tolerable (below 40°C, 104°F), to preserve the Vitamin C, which will help with iron absorption. Its acidity will also enhance the dish’s aroma and flavour, adding its own touch of freshness.

2. Combine your legumes with some rice and/or wholegrain bread, which provide lysine, an essential amino-acid that our body needs to create protein.

Here we have some delicious full-protein, nutrient-full bombs :)

Chickpeas, Butter beans, herbs and spices Lentils with rice, carrots, herbs, spices.

Subscribe, I’ll upload the recipes soon.

Here you can find my super fermented sourdough wholegrain bread, flavoured with healing herbs, made from rye, oatmeal, and homemade starter.

3. Always add virgin olive oil to your plate after your dish’s temperature has dropped (below 40°C, 104°F), to enhance your meal’s taste and aromas, to benefit from olive oil’s healing, antioxidant, and nutritional powers, to help the oil soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, be properly delivered to your cells, and to avoid oxidising your oil with high temperatures.

Read more about olive oil health benefits here

And subscribe, for more information about the olive oil uses, and benefits in cooking, health issues, beauty, and skin care that I’m going to write soon.

For now, you can check out the recipe for my natural beauty-anti aging-repair face cream, based on herbs, olive oil, beeswax, vitamins, and honey.

4. Always add herbs like oregano, thyme, sage, etc, after cooking your foods, to preserve their healing properties, vitamins, and avoid the bitterness they develop at high temperatures.

5. Always choose wisely the cookware you’ll use to prepare your food! Here I have a full guide to the safe and dangerous ones to help you avoid toxicity in the cooking process.

One more article I’d like you to read, if you haven’t yet, to protect your health, is my research about the freaking bugs they put in our foods, how to detect and avoid them!! (The article for which facebook attacked me)

With my research I hope I will help you make the best choices for you and your beloved ones!

In case you need more directions, or have any questions, feel free to contact me directly, or leave your comment bellow. I'm always happy to help!!

*my site is used and directed only by me. No one has access to your email, and no one collects visitor information from me. These are my principles!

Of course, Facebook does not allow us to post directly from my site (they care a lot about our health – not), but you can share my article with this link - PDF file, or the YouTube Spot.

Thank you all for your support, and your most amazing encouraging messages!!!! I’m so touched!!

And remember, to always create with love! Everything is charged by our energy...and love is the best therapy...!

Loads of love,

Thomais de Fois

Biography

One song of mine, dedicated to you for inspiration :)

The article has an informative purpose, and results from long-term research and studies.

You may republish the entire article, not part of it, and without crediting the source.

All rights reserved © Thomais de Fois 2023