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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Whole Grains and Cereals / Why No Granola is Good Granola

Why No Granola is Good Granola

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Why Granola is SO Difficult to Digest 
  • Healthy Alternatives to Granola

granolaSeveral readers have emailed me recently inquiring about how to best go about making homemade granola.

One person carefully soaked oats for 24 hours in water with an acidic medium and then dehydrated before mixing with the other ingredients and toasting in the oven.

Another used sprouted, organic rolled oats and baked in a 200F oven with various other ingredients to make her favorite version of homemade granola.

While both of these approaches to making granola are certainly a huge improvement over any of the granolas to be had at the store, the fact is that even organic granola made with rolled oats that have been sprouted or soaked is not an easily digestible food.

The proteins in grains are extremely difficult to digest. They have the potential to cause health problems over the long term, which is why traditional societies took such great pains to soak, sprout, or sour leaven them before consuming.

Not only did traditional peoples soak, sprout, or sour leaven their grains, they also thoroughly cooked them as the final preparation step before eating.

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 might work on occasion. The reality is that most people have sensitive guts anymore due to 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. I have no grain allergies and my digestion is in pretty decent shape. Interestingly, thoroughly cooked unsoaked oatmeal digests far better. The lesson at least to me is that the final cooking step is very important!

I have only made granola for my family once or twice. However, I stopped after observing the undigestibility of consuming this non-traditional food even when seemingly prepared in a traditional fashion.

Do your digestion a favor and opt out of any grain based granola entirely. Even homemade, organic, and soaked and/or sprouted versions aren’t good for your long term gut health.

Healthy Alternatives to Granola

Don’t hesitate to use soaked or sprouted grains that are fully cooked for all your other dishes and baked goods!  This article plus video tutorial for a healthy cold breakfast cereal recipe is a very digestible alternative to granola.

Another alternative is to make grain free Paleo granola using the linked recipe.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

 

Sources and More Information

Nourishing Traditions, p. 454

Soaked Oatmeal Benefits Without the Soaking?

How to Properly Cook Oatmeal

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Category: Whole Grains and Cereals
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (180)

  1. Lindsey

    Oct 18, 2012 at 12:32 pm

    I feel so overwhelmed and confused about what is good for my family… I am not sure what to feed them anymore…

    Reply
  2. Sally Jo Pyle via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    this stuff always made my tummy feel ucky.

    Reply
  3. Candace Ireland via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 12:17 pm

    My kids love granola and it is so convenient, but I have had to put my foot down and we avoid it. I decided this after reading Ramiel Nagel’s book on tooth decay.

    Reply
  4. Sara James via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 11:57 am

    *suspect* cannot type today

    Reply
  5. Sara James via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 11:56 am

    yes, go to a nutritionist, self-diagnosing is the worst. You can susupect all you want, but you will just drive yourself nuts during the process.

    Reply
  6. Blair

    Oct 18, 2012 at 11:36 am

    Hi Sarah:

    Thank you for sharing this information. I have also read it in Sally Fallon’s book. Do you happen to have the source of this information? Was there a study done? I would love to share it with others.

    Reply
  7. Donna Duke Morrison via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 11:21 am

    dang Sarah. we eat homemade granola every day and love it! you’re killing me!

    Reply
  8. Jessica Cobb via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 11:14 am

    Debra, all of my kids and myself suffered from eczema until we healed ourselves with the GAPS diet. Find a homeopathic nutritional therapist to take your family to and they can help you.

    Reply
  9. Shielagh Thompson Clark via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 11:14 am

    You really should avoid all grains before one year, they cannot digest them. it could be a contributing factor.. what were your early weaning foods? have you given them egg yolks and pureed meats?

    Reply
  10. Tracy Snyder Furze via Facebook

    Oct 18, 2012 at 10:57 am

    My daughters ezcema was from both peanuts and tomatoes. She can eat both now at 12 but as a 3-5 year old we avoided.

    Reply
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