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Why granola even if organic is not a healthy choice nutritionally or for the gut microbiome. Making your own is not even a healthy choice!
Is granola healthy to eat? Are brands from the store that are organic and/or sprouted acceptable?
What about homemade granola?
Sadly, the answer to all three of these questions is a resounding NO!
Even so-called “traditional granola” recipes, where soaked organic oats (or sprouted) are used before toasting in the oven, are not in the least bit digestible.
While soaking or sprouting oats before making granola is a big improvement, the fact is that digestive damage is still going to occur if you eat it. This preparation method is not traditional in the slightest.
Many granola fans do not seem to know that oats, even if sprouted or soaked first, are still not properly prepared in a traditional manner.
Thus, the proteins in the oats remain in a form that is extremely difficult to break down in the digestive tract.
Difficult-to-digest food that is not metabolized completely leaves undigested residues in the gut that cause pathogens to thrive.
This is why some people “crave” granola…it’s an addictive food like sugar that feeds gut pathogens.
Over time, pathogen overgrowth in the gut leads to a disrupted microbiome and eventually digestive symptoms.
The high potential of improperly prepared grains to harm health…with granola being perhaps the most prominent modern example…is why traditional societies took such great pains to soak, sprout, or ferment (sour leaven) them.
Here’s the last piece many folks seem to miss…
Not only did traditional peoples soak, sprout, or sour leaven their grains. They also thoroughly cooked them as the final preparation step before eating!
In other words, toasting sprouted or soaked oats in the oven does not fully deactivate the anti-nutrients.
Let’s explore this important precept of traditional diet in more detail below.
Why Granola is SO Difficult to Digest
The dry heat of an oven at the proper toasting temperature is simply not hot enough to complete the breakdown of anti-nutrients in oats or other grains.
Thus, even homemade granola is extremely difficult to digest. Eaten often, it can damage the gut over time.
Perhaps if a person has an iron gut, then homemade granola that is soaked or sprouted but not fully cooked might work on occasion.
The reality is that most people have sensitive guts today. This is a generational decline in health that is the result of several generations of children raised on antibiotics and processed foods.
Most people have some sort of digestive sensitivity to grains, even if there are no grain allergy symptoms present.
I know for me, I bloat terribly if I eat homemade granola that has been soaked or sprouted and then toasted.
Interestingly, thoroughly cooked unsoaked oatmeal digests far better.
The lesson to me is that the final cooking step for sprouted grains is very important!
Healthy Alternatives
The good news is that when you ditch granola, there are other options to consider that are very tasty and no more difficult to prepare.
In my home, I make these healthy breakfast cereal recipes instead of granola. Several of them provide that lovely crunch that is so yummy in milk for breakfast.
Another alternative is to make grain free granola that uses soaked nuts, fruits, and soaked seeds instead of grains as the primary ingredient.
Sources and More Information
Nourishing Traditions, p. 454
I make a soaked granola recipe using oats and rye flakes. I have substituted buckwheat groats for the rye once. It calls for a 24 hr soak using apple cider vinegar added to the mixture. It’s the only granola that does not cause me to bloat so I figure the rye flakes/vinegar mixture must be doing some sort of magic.
That is very good that you do not bloat, but unless the buckwheat and oats are cooked after soaking, there are still considerable anti-nutrients present that are damaging.
I have had a lingering question. If it is not advised to use even sprouted oats as granola can we grind sprouted oats into oat flour for baking? Would this be different than granola?Thanks.
Yes, you can grind sprouted oats into flour for baking because baking is at a higher temperature than making granola (which is toasted at lower temperatures).
How long did you steam it for? Is that necessarily since you also baked at 350 for an hour?
Thank you for sharing
Hi,
I want to use sprouted buckwheats as well (but they’re sprouted for 2 full days). Now I was wondering, there are bread recipes with sprouted seeds as well. How come, they’re not harder to digest – or are they?
So I’m order to be able to make it fully digestible, I should cook the buckwheat sprouts and then dry them into granola? Am I Right in saying, that all the Great benefits from sprouting it first, will be null and void then?! So is there an alternative? 🙂
Yes, you cook the sprouted buckwheat groats and then dry into granola. You will lose some of the nutritional value from the sprouting, but the benefits of more digestibility will more than compensate.
I’m wondering about buckwheat. Is this the same case for that where it is hard to digest? I often use buckwheat in granola, but only toast it with the other ingredients; no soaking or sprouting before hand.
Buckwheat is a pseudo grain and not as high in anti-nutrients as oats. However, it does at least require a thorough cook. Toasting alone won’t do it. Here’s more on buckwheat preparation. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/buckwheat/
I found a recipe on Iron Skillet Oatmeal, the texture is similar to chewy granola. Iron skillets get extremely hot so would this be a way to eat granola thats easy to digest?
If the oatmeal is soaked and thoroughly cooked, then it is fine.
After reading your article I experimented 4 different s to soak, sprout and cook my granola and I think by far this is my favorite method it really results in a very delicious and easy to digest granola, the only cons is that maybe its a long process.
I did this wiht oats and rolled oats so far I rather the rolled oats since I don’t have to sprout them. I hope maybe someone else ill like to ry this:
1- rinse rolled oats
2- soak rolled oats ( coconut milk, water, coconut vinegar) for 3 days.
3- rinse them until water runs clear.
4 – steam on stove, witouth adding water to oats just steam so they don’t become porridge.
5- put on a oven tray , add seasonings and melted oil and butter.
6- bake at 350 for 60 minutes and then lower temperature to 200 for 3 hours or less depending in you oven and the amount, I certainly take this long because I make a 10 cups batch.
7- let it cool when its done and mis in nut, seeds, fruit or whatever you like as I said is a lot of time but is really good and it doesn’t feel heavy on the digestion.