Feb. 28, 2006 - How I got started.

Almost two years ago, I got a Whisper Mill (now Wonder Mill) for my birthday. Dh thought that it was a toy that would soon loose it newness, and that it would end up sitting on the shelf. Dh was wrong. I still make almost every baked good that we eat from fresh ground flour.

Then (about a year ago) Dh decided to visit a new doctor. This doctor does blood tests and then gives you vitamins and supplements according to what you need. A few months after Dh went, we decided that it was my turn. I had my blood tested and I was somewhat shocked at the results. I had been eating all this good bread, but I was low on soooooo many things. The doctor attributed it to the fact that I had had 3 children in 4 years, and that sounded reasonable so I figured that the bread just wasn't as high in vitamins as I had been led to believe.

Iron has been one of my biggest deficiencies, (I was even clinically low during my last pregnancy.) and the doctor doubled my iron supplements. Three months later, I had my blood tested again. I had improved, but not as much as I had hoped. The doctor told me to expect it to take two to three years to get back to 'normal.'

About three months after my second blood test, I ran across an article by Sue Gregg. The article talked about how phytic acid prohibits the absorption of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. (Phytic acid is in the bran of the grain, and I think that it is the stuff that keeps the seed from sprouting before it is supposed to.) This got me to thinking, and when I checked my blood tests theses minerals were some of the lowest.

So, all that to say that, for the next three months, I am going attempt to remove phytic acid from my diet. It is not hard to neutralize phytic acid, but it is time consuming. There are three ways to neutralize phytic acid: soaking, sprouting, and fermenting. To soak the grain, you put the flour or grain in an acid liquid and leave it for 12 to 24 hours. To sprout it, you soak the grain for 12 hours, and then keep it damp until it the seeds start to grow (12 to 48 hours). Fermenting is beyond be right now, but sour dough would be an example.

I plan to document my journey into the world of 'properly prepared' grains. In three months I will have another blood test and see if it really made any difference.