Do you eat nuts straight from the bag? Then you lose 90% of their benefits.
Long-lived people from the Caucasus and Japan know: nuts need to be soaked.
The reason is phytic acid, which blocks the absorption of zinc, iron and calcium.
Soaking in salted water for 8-12 hours neutralizes this “antinutrient”.
But that's not all. Water activates enzymes that turn nuts into an easily digestible product.
How does it work? After soaking, almonds, for example, increase their vitamin E content, and walnuts increase their omega-3 content.
Cashews become sweeter and hazelnuts lose their bitter taste.
The process is simple: cover the nuts with water (1 cup for 2 cups of nuts), add a teaspoon of sea salt and leave at room temperature. Then rinse and dry in the oven at 50°C.
Interesting fact: soaked nuts are less irritating to the intestines. If they used to cause stomach pain, now the problem will disappear.
Another plus is that they can be sprouted. For example, almonds after 3 days in water produce sprouts that are 100 times richer in antioxidants. Add them to salads - it's tasty and unusual.
But what if you don’t have time? Buy activated nuts – they’ve already been soaked. Or eat raw, but no more than a handful a day.
Remember: roasted and salted nuts are a dud. They are not only useless, but also harmful due to carcinogens.
