It’s Monday morning, and so we are diving in to another way to think about the type of food you focus on, especially in the scenario of gut health. That is our main topic all month long here at Good Food + You.
Something to think about, should you be consuming grains / nuts / beans / seeds/ legumes. Today, let’s just start with one of these: the grains. The glutinous and non-glutinous ones.
GO SPROUTED.
I’ll give you three reasons why going sprouted will bring you benefit.
BECAUSE DIGESTION
There are a few things to be found in raw grains that have the potential of shutting down your digestion. She sends these seeds out into the world with a protective coat of armour, you see. Unlike animals, plants can’t run away from predators. The seeds, any kind of seed, all grow to maturation with the intention of starting a whole new plant. In order to have them survive, and live long enough to prosper and grow into a brand new plant, come with those protective things.
One of these protective compounds are enzyme inhibitors. These little guys, found in anything that is a seed with the potential of becoming a plant, turn off your digestion in order to protect the seed. That way, the seed can survive your digestion (or that of the person/animal eating it) and then can grow into a brand new grain plant next season. Brilliant self-protecting mechanism there, Ma Nature!
Well, for the plant at least. Sorry, humans.
How to reduce these enzyme inhibitors? Sprout your grains there, chicken. They are drastically eliminated in the sprouting time.
BECAUSE PROTECTING YOUR GUT LINING
I’m sure you’ve heard of the word ‘lectins’ before. Turns out, grains have loads of these. What do lectins do? They contribute to the pushing apart of cells in your intestinal lining: that’s code for leaky gut (1). Lectins are quite high in grains, including those non-glutinous ones.
How best to reduce the lectin content? Sprouting your grains there, chicken. (Sensing a theme here?) Yes, they are dramatically reduced too, in this sprouting stage.
BECAUSE PROTECTING YOUR BONES
There is another compound found in anything that is a seed, with the potential of becoming a plant. Oh yes, a wheat kernel, a rye kernel, an oat kernel. Glutinous, and non-glutinous. These seeds store something called phytic acid, which when going through your digestive tract, will pull minerals with it, and bind to them preventing you from getting them in to your system. (2) There is evidence that eating a diet high in grains (which contain phytic acid), one has the potential of leaching out minerals which can now negatively impact hormonal balance and starts to deplete your mineral stores - aka your bones.
How can you prevent this from happening, and reduce that phytic acid without giving up the grains you love? Sprout your grains, chicken. Or buy something already sprouted, to make it easier on yourself.
The brilliance of living in these current times.
You might be thinking to yourself but how am I supposed to now also incorporate the sprouting of my grains, and how do I go about doing that? Don’t I have enough to do in a day?
Heck yeah you do. Let me introduce you to a little thing I call smart shortcuts.
Buy sprouted grains. Buy sprouted breads.
Even the gluten free ones. Look for them in health food stores, big box stores do carry some too. Join a local food buying club or coop, and buy in bulk to make it more affordable!
I mean sure, you can sprout your own grains. From scratch. It’s a labour and time intensive job. So if you’re a regular make it at home kinda person, you might want to switch your flours and grains to be the sprouted kind. There are quite a few varieties and companies out there doing this work for you- they’re worth seeking out!
Or take it one step further — find a brilliant local sourdough bread from a local maker.
Here in Calgary, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery makes their own old-school sourdough. In the fermentation process, the yeast and bacteria that are in the bread do the job of deactivating and disarming all three of these plants protectors, making the resulting bread much much easier to digest. And less likely to shut down your digestion, less likely to assault your gut lining, and less likely to steal from your own personal mineral stores.
Aiming to Keep Well? Looking to start working on loving up your guts? Need some help in feeling real good?
Get in touch by clicking here. Let’s meet up to start drawing up your road map to support you in both quantity and quality of life.
*This is not medical advice.