Are Sprouted, Soaked, & Fermented Grains Healthy?

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Are sprouted, soaked and fermented grains healthy
Wellness Mama » Blog » Health » Are Sprouted, Soaked, & Fermented Grains Healthy?

Grains are a controversial food in modern times, and perhaps with good reason. They aren’t the food they were thousands of years ago, or hundreds of years ago, or even 50 years ago.

Are All Grains Bad?

Maybe you’ve wondered why grains have become so controversial when people from other countries (usually Asia and Italy are mentioned here) are able to eat them regularly while staying thin and living long lives. There are actually several factors that seem to contribute here, including genetics, other dietary differences, and a vast difference in the actual grains themselves.

Also- while grain consumption is an inherently irrelevant statistic when it comes to both weight and longevity,  if you want a statistically valid comparison, squatting while using the restroom actually seems to be one of the best predictors…

Even in the health community, there is a split between WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) followers and the Paleo/Primal/Low Carb group on the health and necessity of grains and if they should be eaten at all. Within these groups, there is disagreement among which grains are healthy and how they should be prepared.

While there is certainly a case to be made for avoiding modern grains for a variety of reasons, there are also traditional preparation methods that cultures have used for thousands of years to help reduce the not-so-great properties of grains and make them more bioavailable. Among these traditional methods are soaking, sprouting or fermenting (or a combination of all three).

What are Soaked, Sprouted or Fermented Grains?

All grains have various properties that protect them in the plant world and allow them to survive to produce seed. In animals, these protective features are often claws, teeth, sharp spines, venomous fangs, etc, or the ability to run away and escape enemies, but plants protective features tend to be a lot more subtle.

Since plants aren’t able to fight or evade, their protective mechanisms are less noticeable. Plants like poison ivy or poison oak have obvious protective mechanisms like the itch-inducing oils on their leaves.

The protective mechanisms of those amber waves of grain are harder to identify externally. These crops are often eaten by animals, so their protection lies in the ability of their seeds (the “grain” itself) to pass through the animal and emerge on the other side as a pre-fertilized seed, ready to grow.

Plants accomplish this through the presence of gluten, other lectins, enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid which allow the grains to pass through the digestive system without harm to the plant. (note: Phytic acid is especially damaging to bone and tooth health and has been linked to tooth decay) These indigestible compounds are great for ensuring the plants continued fertility, but they can be harmful to humans, especially in large amounts.

These natural protective compounds in plants can be harmful to humans, especially in large amounts, and especially for those with an underlying genetic or health issue. Thankfully, there are methods that help break down these protective compounds and make the nutrients in grains more available during digestion.

Soaking, Sprouting and Fermenting

Traditional cultures where grains were consumed regularly or in large amounts found ways to reduce the harmful components through methods like soaking, sprouting and fermenting.

These methods are designed to do what our body can’t and break down the anti-nutrients (gluten, lectin, phytic acid, etc) in grains so that they are more digestible to humans. Evidence shows that these methods do indeed make the nutrients in grains much more bioavailable and reduce the anti-nutrient properties.

These methods rely on using an acidic medium in liquid to soak the grains, a constructive environment to soak them and let them sprout, or a process like sourdough fermentation to alter the chemical make-up of the grain.

Sadly, most grains consumed these days are not prepared in any of traditional ways, and many cultures have largely given up these methods in the name of modern convenience. Yet, science is starting to understand the wisdom of these older methods and to realize that newer, more convenient forms of processing may not only be making grains harder to digest, but may be contributing to micronutrient deficiencies.

Are Soaked, Sprouted and Fermented Grains Healthy?

From a nutrient perspective, grains prepared in these ways have much higher nutrient levels and lower anti-nutrient levels than grains that are just ground into flour and baked, but should they be eaten?

The question remains, do these methods reduce the harmful properties enough to make these modern grains safe to consume. Unfortunately, with hybridized, highly sprayed and highly processed modern grains, there isn’t an easy answer and even these traditional methods may not be enough to reduce all of the harmful properties in these foods.

