Nuts are a great source of protein (ten to 25 per cent) and up to 80 per cent of the  fat they contain is unsaturated.

Nuts (plain I’m afraid!) are also a significant source of fibre, minerals (copper, magnesium and potassium) and vitamins such as folic acid, niacin, Vitamin E and Vitamin B6, and antioxidants.

But the best way to absorb all these nutrients, is to activate your nuts!

So how do you activate nuts?

A process of soaking and then drying nuts allows the nutrients to be released when you eat them, while leaving them tasting the same.

 It also reduces phytic acid and anti-nutrients.

Phytic acid binds to minerals in the human gastrointestinal tract and can cause pain and irritation. 

Raw nuts also contain enzyme inhibitors. These help to prevent premature sprouting and yet they can also bind with minerals and cause further digestive stress. Both of these issues cancel out all the nutritional benefits of eating nuts as many of the nutrients they contain can’t be digested. 

Nutrients such as iron, protein, calcium, and zinc cannot be properly assimilated in their raw form so soak nuts and seeds overnight for at least 7 hours to activate enzymes that make them easier to absorb and digest. Soak in filtered water with sea salt, then drain, rinse and dehydrate. Discard the water afterwards and store the nuts in the fridge.

Dr Caroline Orfila, Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Leeds, explains:

Nuts  are essentially the seeds of nut trees – apart from peanuts, which are related to peas, not nuts. When you soak seeds, including nuts, in water, two phenomena occur: leaching of protease inhibitors [molecules that inhibit digestion] into the water and activating  of the germination process, so the amount of starch and fibre reduces, while the protein and vitamin content rise.

This is why germinating seeds and nuts are easier to digest than dry, raw nuts. However, most nuts bought at British supermarkets have been blanched [quickly cooked in boiling water] or roasted, which also inactivates the protease inhibitors.

‘Roasted nuts are not alive any more, so they will not activate.’

THERE’S RAW…  AND THERE’S REALLY RAW

Certain nuts and seeds, such as cashews and almonds, are actually poisonous in their completely unadulterated state (indeed, you are unlikely to see a totally raw cashew – great big colourful orange things – on sale in the UK for this very reason, and in the US it is illegal to sell them in normal retailers).

But you can buy nuts labelled ‘raw’. This means they have been gently processed before sale to remove toxins, but not roasted or strongly heated, allowing them to retain their ability to germinate.

Few bags of nuts in supermarkets say how they have been treated – although Food Doctor nuts do specify that they are raw. But there are  a wide variety of online sources including naturesbest.co.uk, thenuthut.co.uk and healthysupplies.co.uk.

LIKE PICKING MUSHROOMS…

Dr Orfila sounds a serious note of caution about activating nuts  at home.

My only concern is that nuts are grown in many tropical places, and therefore even dry raw nuts can have microbes on them  – particularly fungi, which can  be dangerous.

Always buy nuts from a trusted place, store them in a cool, dark,  dry place and eat them by the use-by date. If germinating – or activating – wash the raw nuts, use clean water, and eat the day after.

The last major E.coli incident in Europe [in Germany] happened as  a result of seeds germinated in contaminated water.’

As for picking nuts or seeds from trees and bushes, Dr Orfila advises against it. ‘It is a bit like collecting mushrooms – best left to experts. I would recommend either buying them already activated, or only working with nuts that you know are not toxic.’

And of course buying nuts all ready activated saves a lot of time and mess!