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Whole grains can be a very healthy food group, but most people don't know that it is a good idea to soak grains in water before cooking order to maximize their "digestibility" and to make sure you derive the benefits of the nutrients they contain.

Some of my healthy whole grain recipes: Crockpot Oatmeal Muesli with Raspberries Yogurt Papaya Muesli Apple Raisin Muesli Soaked Buckwheat Breakfast Black Bean Quinoa Salad Fennel Rice Salad Gluten-Free Grain Recipes

Like nuts and seeds, grains contain naturally occurring compounds (phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors) that make them hard to digest and bind up some of their nutrients.

Soaking your grains helps to negate these components. For the healthiest oatmeal, for example, you should soak your oats overnight in a mildly acidic liquid (such as water mixed with a little yogurt, lemon juice, or whey).


This encourages a brief lacto-fermentation that does away with the enzyme inhibitors (enzyme inhibitors keep the body's enzymes from doing their job, so the grains aren't digested properly) and phytic acid (phytic acid blocks absorption of minerals such as calcium and magnesium).

Soaking and sprouting also increases the grain's nutritional profile.

True sourdough bread is made by soaking and fermenting grains such as rye or wheat and is probably the healthiest bread to eat. You can make this at home (see my homemade oatmeal bread if you'd like to try to make it), but demand is increasing for this artisanal treasure, so see if a bakery near you makes a true sourdough variety. If you do not eat wheat, you can find sourdough breads made from spelt and other grains, as well. Most health food stores stock these in the freezer.

It is worth seeking out soaked/sprouted grain tortillas, cereals, and pasta (I like Food for Life brand), should you choose to eat these foods, as they seem to contain more nutrients than their non-soaked/sprouted counterparts. Sprouted pasta, for example, is quite high in protein.

Quinoa, rice, and millet can be cooked without soaking, but Sally Fallon, traditional foods expert and author of Nourishing Traditions believes these foods should be soaked in order to neutralize their phytic acid content. Note that if they are soaked for long enough (12-24 hours), grains such as quinoa start to sprout and generally become soft enough to eat without actually cooking them, so the enzymes are preserved and they remain a raw/living food.

If you do want to cook your grains, though, make sure to discard the soaking water and cook in fresh water, and know that you won't need to cook the grain for as long as if you had skipped the soaking.

For more information on this topic and lacto-fermentation, visit the website of the Weston A. Price Foundation.