Mark Sisson sums up the effects of soaking and sprouting in his article about traditionally prepared grains:

Effect on phytate: If the grain contains phytase, some of the mineral-binding phytic acid will be deactivated, but not much. And if the grain has been heat-treated, which destroys phytase, or it contains very little phytase to begin with, the phytic acid will remain completely intact. Overall, neither soaking nor sprouting deactivates a significant amount of phytate.

Effect on enzyme inhibitors: Well, since the seed has been placed in a wet medium and allowed to sprout, the enzyme inhibitors are obviously mostly deactivated. Digestion is much improved (cooking will improve it further).

Effect on lectins: The evidence is mixed, and it seems to depend on the grain. Sprouted wheat, for example, is extremely high in WGA, the infamous wheat lectin. As the wheat grain germinates, the WGA is retained in the sprout and is dispersed throughout the finished plant. In other grains, sprouting seems more beneficial, but there’s always some residual lectins that may need further processing to deactivate.

Effect on gluten: Sprouting reduces gluten to some extent, but not by very much. Don’t count on it. A little bit goes a long way.

Adding fermentation to the mix reduces the harmful properties even more, but does not completely render them harmless.

The presence of these anti-nutrients in all grains also explains why people who avoid wheat for health reasons but still consume “gluten-free” foods may still have health problems. Wheat is definitely at the more dangerous end of the grain spectrum for those with certain health issues, but other modern grains aren’t harmless by a long shot, and many of them are higher in simple starches than wheat.

So, Should We Eat Them?

Certainly, these methods of preparation do improve the nutrient profile of grains, but this still doesn’t mean that sprouted, soaked, or fermented grains are as healthy as they once were or that they should be consumed in large amounts. Many modern grains have been hybridized to be higher yield, but less nutritious. Additionally, many grains are highly sprayed right before harvest, and these chemicals remain in the processed grain or flour and traditional methods of preparation will not remove them.

Certainly, if you consume grains, it would be best to use these traditional methods (preferably all three) and to mill flour yourself using ancient grains that have been grown organically and not hybridized to reduce nutrition.

It is also important to note that there are no nutrients in grains, even traditionally prepared ones, that are not found in other foods, and many other foods are higher sources of nutrients than even traditionally prepared grains. As statistics show that we are not consuming enough vegetables, I’d personally focus on adding more vegetables to our diets for nutrients, rather than spending the extra time and money to make quality traditionally prepared grains.

It should be noted that all plant substances have properties that can make them harmful to humans in some way, but that it is much easier to reduce these harmful properties in other plants (cooking cruciferous vegetables like Broccoli and cauliflower, peeling and cooking sweet potatoes, etc).

Long story short- grains are far from a super food, especially modern grains that have been highly processed. Traditionally prepared grains are definitely a step in the right direction but they don’t compare to vegetables when it comes to nutrients. For those with a gut or autoimmune issue, even traditionally prepared grains can be problematic.

Anyone who doesn’t have any food related problems and that have excellent gut health may do great with soaked, sprouted or fermented grains, but I’d still recommend only adding these in after optimizing other aspects of the diet, increasing vegetable intake and making sure to get enough high quality proteins and fats.

There is also a definite difference between grains high in anti-nutrients like wheat, barley, etc and ones like white rice (not brown rice) which are naturally free of the more potent anti-nutrients like gluten) and which seem to be somewhat less harmful.

The other point worth mentioning is that even sprouted, soaked and fermented grains cause a spike in insulin and can inhibit weight loss and lead to other health problems if eaten in large amounts.

Summary

  • Yes, these methods do reduce the harmful properties but do not eliminate them. As grains still aren’t a stellar source of nutrition, even with all these elaborate preparation methods, and they can be/are harmful to many people.
  • For the little bit of nutrition they might provide, the benefit is still overshadowed by the harmful properties that still exist in small amounts (gluten, lectin, phytic acid, etc) and they take an extreme amount of preparation time and energy for this small amount of nutrition.
  • If you have a strong, healthy gut, eat an otherwise nutrient rich diet and go to these great lengths to properly prepare grains, you might be able to tolerate them occasionally, but why go through all the trouble when we live in a time where there is access to healthier foods (vegetables, meat, good fats, etc.).
  • In an age where we are bombarded by toxins in our air, water and food supply, removing grains (even traditionally prepared ones) is an easy step we can take to improve our health and to make room for other, more nutritious foods in our diets.
  • If a substance (in this case, grains) might be harmful for you to consume, and there are no negative effects of removing it, logically, it would be wise to avoid it.

