Why Soaking Legumes Is More Beneficial–Know From An Ayurveda Expert!

Ever heard your grandmother telling your mother that she should soak legumes in some water before cooking them? If yes, today you will understand the actual reason behind it. Sometimes things we do not know seem meaningless, but sometimes there is Ayurveda behind it. Ayurveda means the ‘science of life,’ which means various things are followed in Ayurveda, is scientifically valid. 

Today, we will understand why Ayurveda experts advise you to soak legumes before your cook. As per Dr. Dixa Bhavsar, an Ayurveda expert, there are various benefits of soaking legumes into the water before cooking. 

Yes, if you soak legumes into the water, this increases the nutrition absorption and your digestion process as well. If you have seen your mother cooking, you must be aware of the fact that it is the part of the process to soak chickpeas (chhole), green gram (moong dal), and kidney beans (rajma) to soak overnight to cook the other day or at least for various hours so that the beans become more soft, which makes it easy to cook. 

When you soak legumes and beans for several hours, this will improve your digestion, nutrition absorption, saves time for cooking and various health benefits. Absorption of legumes and beans helps to helps to remove tannins and phytic acid that restrict the absorption of nutrition and also leads to bloating. 

Health Benefits of Soaking Legumes:

1.  When you soak legumes for hours or overnight, this increases nutrition absorption. If you want to get more benefits from your meals, it is better to soak them in some water. 

2.  According to the Ayurveda, soaking brings the prana (life) into the beans and legumes that are good for your health. 

3.  Certain elements in your food can restrict your nutrition absorption, like tannins and phytic acids. These two elements can be eliminated if you soak legumes overnight or for several hours. 

4.  People who experience bloating having their meals should also soak legumes before cooking. This can reduce the elements that cause bloating. 

5.  If you are someone who cooks daily, it is better to soak legumes overnight because this reduces the cooking time. 

6.  There are certain legumes that should be soaked for 8 to 12 hours, like urad dal, masoor dal, moong dal and tuvar dal. 

7.  If you want to soak split legumes, then it is best to soak for 6 to 8 hours. 

8.  If you want to soak heavy legumes like chana, chole and rajma, it is best to soak for 12 to 18 hours, which means soaking overnight is the best thing if you want to cook these legumes the other day. 

9.  Also, it is best to have heavy foods like legumes during your lunchtime when your digestive fire is at its peak because at that time sun is also at its peak. 

You can improve the digestion and the nutritional value both with this simple way of cooking your foods and the leftover water that can be used to water your plants. It is best to not use the soaked water for cooking, just use it to water your plants.

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