Expert explains why it is important to soak cereals with water and lemon juice

Everyone knows that before cooking cereals, they must be soaked. Some housewives follow this rule, while others neglect it, considering it a waste of time. However, this is an important step that can help you stay healthy. To enhance the effect and to ensure that the cereals remain as healthy as possible during the cooking process, lemon juice is now added to the water.

The FoodOboz editorial team will tell you why it is important to soak cereals with lemon juice, based on the information of nutritionist Ulyana Pryimak on Instagram.

According to the expert, soaking cereals allows you to:

• Preserve a large amount of vitamins, especially group B. To achieve the maximum effect, it is best to do this in water with lemon juice or natural vinegar. This will also help the porridge cook much faster. But some cereals do not need to be cooked after soaking, because they soften enough to be eaten afterwards. For example, buckwheat.

• Remove impurities, and husks and reduce the content of phytic acid. The latter is a dangerous antinutrient found in all cereals and most of all in whole grains. The acid blocks the absorption of B vitamins, phosphorus, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and iron. It also does not allow enzymes in the stomach to fully perform their work, which makes proteins less digestible.

• Remove excess starch. Pre-soaking partially washes out the lighter forms of starch, making the cereal healthier.