What do you think? Do you consume sprouted, soaked, or fermented grains? Totally disagree with me? Share below!

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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

205 responses to “Are Sprouted, Soaked, & Fermented Grains Healthy?”

  1. Donna Pawlak Avatar
    Donna Pawlak

    Hi all, I have been baking sourdough bread for some years now. I started when my husband became allergic to wheat/gluten and he cant eat normal bread. However, he can eat my homemade bread without any reactions. Recently, my teenaged daughter has had problems with wheat, so I make white sourdough loaves every other day for her and hubby. However, i generally make with either wholewheat or the more ancient grains like spelt or kamut. I think the key is again, making gradual adjustments. My daughter at the moment struggles to go without her bread, whereas myself and hubby tend to eat it once or twice a week. We have certainly found the change beneficial to our gut health, from a nutritional standpoint, I am not sure, which is why we try to include lots of fish and veggies in our diet now.

  2. Nancy Linebaugh Avatar
    Nancy Linebaugh

    Since my husband’s diagnosis of diverticulitis he has been eating fermented rolled oats every morning. He just keeps adding to the jar like you would sourdough starter. The fermented oats always sit out on the counter – he just eats some for 2 – 3 days and adds someone eats and adds. Does this sound okay, or should he start fresh after a certain time? He’s used the same base for about a month?

  3. Bev Avatar

    I was just sent this article by a friend. I wondered if you would mind reading it and replying? I know you are busy but it is full of so much information against sprouting and soaking I thought you might be interested.
    https://www.breadbeckers.com/blog/phytic-acid/

    I found her claims of wheat being a good chelating agent to be fascinating.

    I have a gene mutation that makes me 4x more likely to develop celiac so I am not planning on eating gluten again and not looking for a good reason to eat it 🙂 I honestly would just love to read your thoughts on this.

  4. Diane Navarrete Avatar
    Diane Navarrete

    Hi Katie,

    Generally I love your posts and find them very informative and well researched. Today I was disappointed to find several typos, beginning with the missing word in the third sentence. These typos damage your credibility! Had I not already been familiar with your blog, I would have written you off right away. That said, keep up the good research, articles, recipes and instructions. Just be sure to thoroughly proofread before publishing. 🙂

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar

      Thanks for pointing out the typo, however, if you’re going to base my credibility on whether I accidentally omitted a word or not, you’re probably going to be disappointed, as I’m definitely not perfect, and normally write while holding/nursing a baby. My first priority is my family, so typos will happen as I multi-task. Thanks for reading!

      1. Tina Avatar

        Wow! Just wow!
        Keep up the great work Katie! Just wanted to send some peace and love after that comment. Coming from another mom with 4 young ones….you rock!!;-)

  5. Timmy Avatar

    Every other week I bake a sourdough spelt bread using a starter made with kefir. I do this because I like the ‘concept’ of bread and don’t want to eat meat too often, which is where I would ultimately be led if I restricted starches as a calorie source.

    1. Sharon Avatar

      I think that is so cool. I don’t eat meat also and have had numerous digestive problems but seem to be so much better with the Kefir Bread I make. I use whole wheat organic and sprout, dehydrate, and grind it add kefir and salt and that is all. I love it and find I seem to be stronger and healthier. I can’t eat butter with it and so I just eat it plain or with meals. 🙂

  6. Sophia Avatar

    Hi, I have been really into eating fermented foods, like homemade, sauerkraut, sour dough bread and also fermented tomatoes. I thought that a benefit of eating anything fermented was adding beneficial bacteria to your gut. I like the benefit of what you mentioned in the article as well. Do I have it right, though? Not only is fermenting grains and beans good to help breakdown the nutrient lock but also the natural probiotics or prebiotics that are created during the process is good for our digestion. Please correct me if I’m wrong, I am all about learning!
    Thanks!

