Here's a recent question we received at AsktheHerbalist:

Q: I've heard that soaking the almonds before eating is better for you. If so, what is the specific benefit?, and for how long should they soak?

Answer: Soaking RAW almonds is widely practiced by natural health enthusiasts. The key benefit is this; it removes enzyme inhibitors, making the nuts more digestible. In nature the enzyme inhibitors help to keep the nut intact, until it's ready to sprout into a tree. Once the nut is soaked the enzyme inhibitors are reduced, allowing the nut to sprout.

The Benefit

What does this mean for humans? Better digestibility. It's easier to digest, absorb and assimilate the nutrition in the nut. Also the nuts become softer, making them easier to chew. This adds to the effect. Always chew nuts thoroughly, whether soaked or not. Big chunks of unchewed nuts can be hard on the digestive tract.

What about other nuts.

The same soaking benefit applies to most nuts with a brown skin, but not to nuts with white skin like macadamias or pine nuts.

How long to soak

Soaking overnight is usually sufficient. Many people like to stick some almonds into purified water in the evening and then strain, rinse and enjoy for breakfast. Soaking up to 48 hours may have some added benefit, but the water must be changed 2x daily. Also be cautious of bacteria growing. If it looks or smells bad, toss it. Therefore it may be better to just stick with overnight, and consume the next day.

Catch-22

The key to success here is that the almonds should be raw. It won't work with roasted almonds. But here is a bigger issue, and maybe someone can help shed some light on it. The law requires all almonds grown in the U.S. to be pasteurized. - And they still allow them to be called raw. There are some imported nuts that are still raw. So if raw nuts are really pasteurized how does this affect the soaking-sprouting process. I've read opinions on both sides of the fence. It may depend on the specific pasteurization process used. Your input on this topic is welcome. This site is a good starting point for further research.