a friend of mine is new to raw and has just learned about nut milks from some dude. he makes his with a combo of nuts and seeds adding in coconut milk (from a can) and xanthan gum which he says is organic. this doesn't sound so fantastic to me and, frankly, after having tried some it doesn't taste all that good either but she likes it.

my question here is about the soak water. he says to use it as the base for blending everything up together, that it has nutrients and omegas from the nuts and seeds. now, from what i understand soaking nuts and seeds is done to start the sprouting process as well as to wash away enzyme inhibitors, tannins, etc. wouldn't you want to discard that water if it was full of stuff you are trying to wash away? what nutrients could it possibly have it in? i'm not down with his ideas about this, it seems off to me. what do you think?

thanks!

I would wash the seeds first and then they would be clean. Ann Wigmore used soak water all the time for stuff, I think it might be a little like rejuvelac?

hmm yes, that is interesting. rejuvelac has been shown to contain more bad bacteria than good though so i wouldn't drink that stuff. but that was wheatberries anyhow. i have used soak water from dates and raisins but i'm still wondering about nuts and seeds.

I would discard it.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

[www.avenaoriginals.com]

Question — Why is it important to soak nuts and seeds before eating them?

Answer — Nuts and seeds naturally contain enzyme inhibitors. And by soaking them, you not only release the toxic enzyme inhibitors, but also increase the life and vitality contained within them! The purpose of these enzyme inhibitors is to protect the nut and/or seed until it has what it needs for growing (ex. sunlight, water, soil, etc.). Since the soak water will contain the enzyme inhibitors, and is very acidic to the body, please be sure to rinse your nuts and seeds well after soaking.

I interpret this to mean (from a rawbie standpoint) toss the water unless you want to ingest the acidic enzyme inhibitors which defeats the purpose. Might as well just eat the nuts straight out of the bulk bin in this case maybe. I've taken a bunch of local raw food classes in the Bay Area and the chefs always throw out the soaking water.

Maybe it is just my perception, but the soak water seems kind of nasty. I wouldn't want to drink it.

ok, thanks guys. that pretty much supports what i was thinking. i'll forward that link to her.

do you think it's possible that there are any nutrients, omega's etc left behind in the water? i didn't think so but that's what her dude said.

thanks again!

I always dump the soak water, but have read that the water neutralizes the inhibtors so that they are no longer an issue after soaking.