  7. chris Avatar

    I am considering mixing into my diet the following for occasional use with my waffles / pancakes or baking.

    organic sprouted oat flour
    organic sprouted buckwheat flour
    organic unpasteurized almond flour (not sprouted)

    in addition to using:
    organic coconut flour and Organic Tapioca Flour.

    From a gut irritant stand point, can you give a general ranking from least harmful to most. Or if they are basically on the same level.

    appreciate your help.

  8. Sharon ogzewalla Avatar
    Sharon ogzewalla

    This subject seems to be a hot topic. I have not read every post, so this may have been stated by someone else. I would like to refer everyone to a wonderful book written by Dan Barber. “The Third Plate” documents a major issue with grains that may have less to with phytates than it does with monsanto. Our civilization existed for years in harmony with nature utilizing all food products-grains as well as meats. Where we have gone wrong is allowing chemicals to go into the ground along with the seeds. For most people with allergies to wheat (this is a growing problem) is not with the wheat but the chemicals used to plant it. What makes sense to me is eating local, organic foods – back to the lifestyle of our ancestors to better our nutrition overall.

    1. Sheila Avatar

      You are absolutely correct! I have a former co-worker who actually had what amounted to Round-Up poisoning. They thought it was Lyme disease at first. She is now on a very strict detox regimen that will likely last for years and can have no grains. I think all the chemicals, the GMO and pre-treating of endosperms, and the chemical engineering and subsequent treatment with pesticides is more the problem than anything else. That and all the fake ingredients in most store-bought foods. I myself am wheat free with very little grain, but I wouldnt call myself Paleo, either. I eat cheese and yogurt, rice, and occasionally organic corn products. I have seen a huge improvement in my thyroid function, my glucose and cholesterol levels, and have lost 15-20 pounds. But I need to add some grains back in if I am ever going to get my family on board.

  9. Aubrey Avatar

    I know this is an older article, but one quote that stood out to me was by Mark Sisson saying that “Sprouting reduces gluten to some extent, but not by very much. Don’t count on it. A little bit goes a long way.”

    I know sprouting is different than fermentation (such as sourdough), but I thought I’d share something that I read recently: “… sourdough bread produced with a particular strain of lacto-bacilli had gluten levels of 12 parts per million – where anything under 20 ppm is considered gluten-free. Bread made with the same wheat but without lacto-fermentation had gluten levels of 75,000 ppm.”

    That quote came from this article: https://wholegrainscouncil.org/blog/2012/01/research-sheds-light-gluten-issues

    So it may be that sprouting isn’t going to reduce the gluten content in bread, but sourdough bread will.

    And thank you for all of the great information you provide on your blog. I really appreciate everything I learn from your efforts!

  10. jagath Avatar
    jagath

    the article which you have written about jell……… was very usefully to me.thanks very much.

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      I can see where she is coming from, but the grains consumed in those tribes she mentions were served in whole form, most often. They also were not modified, enriched or sprayed with pesticides. Most of those tribes were also spending much more time in the sun, probably had less stress and a variety of other different lifestyle factors. In today’s world, it is difficult enough to obtain enough micronutrients from diet (even one centered around a lot of veggies and high quality proteins). Carbs and grains are not as high in many key nutrients as other foods (vegetables and animal proteins), so for that reason, I still don’t think they have a big place in a modern diet.

  11. Erika Avatar

    I do eat grains. I’ve read that it is difficult to get enough carbs from plants. And if you don’t get enough carbs, this affects metabolism in a negative way. I prepare most of our family’s grains and use a 50/50 mix of organic whole wheat (ground in our grinder) and natural white flour (organic, unbleached, unbromated, unenriched). I like adding natural white flour as it has no phytic acid and doesn’t go rancid like whole wheat (all the oil is found in the outer parts that get removed when sifted to white flour. It is still a very “whole” food as nothing has been added or processed. Simply sifted part out. It’s like eating only the yolk of an egg. Not the entire food, but a whole food, nonetheless.

    Grains are definitely the trickiest part of food to figure out for me. This has worked really well for us financially and healthwise!

