Which do you think is more healthy? Raw wheat bread dehyrated at 100 degrees for 12 hours or cooked sweet potato lightly steamed for 10 minutes?

I think my fresh fruit smoothies are healthier than those 2 choices above. But to answer your question I think the sweet potato would be the healthier choice as it's a whole food and is less processed.

Love,
Prism

My vote is for the sweet potato too, because I don't think wheat is that healthy with all the gluten that's in it.

I would think the sweet potato.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

For me it's absolutely the sweet potato. No gluten.

I'd go for the raw grains. Cooked sweet potatoes on a raw diet give my stomach a heavy, burning sensation. Whereas sprouted grains make me feel fantastic.

Don't have too much experience with sprouted wheat myself though. It's not something I buy.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2007 02:39AM by sunshine79.

Sweet potatoes which I often have as a treat myself!

Try this. DON"T COOK the sweet potato, it changes it and kills the "good stuff" . Use a blender, preferably a VITA mix that really mixes and put raw sweet potato, raw pumpkin, a litle celtic salt (good for ya minerals in there) and HOT water and blend just until it';s a soup. It's raw, it's good, it has enzymes still alive...unlike cooked potato. You can put cheese on top to melt and crackers if you like. :-)

The sweet potato, obviously. Doesn't raw bread have a bunch of miscellaneous ingredients in it? Blech.

I agree with sweet potato. Grains contain opioids and phytic acids, which contribute to osteoporosis.

bostonhill Wrote:
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> Try this. DON"T COOK the sweet potato, it changes
> it and kills the "good stuff" . Use a blender,
> preferably a VITA mix that really mixes and put
> raw sweet potato, raw pumpkin, a litle celtic salt
> (good for ya minerals in there) and HOT water and
> blend just until it';s a soup. It's raw, it's
> good, it has enzymes still alive...unlike cooked
> potato. You can put cheese on top to melt and
> crackers if you like. :-)

that was such a great response, i wanted to make soup myself right then!

terrific. until the bit about the cheese and crackers. what? don't cook the sweet potato but do have that other cooked, processed, non-vegan stuff? oookkkaaayyy.

sorry about the cheese and crackers (that was a little harsh) but I did have to say at that point "if you like" because I had to for my husband..... :-) Hope ya like it.

I would also choose sweet potato over any grain. Beet is good, too.

Sweet potato contains phytic acid, like grains. But since the mineral content is generally higher than that for whole grains you probably get better nutrition from it. It's also higher in protective phytochemicals than whole grains.

Are there any good articles on grain damage? I would love to read them.

well...those are two foods on my NO list, like no grains and no potatoes.

although i do sometimes enjoy a nice micro-brewery beer, which i guess would be considered a grain.

arugula Wrote:
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> Sweet potato contains phytic acid, like grains.

Do you know what the phytic acid levels are for whole grain wheat versus sweet potato? I searched the net but I only found a comparison between wheat bran and rice. However, I did find some research which indicates that sprouting can reduce phytic acid levels by up to 50%. If I can find the initial phytic acid levels then I can calculate how sprouted wheat compares to sweet potato. Thanks for any info...

Are sprouted grains like amaranth, quinoa, and spelt as bad as wheat? I bought a little bit to try growing, out of curiosity, but now I wonder, should I be eating these? O.o

"Grains contain opioids and phytic acids, which contribute to osteoporosis."

OMG, really? I recently rationalized grains back into my diet ... and I guess I gotta' rationalize them back out. (Just when I was starting to have fun)

Because I don't like to prepare ... I mean anything, my menu is so narrow. I'm screaming for variety -- I guess I'll have to hire a raw food chef on occasion ...

xoxo,
Lita

[paintedrenderings.blogspot.com]

sweet tater

wheat is very very bad for me and mine

peace-

mameyluver Wrote:
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> "Grains contain opioids and phytic acids, which
> contribute to osteoporosis."
>
> OMG, really? I recently rationalized grains back
> into my diet ... and I guess I gotta' rationalize
> them back out. (Just when I was starting to have
> fun)

Grains, legumes, and sweet potatos contain phytic acids. Ruminants produce an enzyme called phytase which helps them digest phytates but we don't. However, humans do produce an enzyme called amylase which helps us digest starches. I'm not aware of any foods that are high in starch which aren't also high in phytic acid. It's as if we're half adapted to eat foods like grains, legumes, and sweet potatos and half not.

I'm still not quite sure what to conclude from this information but I'm experimenting with grains and legumes in my diet right now to see how my body responds. I also purchased some scientific journals on phytates so I'll let you all know if I read anything interesting...

bostonhill Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Try this. DON"T COOK the sweet potato, it changes
> it and kills the "good stuff" . Use a blender,
> preferably a VITA mix that really mixes and put
> raw sweet potato, raw pumpkin, a litle celtic salt
> (good for ya minerals in there) and HOT water and
> blend just until it';s a soup. It's raw, it's
> good, it has enzymes still alive...unlike cooked
> potato. You can put cheese on top to melt and
> crackers if you like. :-)


HUH??? Did I read that correctly... put cheese on top
and crackers??? Why bother with the raw sweet potato if
you are going to ruin it putting that garbage on top. Just
cook the sweet potato and eat it... much healthier.

phantom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are sprouted grains like amaranth, quinoa, and
> spelt as bad as wheat? I bought a little bit to
> try growing, out of curiosity, but now I wonder,
> should I be eating these? O.o

Amaranth, quinoa and also buckwheat are not grains. They are seeds. Sometimes they are referred to as psuedo-grains because they are eaten in ways that are similar to true grains. If you look them up you will see that they come from leafy plants rather than grasses. None of them contain gluten. They are all very nutritious.

