What is better, nutritionally?

I read that the body cannot digest whole flax seed so it should be ground before soaking. If that is the case, can the body digest flax seed that is soaked but not ground?

Personally, I prefer soaking the seeds and eating them with the moist, gel-like substance around them. Grinding manually seems to be hard work, although I have never tried. And I don't like to use blenders and other such equipment. I don't have concrete reasons for this, but they just feel artificial and seem to involve the wrong kind of prana.

I do neither because sprouting is shown to be scientifically superior. Not just is sprouted flax superior nutrition, but farrr superior nutrition.

* Far higher vitamin levels
* far higher mineral levels
* far higher phytochemical levels
* far higher enzyme levels
* more bioavailable fatty acids
* more bioavailable minerals
* less anti nutrients



Flax Grass


Flax sprouts


www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2015 10:20AM by The Sproutarian Man.

Is eating soaked flax good without blending? I would think not because absorbability is supposed to be a concern unless they are chewed very very well.

Is ground up flax good? From what l have read in the science papers the grinding of seeds appears to destroy minerals. Now,l am aware that destroying minerals sounds quite dubious, but l have read this at least a couple of times of minerals in foods being destroyed by grinding. Also, l have read that ground up flax is said to oxidise within a week where-as who seeds take far longer to oxidise, however there is no science to back this up.

Also, the omega 3 oils from flax and the oilitself is said to be poorly absorbed, but no published science to back this up either.

At the end of the day l would generally avoid soaked flax and would sprout it. Sprouted flax is nice and crispy like lettuce.

www.thesproutarian.com

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I do neither because sprouting is shown to be
> scientifically superior. Not just is sprouted flax
> superior nutrition, but farrr superior nutrition.
>
>
> * Far higher vitamin levels
> * far higher mineral levels
> * far higher phytochemical levels
> * far higher enzyme levels
> * more bioavailable fatty acids
> * more bioavailable minerals
> * less anti nutrients
>
>
>
> Flax Grass
> [i19.photobucket.com]
> %207/Flax%20greens%20X_zpsg9jrjp8k.jpg
>
> Flax sprouts
> [i19.photobucket.com]
> %207/Flax%20X_zpsog0zzpk7.jpg



Thank you. After reading this webpage I concluded that sprouting flax seeds (and seemingly other mucilaginous seeds) may not be worth the effort, since it says that the seed is alive once it has been soaked and the majority of the nutritional enhancement has occurred then. I assume that you don't agree with this. Are there any studies that show that soaked mucilaginous seeds are inferior to the same seeds when sprouted?

Also, I was wondering if I should leave the flax seeds uncovered on the cotton cloth, and if I do that, I will not be able to protect them from flies, mosquitoes, other little insects in the house. How do you deal with that? Or perhaps living here in India just brings more flies and bugs than in the US.

At present I soak my seeds and chew them as well as I can. I cannot see them in my faeces so I am thinking that they are absorbed by the body and not passed through undigested.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2015 07:30AM by iandthou.

iandthou Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Thank you. After reading this webpage I concluded
> that sprouting flax seeds (and seemingly other
> mucilaginous seeds) may not be worth the effort,
> since it says that the seed is alive once it has
> been soaked and the majority of the nutritional
> enhancement has occurred then. I assume that you
> don't agree with this.


I absolutely do not agree with that statement at all. Also, mucilaginous seeds are some of the most worthwhile seeds to sprout.



>Are there any studies that
> show that soaked mucilaginous seeds are inferior
> to the same seeds when sprouted?


Not studies with mucilaginous seeds, but there is an abundance of studies which do show that sprouted seeds are superior to soaked seeds. Some of these studies are available online, but most aren't unless you pay for them.

Actually hang on, here is a basic study which shows that sprouted flax has superior anti oxidant content compared to the dry seed. Scroll down to page 7460 and read how antioxidant content for flax increase over 1,000% when sprouted for 5 days and roughly 200% when sprouted for 2 days.

