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Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:16 am
by Lola

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:17 am
by shell1226
Interesting. I've never heard of this before. I only soak my steel cut oats overnight if I plan to eat them raw. Other than that, I never soak them. Never even knew about it. I wonder if these claims are true.

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:23 am
by pinkrose
Lola, thanks for sharing this interesting article! We do not eat oats here but we usually soak our coarse rice for about 10 hours before we cook it and I am glad to know we have another reason to do that. :-D

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:59 am
by vgnwitch
I don't soak rolled oats. I don't even cook them. I just pour water or non-dairy milk over top and eat them straight away.

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:17 am
by Lola
So do you think all grains are better soaked?

vgnwitch aren't you more thirsty after eating them uncooked/unsoaked?

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:23 am
by vgnwitch
Lola wrote:So do you think all grains are better soaked?

vgnwitch aren't you more thirsty after eating them uncooked/unsoaked?


Not that I've noticed. I make a mixed-grain muesli with different kinds of flaked grains: barley, wheat, spelt, kamut, oats, etc. It is one of my favourite breakfasts in the summertime.

I don't think I have ever soaked any of my grains. It's not something that has ever occurred to me to do.

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:36 am
by Quinda
I don't ever soak mine at all. Jeff or Doctor McDougall would have told us if we needed to do that.

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:50 am
by Quinda
An excerpt from the McDougall January 2008 Newsletter:

Grains Rob You of Nutrients—Not Important

Really: Grains are loaded with minerals; therefore, the more grains you eat the more minerals you consume. Phytic acid, also plentiful in grains, is considered an anti-nutrient because of its ability to bind with minerals, such as zinc and calcium, and prevent their absorption. Two often-cited examples of zinc deficiency are among people living in small communities in rural Iran and Australia (Aborigines).10-11 Multiple nutritional factors, not just phytic acid, were involved in both examples. Consumption of large amounts of unleavened bread seemed central to the development of zinc deficiency. Once the bread is leavened, then the activity of phytic acid is reduced, and zinc becomes readily available.12 Soaking, germination, boiling, cooking, and fermentation all inactivate phytic acid and free up minerals for absorption. In real-life situations, for otherwise healthy people, the consumption of grains in recommended amounts has had no adverse effect on mineral status.13

Phytic acid actually has many beneficial health effects—you won’t want it out of your diet. It acts as a powerful antioxidant and has been shown to reduce blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides.14 Phytic acid is linked to a reduction in heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases in people.13,14

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:45 am
by Lola
I hope Dr. McDougall is right, because I was eating unsoaked grains all the time. :)

Re: Soaking oats

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:53 am
by scooterpie
As for rolled oats, my understanding is that they're cooked (steamed) in the manufacturing process. The article doesn't seem to take that into account re: changing the composition of the nutrients for the better or worse.

I quickly read through it so I could've missed something.

Cheers!