  12. kate Avatar

    Great topic. However, to state that all grains contain zero nutrients is NOT true. Ask Dr. Allan Christensen. It is true that those with autoimmune diseases should not consume them. But-some of the healthiest people in the WORLD do, not to mention some of the smartest docs out there, eat grains ( after soaking them of-course). I don’t know Katie, I bet after more research you may change your mind….!

  13. Lachlan Turner Avatar
    Lachlan Turner

    I like eating bread. I use fermented grains in the mix along with white and wholemeal flour. I make it myself.Compared to some of the rubbish that passes for food eg. Mcdonalds, I am comfortable with it. I also produce all my own veg and eggs organically. I eat very little processed food. I eat butter, not margarine and use cheese. I also process my own chicken meat. I live in a unit in the suburbs. Within 5 years I would like to produce all my own fruit also. My vegetable intake has increased since I have been growing my own because it is right on my back door step. My point is that there is probably more danger in processed food than simple grains, although these have probably been sprayed and certainly cost some food miles. One day I hope to have some land then maybe produce everything on site.

  14. Jayson Avatar

    Greetings Katie,

    Thank you for the post. I enjoy eating sprouted rye berries and generally expose them to a quick steam before ingesting. My question to you is, are there added benefits to soaking the berries once sprouted in an acidic medium?

    Best Regards,
    Jayson

  15. Jim Avatar

    Mark Sisson is NOT a scientist. There are peer reviewed studies that show phytates (as well as the other anti-nutrients) are significantly reduced during sprouting. I fell for Paleo for one year and while it worked well in terms of weight loss and reduction in total cholesterol, it left me short of energy for running. I also had difficulty recovering after running (muscle cramps and aches). I always felt my body was short on something and that’s when I discovered sprouting.

    Every seriously analyze the Paleo argument? Its fundamental premise is that we didn’t eat grains as Paleolithic humans and that they were healthy (no obesity, heart disease, etc.) The question everyone should be asking is this: Why didn’t post-Agricultural Revolution humanity get fat and have heart disease, you know, for the last 15,000 years of human history? Why is it only post-Industrial Revolution humanity that has these issues? THE ANSWER IS SPROUTING! Before commercial farming, humans let their grains be exposed to the sun and wind and rain, and allowed them to sprout in the field before harvest. In fact, when the grain sprouts, it’s time to harvest. Simple. We don’t do this today. Many commercial farms try and produce 2 yields in a season and harvest the grain long before it sprouts. That leaves the endosperm (the fuel for sprouting) intact. It is all starch and almost immediately turns to fat in humans, if not burned off through exercise. Not to mention all of the anti-nutrients are at their peak at this point.

    I have been back on grains (sprouted only) for 8 months and have not seen weight gain, an increase in cholesterol, or any of the problems that I had prior to going Paleo.

    Bottom line: Eat sprouted grains in addition to fruits, vegetables, and lean meats for optimum health.

    1. Joey Avatar

      Nice, I eat sprouted grains too rarely eat unsprouted. I think sprouted grains are best and it’s a nice food to have around. It’s nice to be able to eat grains but the sprouted kind.

    2. chris Avatar

      I think you have a really valid point, I eat about 80% paleo and then when I use grains I either soak, sprout or ferment them. I don’t use any gluten grains for myself though…but I do make a sourdough organic spelt bread for my son’s lunches because he won’t eat anything else I try. I also make a buckwheat sourdough bread to have on the odd occasion I want something bready. I definitely think there’s alot to be said for moderate grain and legume use that have been prepared properly. I guess many people find this too lengthy and tiresome to do so, end up cutting out the grains by default. But once you get into a rythym of proper preparations it’s pretty easy. That said and done I still only use grain and legumes in absolute moderation.

  16. Brittany Avatar
    Brittany

    So, I’ve read several of your blog posts about grains and beans. You said you avoid them, yet you consume meat. Do you not know the dangers of eating animal products?

  17. Tara Avatar

    I see in some of your recipes that you use almond flour as an alternative to grain flour. Should almonds and other nuts and seeds not be avoided aswell since they also contain phytic acid and as soaking only reduces it a little?

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