Creation of a Databank for Content of Antioxidants in Food Products by an Amperometric Method


Yakov I. Yashin1, Boris V. Nemzer
[www.mdpi.com]


If you really want to be convinced that sprouted food is the most nutritious of all the foods, check out this page of my website. This is just the tip of the iceberg. So when you read websites saying it is not worth sprouting seeds, do not believe them, they couldn't be more wrong.
[www.thesproutarian.com]


>
> Also, I was wondering if I should leave the flax
> seeds uncovered on the cotton cloth, and if I do
> that, I will not be able to protect them from
> flies, mosquitoes, other little insects in the
> house. How do you deal with that? Or perhaps
> living here in India just brings more flies and
> bugs than in the US.

Put a screen over them.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2015 10:00AM by The Sproutarian Man.

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> iandthou Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Thank you. After reading this webpage I
> concluded
> > that sprouting flax seeds (and seemingly other
> > mucilaginous seeds) may not be worth the
> effort,
> > since it says that the seed is alive once it
> has
> > been soaked and the majority of the nutritional
> > enhancement has occurred then. I assume that
> you
> > don't agree with this.
>
>
> I absolutely do not agree with that statement at
> all. Also, mucilaginous seeds are some of the most
> worthwhile seeds to sprout.
>
>
>
> >Are there any studies that
> > show that soaked mucilaginous seeds are
> inferior
> > to the same seeds when sprouted?
>
>
> Not studies with mucilaginous seeds, but there is
> an abundance of studies which do show that
> sprouted seeds are superior to soaked seeds. Some
> of these studies are available online, but most
> aren't unless you pay for them.
>
> Actually hang on, here is a basic study which
> shows that sprouted flax has superior anti oxidant
> content compared to the dry seed. Scroll down to
> page 7460 and read how antioxidant content for
> flax increase over 1,000% when sprouted for 5 days
> and roughly 200% when sprouted for 2 days.
>
> Creation of a Databank for Content of Antioxidants
> in Food Products by an Amperometric Method
>
>
> Yakov I. Yashin1, Boris V. Nemzer
> [www.mdpi.com]
>
>
> If you really want to be convinced that sprouted
> food is the most nutritious of all the foods,
> check out this page of my website. This is just
> the tip of the iceberg. So when you read websites
> saying it is not worth sprouting seeds, do not
> believe them, they couldn't be more wrong.
> [www.thesproutarian.com]
> how/12203702-sprouting-is-the-finest-food-preparat
> ion-tool-we-have?page=2
>
>
> >
> > Also, I was wondering if I should leave the
> flax
> > seeds uncovered on the cotton cloth, and if I
> do
> > that, I will not be able to protect them from
> > flies, mosquitoes, other little insects in the
> > house. How do you deal with that? Or perhaps
> > living here in India just brings more flies and
> > bugs than in the US.
>
> Put a screen over them.


Thanks. Since the seeds should not be on top of each other while sprouting, I imagine that they should also not be touching a piece of cloth or something else that acts as a screen. So I suppose the screen be an inch or more above the seeds and not touching them. Is that correct?

