It seems like every time you learn something about nutrition (or lots of things in life actually) there is always at least two very opposing sides of the issue. It's so frustrating! You would think with all the scientific studies we are capable of, we would have overwhelming evidence one way or the other. Anyway, today I was reading about soaking grains. At first it seemed everyone was agreed that soaking grains is essential for optimal nutrition. But wait! No. Not everyone is agreed. So, I present to you these two interesting articles that I invite you to read and discuss with me.
Read this one first: How and why to soak grains
And then this one: The soaking of grains investigated
I know they are kind of long (especially the second one) but they are very interesting. After you read them, You can read what I think.
Here's what I think:
I was very glad to find that second article after reading a whole bunch of stuff telling me I was not doing good enough by just eating whole grains. She really breaks it down well and it sounds like she did her research. I very much appreciated how she pointed out that there is purpose both in soaking and in not soaking. It won't hurt you to soak them, and it won't hurt you not to! And I loved how at the end she brought in a very religious aspect about how good whole grain is for you, (as we believe in the Doctrine and Covenants it is the staff of life) and how Jesus called himself the Bread of Life. I had never made that connection before and it made me feel really good about continuing on. Her ideas seemed very consistent with the Word of Wisdom and in just being moderate in all things and I loved how she ended with a very excellent scripture in James stating that, "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." And it all helped bring me down from my overwhelmed confused thoughts and remind me that it's all ok. Just do the best you can, know the Word of Wisdom, and follow the scriptures as best you can. Of course everything is so complex, because we are here to learn and have our faith tested. If we just had all the answers revealed to us, then we would probably be held to a much higher accountability and then we might really be feeling overwhelmed! We do have what we have in the scriptures, and personally, that is enough for me to feel accountable for.
Anyway, I still wish I knew more of the answers to things, but I do know that in trying out this experiment and eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and eating meat more sparingly, I really do feel great. I hope to keep doing better and keep feeling better and better.
Disclaimer: This is my opinion after doing what little research on soaking grains I have done today. I reserve the right to change my opinion and try new things. I am always open to other peoples opinions on this because I am always trying to learn and figure things out.
2 comments:
Wow, Josie, those are some really interesting articles. I recently have been hearing about soaking grains (from the Heavenly Homemakers blog that I included on our blog list), and, like you, I have been wondering about it. So thanks for doing a bit of research and finding that second article. I did just what you said, and read them both first, and then read your opinion, and what you said resounds with me as well. Like you, I appreciate the seemingly well-researched opinion of the author of the second article. And, like you, I'm relieved to be assured that I don't have to change how I prepare my grains in order to be healthy. I mean, all that soaking stuff sounds pretty faddish to me.
That said, I think I'm going to try making some sour dough pancakes or waffles or something like that. I mean, I bet they would taste really good. Also, I was talking to Neva about making bread (she's sort of my mentor in that respect), and she pointed out that using less flour when kneading the bread helps give it a better texture. She suggested that the reason for that may be that, with time, the wheat flour soaks up the water. She said that lately when she's been making bread she gives herself six or eight hours to do it, I think so that it can raise over and over. With each raising, it seems to soak up more water and become less sticky, so that by the time she puts it in the loaf pans she has a nice, soft dough to work with. (As a side note, she also has been using less yeast than is sometimes called for in "quick-rise" recipes, preferring instead to let the dough build up the gluten gradually by raising more slowly.) And now that I've attributed all these things to Neva, I'd better check with her to make sure that I'm not misrepresenting what she has told me about her findings.
Anyway, again, thanks for the references to some good articles. I've been adding these blogs to our blog list. I like checking in on them when they update so I can see what's new. If you have any to add, or if you want to delete any that I've added, feel free to do so. Thanks.
Thanks for taking the time to read these Mom. I too would like to try some sour dough and soaking, just to try it and I will continue to research and find out what is best. I remember you telling me how Neva has really done her homework on bread making techniques and I would love to hear more about her adventures. Possibly post some of her recipes with a tutorial? I learned recently about not using too much flour so I've been putting some oil on my hands when kneading the dough instead of so much flour and it has improved my pizza and bread dough a lot. I will have to try letting it rise more, and I would really like to try one of Neva's recipes.
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