NUTRITION PRINCIPLE 6: Carefully prepare seed foods for your vibrant health.
Seed foods include grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Plants contain toxins, anti-nutrients and enzyme inhibitors such as phytate, oxalates, goitrogens, tannins, phytoestrogens, and glycoalkaloids. Plants need these to help defend themselves, and they occur in the highest amount in the seeds. Seeds are difficult to digest, can irritate the GI tract, and interfere with the absorption of nutrients from your food.
Traditional peoples all carefully prepared their seed foods to minimize such problems. This was done through soaking, sprouting and sour leavening. Examples include sourdough breads and porridges. Foods still commonly eaten around the world include pozol, dosas, and injera. A local example are the acorns of the Black Oak tree that require leaching to remove the tannins.
In addition to careful preparation, seeds were eaten is much smaller quantities. Collecting seeds from the wild is a far cry from how they are grown on thousands of acres as a mono-crop today, and made available cheaply.
Wheat is the most common seed that is consumed today. Examples of foods made with wheat are breads, crackers, noodles, cookies, pastries, etc. Even beer, ketchup, mustard, pudding, ice cream and many other common foods may contain wheat. There are many reasons to avoid such wheat foods. They have not been properly prepared to minimize the toxins and anti-nutrients that occur naturally. Typically the wheat has been refined into white flour, removing the nutrients. And most wheat contains very high amounts of toxic chemicals that are used in the growing, processing, and storage of it in modern agriculture.
But beware of over-consuming improperly prepared “gluten free” products made from other seed foods. Most have not been soaked or sprouted, and still contain many toxins and anti-nutrients. There is an informative article at The Weston A. Price Foundation website “Be Kind to Your Grains“.
An excellent resource is the book “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon. It is full of nutrition information, including how to properly prepare seed foods, and contains many delicious recipes.
Read last weeks article here: Nutrition Principle 5 – Eat some of your animal foods raw.
Dr. Veronica Tilden can be your ally in regaining vibrant health and feeling the divine in the moment. She uses traditional hands-on osteopathy to diagnose and treat. She helps you take responsibility for your health and guides you in making better choices in your life. Her office is in North Fork. You can find out more and schedule an appointment at DrVeronicaTilden.com.