iandthou Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > iandthou Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> >
> > > Thank you. After reading this webpage I
> > concluded
> > > that sprouting flax seeds (and seemingly
> other
> > > mucilaginous seeds) may not be worth the
> > effort,
> > > since it says that the seed is alive once it
> > has
> > > been soaked and the majority of the
> nutritional
> > > enhancement has occurred then. I assume that
> > you
> > > don't agree with this.
> >
> >
> > I absolutely do not agree with that statement
> at
> > all. Also, mucilaginous seeds are some of the
> most
> > worthwhile seeds to sprout.
> >
> >
> >
> > >Are there any studies that
> > > show that soaked mucilaginous seeds are
> > inferior
> > > to the same seeds when sprouted?
> >
> >
> > Not studies with mucilaginous seeds, but there
> is
> > an abundance of studies which do show that
> > sprouted seeds are superior to soaked seeds.
> Some
> > of these studies are available online, but most
> > aren't unless you pay for them.
> >
> > Actually hang on, here is a basic study which
> > shows that sprouted flax has superior anti
> oxidant
> > content compared to the dry seed. Scroll down
> to
> > page 7460 and read how antioxidant content for
> > flax increase over 1,000% when sprouted for 5
> days
> > and roughly 200% when sprouted for 2 days.
> >
> > Creation of a Databank for Content of
> Antioxidants
> > in Food Products by an Amperometric Method
> >
> >
> > Yakov I. Yashin1, Boris V. Nemzer
> > [www.mdpi.com]
> >
> >
> > If you really want to be convinced that
> sprouted
> > food is the most nutritious of all the foods,
> > check out this page of my website. This is just
> > the tip of the iceberg. So when you read
> websites
> > saying it is not worth sprouting seeds, do not
> > believe them, they couldn't be more wrong.
> >
> [www.thesproutarian.com]
>
> >
> how/12203702-sprouting-is-the-finest-food-preparat
>
> > ion-tool-we-have?page=2
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Also, I was wondering if I should leave the
> > flax
> > > seeds uncovered on the cotton cloth, and if I
> > do
> > > that, I will not be able to protect them from
> > > flies, mosquitoes, other little insects in
> the
> > > house. How do you deal with that? Or perhaps
> > > living here in India just brings more flies
> and
> > > bugs than in the US.
> >
> > Put a screen over them.
>
>
> Thanks. Since the seeds should not be on top of
> each other while sprouting, I imagine that they
> should also not be touching a piece of cloth or
> something else that acts as a screen. So I suppose
> the screen be an inch or more above the seeds and
> not touching them. Is that correct?


Lay some heavy cotton cloth on a plastic tray and spread the soaked flax seeds on it (only takes a minute). Doesn't matter if a few are on top of each other, but try to spread them out.

Use a tray with sides so you can peg muslin cloth (see link) to the sides, OR put the trays in a box and seal with muslin cloth at the top, OR put the trays on a small set of portable shelves and seal with plastic all around and have a plastic front area that can be used as a door and left to hang there.

Look at this link for how l grow flax and chia and for what muslin cloth is.
[www.thesproutarian.com]

See this video to see me sprouting flax and how l lay the seeds out on a tray covered in cloth at 7:40 - 11:48

Improving EPA/DHA levels in vegans and creating diet synergy - sprouted flax/chia
[www.youtube.com]

www.thesproutarian.com

Dear Sproutarian Man,

I am busy in life, so I have bought flax from this company, Bio-kinetics. According to the nutrition fact sheets, 20g provides 100% B-12 for an adult daily. It has to do with their sprouting process. I am sure you wouldn't like this product, but how much B-12 do you think is intact once it reaches the consumer via mail? And actually, I have made things like dehydrated raw "bread" with this flax, so it's even further exposed to air.

[www.bio-kinetics.com]#

I have bought many raw sprouted flours from them, including the baby cereals. THe baby cereals have been sifted to make them ready to eat. THey can be eaten for adults as well, but the nutrition facts on the package is for babies. The nutrition facts for humans are set at 3/4 cup per serving.

Do you think your sprouted flax has B-12?

Thanks, TSM.

Tai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dear Sproutarian Man,
>
> I am busy in life, so I have bought flax from this
> company, Bio-kinetics. According to the nutrition
> fact sheets, 20g provides 100% B-12 for an adult
> daily. It has to do with their sprouting process.



Ah yes, the old easy to get B12 from food claim `eh. Many companies make that claim with many of the algaes and all sorts of foods, yet vegans who takes these foods still report B12 issues, however some vegans take B12 foods such as vitamineral green and their levels rise up. It's a very complicated subject, but lwill bring up some issues in the short time l have available off the top of my head.

