Adding soaked almonds to your daily or weekly health regimen can help you unlock all the nutrients and active ingredients in these popular nuts. While almonds themselves are pretty healthy, the soaked version is also a considerable option.
What are Soaked Almonds?
Soaked almonds are simply almonds that have been soaked overnight, rather than eaten in their raw form. Why soak almonds? This allows you to reduce the number of tannins and acids present in the skin of the nut, which can inhibit nutrient uptake by the body. Essentially, soaking these nuts in water will make more of their bounty bioavailable for use by your body. [1]
While almonds are certainly healthy enough on their own, soaking these nuts will enable you to absorb more vitamins and minerals from them, as well as stimulate enzymatic activity that can help improve digestion. Finally, some find soaked almonds more pleasant to eat in terms of texture; they can be used in various culinary preparations, too.
Soaked Almonds Nutrition
This particular type of almond has many of the same nutrients as raw almonds, along with higher levels of key B vitamins and enzymes like lipase. According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, blanched almonds are also a good source of potassium, dietary fiber, protein, and healthy fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and a low level of saturated fats. Calcium and iron are also found in almonds, in addition to powerful antioxidants that can improve overall health. [2] [3]
How to Soak Almonds?
If you want to switch from raw almonds to soaked almonds, you will need to think ahead – at least by a day.
- The most tried and true method is to simply add two cups of almonds to a bowl of water and cover them with warm water.
- After 12 hours, drain the water and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Then, fill the bowl with warm water again and allow them to sit for 12 hours.
- At the end of this 24-hour period, you can easily peel off the brown skin of the almonds (if it hasn’t already separated)
- These soaked almonds can be stored for up to one week without losing any of their nutritional potency.
Soaked almonds help to improve your digestion. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Benefits of Soaked Almonds
Due to the greater availability of more vitamin E, dietary fiber, and folic acid in soaked almonds, it has beneficial effects on digestion, skin appearance, and chronic diseases.
Skin and Hair
Almonds contain vitamins that help improve the skin and hair. There is significantly more vitamin E available in soaked almonds than traditional raw almonds; this vitamin acts as an antioxidant to reduce inflammation and damage to both hair and skin. [4]
Pregnancy
With again higher available levels of folic acid than raw almonds, soaked almonds can help to prevent neural tube defects, which is caused by a deficiency of folate. [5]
Digestion
As almonds contain a good amount of dietary fiber, soaked almonds can help regulate peristaltic motion, thereby reducing symptoms of constipation, indigestion, bloating, and cramping. [6]
Weight Loss
According to a research paper published in the Science Journal Of Agricultural Research and Management, soaked almonds contain more protein than raw almonds. Not only can the fiber found in soaked almonds help your digestive process, but it can also prevent feelings of hunger, which is ideal for people who are trying to cut back on their calorie consumption and lose weight. [7]
Chronic Disease
Almonds are an excellent source of antioxidants, which can neutralize free radicals and may help reduce your risk of chronic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.
Research conducted on rodents showed that soaked almonds exhibit vitamin E dependent memory-protective effect. This means that having overnight soaked almonds, (which enriches the vitamin-E content of almonds) has implications for effectively ameliorating memory impairment at low doses when consumed in empty stomach. [8]
Heart Health
Soaked almonds have high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which can help balance cholesterol. A study conducted in 2015 suggests that intake of almonds may help reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. [9]
Furthermore, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition shows that almonds, in general, can increase the HDL (good) cholesterol in patients suffering from coronary artery disease. [10]
