Lentils are a healthy food that comes with a few caveats. They have more protein and less carbohydrate than any other legume besides soybeans and peanuts, and they contain a remarkable array of vitamins and minerals, particularly B vitamins. One cup delivers 90% of your RDA of folate, so between lentils and liver there's no need for those sketchy prenatal vitamins. Lentils must be properly prepared to be digestible and nutritious! I can't emphasize this enough. We did not evolve eating legumes, so we have to take certain steps to be able to digest them adequately. As with all beans and grains, proper soaking is essential to neutralize their naturally occurring toxins and anti-nutrients. Anti-nutrients are substances that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Soaking activates enzymes in the seeds themselves that degrade these substances. It also cuts down substantially on cooking time and reduces flatulence.
Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that's abundant in beans, grains and nuts. It can dramatically reduce the absorption of important minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc, leading to deficiencies over time. It may be one of the main reasons human stature decreased after the adoption of agriculture, and it probably continues to contribute to short stature and health problems around the world.
Lentils and other seeds also contain trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin is one of the digestive system's main protein-digesting enzymes, and seeds probably inhibit it as a defense against predators. Another class of toxins are the lectins. Certain lectins are able to bind to and damage the digestive tract, and even pass into the circulation and possibly wreak havoc. This is a short list of a few of the toxins found in beans and grains. Fortunately, all of these toxins can be reduced or eliminated by proper soaking. I like to soak all legumes for a full 24 hours, adding warm water halfway through. This increases the activity of the toxin-degrading enzymes.
Here's a method for preparing lentils that I've found to be effective. You will actually save time by doing it this way rather than cooking them without soaking, because they cook so much more quickly:
- 24 hours before cooking, place dry lentils in a large bowl and cover with 2" of water or more.
- After 12 hours or so, drain and cover the lentils with very warm water (not hot tap water).
- Drain and rinse before cooking.
- To cook, simply cover the soaked lentils with fresh water and boil until tender. I like to add a 2-inch piece of the seaweed kombu to increase mineral content and digestibility.
many thanks to *clarity* for the CC photo
13 comments:
This post reminds me - I've been wondering about sprouted grains. Does the sprouting process break down lectin and other toxins and make the grain a more viable source of nutrition?
Hi jcmdesign,
Yes, sprouting breaks down the lectins. You just want them barely sprouted, because if they sprout too much they will begin producing lectins again.
Stephan, do you still think it is proper to drain and rinse before cooking? I ask because I think I read in one of your later posts on soaking rice that the fermentation process breaks down the phytic acid and the bound minerals that are released then precipitate (or something) in the solution, so that suggests you'd actually want to keep that soaking water. Any updated thoughts here?
I love lentils, they are easy to prepare and they are tasty.
Hi Ed,
I do think it's best to drain and rinse. The tannins and other anti-nutrients leach into the soaking liquid and remain there.
Hi Stephan, I enjoy your blog immensely. After soaking for 24 hours, how long do you have to cook to remove all the lectins and other harmful substances?
Thanks!
Hi Villanewva,
I think it's fine if you just cook them to taste.
Are legumes good too, assuming you soak them overnight to remove the lectin?
I'd like to do a legumes/lentil soup on a slow cooker!
Have you studied how effective your process is? What were your results? What were you controls and limits of lectin detection?
Cattail
What about B-vits? After soaking, rinsing and cooking, do any of the water-soluble vitamins remain?
Is it the same with canned beans or are they considered "safe" from lectins?
Would traditional methods entail also fermenting these beans - possibly use some already existing fermentation solution from previously soaked brown rice, for example?
I'm confused about the distinction between "very warm water" and "not hot tap water". Are you saying hotter than hot tap water?
Stephan, you said in an earlier post that if the lentils sprout too much, they will make lectins again. How will this affect my attempts at growing lentil greens for my rabbits and goats? I am attempting soil mineral baalanced pasture and hope to free range my animals on it (not exactly the rabbits- they are in a wire lined pen and I must cut their forage and put it in there.). I tried to put raw dry lentils in the rabbit feeder but they dug them out and don't seem impressed. I am trying for an alternative to rice bran which in itself has been a wonderful supplement, but now is contaminated with arsenic. I decided on camelina seed and lentils, and am trying to grow them as greens.
Post a Comment