So why are some foods that are high in B12 not improving true B12 levels? Well the controversial Victor Herbert says that B12 analogues increase one's needs for B12, however l have never found scientific proof of those claims. And lets also note that his science papers also say the human body is made up of 90 - 95% B12 analogues, but that doesn't stop the human body being deficient, and maybe there is a way for the body to convert B12 analogues to real B12?? BUT...there is also the argument most of the analogues are not in parts of the body that interferes with real B12 storage, and this makes sense to me. So what happens when we inject B12 analogues, does it really increase B12 needs, where is the proof? Just saying....I will get to the meat of you question in the next paragraph.



So...would your powdered flax still retain the B12? I would say it is unlikely. Why? Because dried foods lose the real B12 and converts to analogues, and we basically know that foods like spiritulina which contain massive amounts of B12 analogues don't improve B12 levels in vegans. It's the same story with dried nori...it sometimes improves B12 levels and other times it doesn't do anything. I would NOT rely on dried flax for B12.





> I am sure you wouldn't like this product,


I absolutely do not like that product at all. I scoff at such things. First they call it sprouted, but l am willing to bet their version of sprouted is soaked flax to reduce anti nutrients and then to dry it and then grind it. Pthh. And then we have the problem of oxidisation, and if you study the science of lipid peroxidisation you absolutely would NOT be going near this product what-so-ever!!! It is the same old use of marketing gimicks...sprouted and extra nutrition to try and make the public think it is worthwhile and useful. You think oxidised fats are going to improve DHA levels?...unlikely. This likely explains imo why fish studies are so unreliable...sometimes the DHA works and other times it doesn't, and scientists suspect it is the oxidised fats which reduce effectiveness of the DHA in fish oils...same would apply to oxidised flax.

Btw, you think a company is going to spread flax out on trays and actually sprouted it? Ugh ugh.



>but how
> much B-12 do you think is intact once it reaches
> the consumer via mail?



Likely not much. Why? I use the nori B12 study and how drying converts B12 to analogues and studies show eating dried nori can result in gretatly reduced levels of B12 in the body.



>And actually, I have made
> things like dehydrated raw "bread" with this flax,
> so it's even further exposed to air.


Yes.




> Do you think your sprouted flax has B-12?


Virtually none imo.

www.thesproutarian.com

TSM wrote:

the nori B12 study and how drying converts B12 to analogues

Because dried foods lose the real B12 and converts to analogues

Tai:
I did not know that. I didn't know where B-12 analogues came from. THank you for telling me that. I wish I would have told you about this company sooner before I got so much product from them.

However, I will praise the company when the product has been freshly milled. Most people don't have time to make their own sprouted food.

Anyway, you probably know, TSM, that many raw fooders use freshly ground flax for bread, cracker and pizza crust creations in the dehydrator that takes less than 24 hours to dry. Flax is so wonderful as a binder.

Thank you, TSM.

TSM, your flax sprouts are beautiful! thank you for reminding me to sprout my flax!

I have fallen into the habit of keeping a jar of soaked chia or flax in the fridge for adding to smoothies etc. More for my boyfriend than me, as I do more juices then smoothies. I hope soaking is enough to sufficiently reduce phytates.. but I'm not sure.

I occasionally 'live on the edge' heh heh and eat unsoaked ground flax, usually when I need some kind of flour in a recipe. It's not often I make recipes though (too lazy). And I sometimes have a flax/clay shake for detox purposes, in those instances I don't pre-soak the flax.

iandthou, you have good questions



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Tai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Tai:
> I did not know that. I didn't know where B-12
> analogues came from. THank you for telling me
> that.



Hi Tai,

it is not as simple as that however. Sometimes dried nori contains the real usuable B12 and other times the dried nori contain analogues, so what exactly makes usable B12 turn into analogues?

