Whole Grains: How to Love Them, Big Finish

It's Tuesday - the day I try to write about things I'm grateful for.  And today, I'm going to combine my gratitude with my final installment of my series on Whole Grains: How to Love Them.

The more I learn about real food and whole grains, the more grateful I am to the Maker for supplying us with such rich and nourishing food.  The more I learn about how to unlock it and really USE it in my own diet, that gratitude just grows.  I am so thankful for bread - especially for sourdough - but I am a lover of breads of all kinds. 

So here's to whole grains and creating the most nourishing bread we can...

This is my short, sweet, totally non-exhaustive list of reasons why the soaking method of preparing whole grains is so, so good for us.

1.  It makes whole grains taste better.  That's right, soaking whole grains in an acid medium - be it lemon juice, vinegar, whey or buttermilk - breaks down not only phytates that can be harmful, it also makes whole wheat flour a lot more tender and delicious.  Sometimes we shy away from whole grains because they taste too...healthy.  But I've found the soaking process can create baked goods that make you forget you're eating so well.  I'm fooling a toddler regularly - and that should speak VOLUMES to the great results of this process.

2.  Nutrition - yes, yes...maybe this is a repeat of something I said in past posts, but it bears repeating.  Soaking whole grains, whether for cookies or cake or waffles, breaks down those harmful phytates and allows our bodies to access all the good things in whole grains.  If you want to know more about phytates and how they can block vitamins and minerals in our bodies, just go catch up on the first few posts in this series...here, here, here and...here.

3. Digestion - the soaking process makes it so much easier on your gut!  I'm not saying this method will suddenly end your fight with chronic bowel problems, but I'm here to tell you, when I'm eating only soaked or sprouted grains, I FEEL better.  And I have a sensitive system - nuff said.  The phytic content of whole grains makes your gut work really, really hard, producing enzymes it shouldn't have to to break down something it can't.  It's a lot of work - and no, it's not a good thing.  It's not about burning more calories in digestion.  It's about keeping your gut in balance and not feeding your body things it can't process. 

4.  Disease prevention - I've said before, a little phytic acid is a good thing!  But it goes a long way.  It blocks mineral absorbtion, and so the nutrition you think you're getting - to prevent cancer or nine million other ugly modern diseases - is just not getting through.  Soaking (and sprouting) ups your absorbtion of iron, niacin, zinc...a TON.  And those are the tools your body uses to keep you healthy and prevent disease.

Those are the big four reasons in my book.  I'm sure there are more...I know there are more...but for me, this little list keeps me coming back to my kitchen to soak, rise and bake. 

I hope maybe you'll try some Bake Lore bread sometime!  There are so many reasons to love it!



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Whole Grains: How to Love Them, Part the Second

For the tens of people who have been anxiously awaiting my next installment in this series on whole grains and how to love them - I write to you today!

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive introduction to whole grains.  I want to keep it simple, so there won't be diagrams of molecules and mess like that.  This is just the basics - so you can get an idea of how to get the most from the food you're eating and why you should be buying bread from me!  Tada!

So...we learned what phytates are in my introductory post. 

Then, we learned what phytates do for the grains and plants they live in in the next post.

Now, we are going to look at what phytates do in our bodies. 

First, phytates are also known as enzyme inhibitors.  They...gasp...inhibit enzymes.  When we eat them, they sortof attach themselves to the minerals and vitamins in our food and lock them up, preventing our digestive systems from breaking them down and delivering them to our cells. 

When you read the nutrition info on a loaf of bread and it says it has like 30% of your niacin, iron, zinc or magnesium for the day - your body will only absorb a small fraction of that number.  It's virtually impossible to absorb all of it, even under ideal conditions, but with the full phytic content of whole wheat still intact, it's safe to say your body won't see a lot of the good stuff you're trying to give it.

Because they are essentially indigestible and  block so much of the nutrition we need, phytates make our bodies work way too hard to process whole grains.  Our digestive tract goes into hyper drive to do its job, and that's pretty hard on us. 

Now, phytates aren't all bad.  In fact, their mineral blocking powers are beneficial in small quantities.  It can help prevent an overabundance of iron, for example, and it can even work as a kind of cleanser. 

But when eaten in in large quantities, phytates can really tear up your gut.  They can also cause vitamin deficiencies, which can lead to a whole host of health problems. 

So, what do phytates do in our bodies?  They block the absorbtion of nutrients.  In large quantities, they are harmful to our bodies.  However, in small quanities, they are fine and even beneficial, acting as a kind of cleanser for us. 

Next up:  How can we limit the consumption of phytates?  *oooo, sounds interesting.*  *I'll have to keep logging in to Bake Lore EVERY DAY to find out!!!*

Questions?  Comments?  Snide remarks?  You know where I am!!

Whole Grains: How to Love Them Part UNO

Hi gang!

As promised, I'm bringing you more (hopefully) helpful information about whole grain eating.  Everything I bring up in this four part series is reflective of the way I bake.  I'm not just rewording old wikipedia articles here!

A post or two ago, I introduced the concept of phytates and phytic acid.  Today, I'm going to give you a super fast, super simple explanation of why phytates exist. 

The super fast, super simple reason:  Plants need them. 

Now, for a slightly less fast, slightly more complex explanation...read on!

Phytic acid is an enzyme inhibitor - we'll talk more about that soon - it's also an insect inhibitor. 

That's right!  Plants grow stuff that keeps the bugs away, leaving them to grow another day.  So phytates are a survival tool...and when you're alive but inanimate and non-sentient, it's important to have something fighting for you!

Phytates are also what keeps seeds and such from going to sprout prematurely.  When phytic acid is neutralized, wheat berries sprout.  Without it, it would be like the plant version of 16 and Pregnant. 

Phytates help seeds know when the time is right.  (You know, like a guidance counselor or a helpful parent or Dr. Phil.)  A seed wouldn't sprout in a drought, right?  It would never survive to plant-adulthood and have sprouts of it's own if it did that! 

WHEAT BABIES!
photo credit

So the phytates keep things under control until the environment is right - nice and warm and a little damp.  That's the nuclear-family version of wheat berry reproduction...ideal! 

So...that's lesson one:  What phytates do in whole grains.

Tune in next time, when you'll hear Cousin Amy say:

"What do phytates do in our bodies???"

What's a Phytate? What's a What, Now?

A PHYTATE, my friends...say it with me "FY-tate."

Good! 

What is it?  So glad you asked!  A phytate - or rather, phytic acid - a little something that has a big, important job in the food we eat, but it never gets treated quite right and causes all sorts of problems when left unattended.

Think of it like a diva.  You gotta treat her right or she'll just claw your eyes out - or in this case, your digestive tract - with her acrylic nails.

Your average cereal grains - wheat, spelt, rice, oats, most nuts, several fruits and veggies and the queen mother of all phytic content: the soybean - they all have phytates.  These are essentially enzyme inhibitors.

Can you see the phytates?  No?  Look closer...
*snicker...gotcha...they're kinda invisible:)*

Very good and important things! 

What do they do?   Are they good?  Are they Bad?  What do you do with them??? 
 
My friends...you've come to the right place.  I am a baker of extremely nutritious breads and cookies and other things.  By way of explaining why I bake the way I do, I'm gonna fill you in on the many reasons why you should be eating the stuff I am baking.

Stay tuned and send me questions.  I'm digging in to a series on Whole Grains and How to Love Them!