Spelt is an ancient, non-hybridized form of wheat. It has less gluten than wheat but still has some. Soaking and sprouting spelt as well as other grains pretty much removes the phytic acid as well as vastly increasing the levels of many nutrients. But wheat and spelt and kamut still do have some gluten even after sprouting.

If you want to maximize the nutrients you get from your food all seads and nuts and grains should be soaked at least to the point of germination.

Hope that helps and didn't come off as too pedantic.

No5 Wrote:
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> Do you know what the phytic acid levels are for
> whole grain wheat versus sweet potato? I searched
> the net but I only found a comparison between
> wheat bran and rice. However, I did find some
> research which indicates that sprouting can reduce
> phytic acid levels by up to 50%. If I can find
> the initial phytic acid levels then I can
> calculate how sprouted wheat compares to sweet
> potato. Thanks for any info...

I purchased a scientific journal which contains this information. Sweet potatos contain approximately 20% of the phytate that whole wheat contains on average. Sweet potatos along with the other tubers appear to have the lowest phytate levels when compared with other starchy foods like grains and legumes.

However, there are processing methods which can reduce phytate levels in whole wheat. This includes soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and cooking. Cooking isn't an option for raw foodists. Fermenting is typically done with active yeasts. This also isn't an option since active yeasts must be deactivated with heat at some point or the yeast will continue to grow inside your body.

Sprouting is an option but significant phytate reduction requires significant germination times. The 50% reduction I stated previously requires a week of germination time for whole wheat. However, there are other positive outcomes from sprouting whole wheat including an increase in certain nutrients.

Soaking is also an option. There are 4 major factors in the effectiveness of soaking whole wheat. This includes temperature, pH, time, and whether or not the whole wheat has been ground into flour. The greatest phytate reduction is achieved with temperatures ranging between 95 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, pH ranging between 4.5 and 5.2, increased soaking times, and ground flour.

What this suggests is grinding your whole wheat, mixing it with a warm acidic solution, and leaving it in warm air for several hours. You can create a warm acidic solution by adding fresh lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar to warm water. You can achieve warm air with your dehydrator.

However, the dehydrator will obviously dry this mixture so you could either enclose it in a container that will preserve moisture or you could soak it at room temperature for a while before dehydrating it. Interestingly enough, there is a web site that promotes a very similar process...

[www.suegregg.com]

The recipe on this web site also includes fermentation and cooking but the first stage of the process is relevant. I haven't tried this process yet so I don't know how the bread will taste or how it will make my body feel over time but I will certainly let you know...

Chive Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amaranth, quinoa and also buckwheat are not
> grains. They are seeds. Sometimes they are
> referred to as psuedo-grains because they are
> eaten in ways that are similar to true grains. If
> you look them up you will see that they come from
> leafy plants rather than grasses. None of them
> contain gluten. They are all very nutritious.
>
> Spelt is an ancient, non-hybridized form of wheat.
> It has less gluten than wheat but still has some.
> Soaking and sprouting spelt as well as other
> grains pretty much removes the phytic acid as well
> as vastly increasing the levels of many nutrients.
> But wheat and spelt and kamut still do have some
> gluten even after sprouting.
>
> If you want to maximize the nutrients you get from
> your food all seads and nuts and grains should be
> soaked at least to the point of germination.
>
> Hope that helps and didn't come off as too
> pedantic.

You are correct in stating that amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat are seeds with no gluten content but they still contain phytic acid. In fact, there are some seeds and nuts which contain more phytic acid than whole wheat. There are also fruits and vegetables which contain phytic acid although usually at lower levels than grains, seeds, and nuts.

It is only partially correct to state that soaking and sprouting can completely hydrolyze phytates. These processes can achieve that result but only if the conditions are right. I mention some of these conditions in an earlier reply on this thread. However, I agree with your conclusion. Soaking and sprouting are beneficial processes which are recommended for any grain, seed, or nut.

Cheers...

i vote for the raw grains. raw anything is usually better than cooked. a lot of the complaints people have with grains is in it's cooked version. we can digest grains just fine it's raw form, even if it globs up and gets sticky like grains is known for. That is just it's texture and it provides an interesting texture for eating. So, i'd load up on all the grains i wanted as long as i ate it raw. Sweet potato is also great raw.

I wouild have to go with the sweet potatoe

Jim

I'm suprised no one wants the raw wheat bread. When grains are sprouted, they are very nutritious. Do you all also avoid rye and other grains?

I think there is good evidence for the sweet potato. Some of the longest lived people are in mountainous regions where grains don't grow well and they get most of their calories from sweet potatoes (China, Japan, including Okinawa). I mean over 50%, which is a lot.

If my food bill keeps going up I will consider falling back on the sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes also contain phytic acid. But apparently it doesn't do much harm.

which one is more healthy: probably the sweet potato

which one would i eat: probably the bread. if i start rationalizing/allowing myself cooked food, i set myself on a very slippery slope. psychologically i need to remain a "rawfoodist". that said, i rarely eat dehydrated food, but i love raw sweet potatoes (sliced thin as "chips" for dip, or made into soups...)

How about both?

I'm with maui_butterfly. I will stay away from anything cooked. I feel really horrible after eating any cooked foods. For me, this is about being raw.

However, I don't consider myself a purist. I intend to eat God-made food instead of man-made food. Period. If it's a natural food and it can be eaten raw, it's on the menu. (Except onions, cuz they're just really, really awful!) I don't care about phytates or whatever. I'll listen to my body and adjust my diet accordingly.

There IS a purist in me. Believe me! And it's a perfectionistic one! However, this is an area where I choose to lighten-up. If it's natural, it's a good food, unless my body rejects it for any reason.

I have a friend on YouTube who has convinced me that dehydrators can be useful. I don't intend to make dehydrated food a very big part of my diet, but a very limited amount isn't a bad thing.