Note, some dried chlorella contains real B12 and other species don't. Rick Dina personally increased his B12 levels by using dried vitamineral green powder.

We know that B12 is bacteria, so maybe at a certain point the bacteria in the food dries out. The chemical structure of B12 is the same, but the function of B12 is different and is hence an analogue. Maybe the bacteria can't live as long in certain foods like spirulina as opposed to certain species of chlorella etc.

The bigger question is...why are foods said to increase B12 needs when the body is already full of analogues? I think it has something to do with food analogues going into a different part of the body from where the body's natural B12 analogues are stored....I have an explanation answer writtin in my notes somewhere.



lisa m Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TSM, your flax sprouts are beautiful! thank you
> for reminding me to sprout my flax!



Yes, that is why l posted it because it is easy to forget to do these important things.


>
> I have fallen into the habit of keeping a jar of
> soaked chia or flax in the fridge for adding to
> smoothies etc.


Yes, that is why l spent time to remind people of the beauty of sprouted chia and flax. It is easy to fall into BAD HABITS!!! Bad habits can be very conventient, but that is why l always like to remind people not to neglect the sprouting.





>More for my boyfriend than me, as
> I do more juices then smoothies. I hope soaking
> is enough to sufficiently reduce phytates.. but
> I'm not sure.


Not neccessarily, but that is not always a problem like previous thought. The key imo is to have good bacteria levels in the body via fermented foods so the body can naturally break down anti nutrient bonds much better.

IMO the modern day humans, especially humans who aren't breast fed have less good natural bacteria levels so some people are more prone to being intolerant of raw food. I was like that until l increased my bacteria levels and revolutionised my health and digestive functioning. Other people report the same thing. I think this also applies to animals....many have raw food intolerances that are greatlyimproved with probiotics, so maybe modern day animals are also poorly effected by the modern day environment??

Remember, phytic acid is a phytochemical and serves important health roles in the body, and now new science has shedded light on phytic acid as being desirable. Think about it...there are heaps of anti nutrients in foods, and people get all scared and want to avoid them all, but that is not desirable because we will miss out on so much beneficial phytochemicals. Nature put anti nutrient phytochemicals in food for a reason, and it was NOT to hurt us by robbing us of nutrients. IMO if the body is brought up to proper health the body won't be robbed of nutrients by these `so called' anti nutrients. The key is to build the body up to a state and supply a level of nutrition whereby the body can handle anti nutrients. The real big problem are some of the rogue indigestable proteins, but goitrogens and phytic acid and oxalic acid and others don't seem to be as much of an issue IF we include certain foods in the diet.




>
> I occasionally 'live on the edge' heh heh and eat
> unsoaked ground flax,

Wow, that IS living on the edge. Many raw fooders live on the edge and also eat non sprouted chia. There is no need to be making things harder on oneself that what they need to be. Why scrape the bottom on the barrel and live on the egde?? Instead, why not eat like a King everyday and include the sprouts and ferments!!!

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2015 12:54AM by The Sproutarian Man.

iandthou

coffee grinder... grind flax seeds
consume right away
so oxidation is negligible
yes, such gadgets are indeed artificial
so...your choice

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
>
> Not neccessarily, but that is not always a problem
> like previous thought. The key imo is to have good
> bacteria levels in the body via fermented foods so
> the body can naturally break down anti nutrient
> bonds much better.

> Many raw fooders live on the edge and also eat non sprouted chia.
> There is no need to be making things harder on
> oneself that what they need to be. Why scrape the
> bottom on the barrel and live on the egde??
> Instead, why not eat like a King everyday and
> include the sprouts and ferments!!!


Sometimes I just don't have time to sprout stuff. *shrugs*

I include a lot of fermented foods (well, drinks actually) in my diet, so I reckon my internal flora is up to the job

And I was just kidding about 'living on the edge' - if I found myself worrying about eating non-sprouted chia, then I'd have to sit myself down and give myself a good talking to

Thanks for the thoughts TSM, always appreciated!



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lisa m Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Sometimes I just don't have time to sprout stuff.
> *shrugs*


It can be like that, it takes dedication by taking extra time out of your life if you want to sprout each day as a lifestyle.




> I include a lot of fermented foods (well, drinks
> actually) in my diet, so I reckon my internal
> flora is up to the job


Good, those fermented seeds like sunflower and sesame are especially good. I also like to blend sprouted chia in rejuvalic for 25 seconds and drink as a creamy milkshake.



>
> And I was just kidding about 'living on the edge'
> - if I found myself worrying about eating
> non-sprouted chia, then I'd have to sit myself
> down and give myself a good talking to

Haha, yes l knew you were joking, and so were l. None-the-less, consuming non sprouted chia is quite radical because the protein is notoriously undigestable. According to this science test the protein in chia is only 24% digestable. Notice how more digestable milled seed is at 79%. Imagine milled seed sitting in rejuvalic or sprouted seed mixed with rejuvalic,it would be much more highly absorbable than ordinary raw chia.


PROTEIN DIGESTIBILITY OF CHIA SEED Salvia hispanica L
[www.respyn.uanl.mx]


>
> Thanks for the thoughts TSM, always appreciated!

No problem, and thanks for the nice words.

www.thesproutarian.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2015 09:36PM by The Sproutarian Man.

tSM wrote

None-the-less, consuming non sprouted chia is quite radical because the protein is notoriously undigestable. According to this science test the protein in chia is only 24% digestable. Notice how more digestable milled seed is at 79%. Imagine milled seed sitting in rejuvalic or sprouted seed mixed with rejuvalic,it would be much more highly absorbable than ordinary raw chia.

tai:
I looked at the study. thanks for posting that, tsm. It says chia flour is the
most digestible. WHat is Chia flour? Is it defatted? Or is it just milled? there is a raw company that sells chia oil and de-oiled chia "protein" powder. thoughts?

[www.foodsalive.com]

thanks for bringing that to our attention. (my keyboard is failing me. I can't type certain things like capital t.)

The Sproutarian Man Wrote:
>
>
> Lay some heavy cotton cloth on a plastic tray and
> spread the soaked flax seeds on it (only takes a
> minute). Doesn't matter if a few are on top of
> each other, but try to spread them out.
>
> Use a tray with sides so you can peg muslin cloth
> (see link) to the sides, OR put the trays in a box
> and seal with muslin cloth at the top, OR put the
> trays on a small set of portable shelves and seal
> with plastic all around and have a plastic front
> area that can be used as a door and left to hang
> there.
>
> Look at this link for how l grow flax and chia and
> for what muslin cloth is.
> [www.thesproutarian.com]
>
> See this video to see me sprouting flax and how l
> lay the seeds out on a tray covered in cloth at
> 7:40 - 11:48
>
> Improving EPA/DHA levels in vegans and creating
> diet synergy - sprouted flax/chia
> [www.youtube.com]


Thank you

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> iandthou
>
> coffee grinder... grind flax seeds
> consume right away
> so oxidation is negligible
> yes, such gadgets are indeed artificial
> so...your choice

Thanks

Tai wrote:
WHat is Chia flour? Is it defatted? Or is it just milled? there is a raw company that sells chia oil and de-oiled chia "protein" powder. thoughts?

Tai:
I tried making chia butter in my stone melanger yesterday and it took HOURS and hours. It took far longer than most other seeds. I think it was harder than flax. Both flax and chia take too long in the melanger. Yet, they are easy enough to powder in the vitamix, when just covering the blades and not going higher.

I will never make chia (or flax) butter again. It was a waste of electricity.

How do you store whole flax seeds once it's opened? It says it should be consumed in a week but two spoonful of it every morning might as well last me a whole month! Should I throw it away?