Cereals and legumes, how to cook them to digest them? Many people have intestinal fermentation problems caused by both the consumption of whole grains and legumes, or digestive problems caused by lectins , phytates and other antinutrients present above all in these categories of foods (but also in walnuts, almonds, oil seeds). Traditional cooking does not totally destroy these microorganisms, because they are partly heat resistant. Not all lectins or phytates cause intestinal inflammation and digestive problems, but in sensitive people there are ways to cook cereals and legumes while removing most of the antinutrients ( 95%) and making them more digestible even at the level of sugars and fibers.

Here are some simple tips for cooking cereals and legumes correctly, but also products based on wholemeal flours.
1) Cereals and legumes soak for a minimum of 7-24 hours. Yes, the first thing to do if you do not want to have intestinal problems is to soak cereals and legumes for no less than twelve hours, up to a full day.
This recommendation also applies to so-called pseudocereals. To neutralize waste and antinutrients present in the grains or peels of legumes, it is necessary to: – soak the cereals for a minimum of 7 hours

with 4 tablespoons of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar or plain yogurt or tin kefir. Cover them with water and with these doses of lemon or apple cider vinegar, at least twice you need to change the water and repeat the operation. Also applies to brown rice or oat flakes. The porridge must therefore be prepared from the night before, soaking the oat flakes in water and lemon, or water and vinegar or water and yogurt. The cereals should be placed in a covered container, made of glass or plastic, or in a steel pot. Only after thorough rinsing, they can be cooked at medium-low temperature, for no less than 45 minutes, perhaps using a slow cooker because they don’t overcook. 
– soak the dried legumes for a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 24 hours:same procedure but with the use of baking soda instead of lemon juice, vinegar or yogurt, always keeping them covered. Lentils can be rinsed and sprouted even without having a sprouter, removing all the water, rinsing them to remove baking soda residues, and keeping them in a covered container in the dark for a minimum of 24 hours. In this way they germinate without souring and are absolutely digestible. The largest legumes are simply soaked in this way, then cooked over very low heat for 4 hours, skimming them every now and then. This indication is also useful if we buy fresh legumes.
– soak the wholemeal or legume flour:for each cup of wholemeal flour, use a cup of warm water and a teaspoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. The container is covered and left to rest for 24 hours. With a fine mesh strainer, remove all the water and use the flour thus obtained to prepare biscuits, cakes or pancakes, taking care to use a non-chemical yeast for cereal flours, for example with bicarbonate and cream of tartar, o bicarbonate and lemon juice, o natural yeast purchased from bio or sourdough.
Nuts / Oily Fruits: For those with irritable gastric mucosa or digestive problems, it is recommended to toast the dried fruit, and not eat it raw. Same thing for the seeds ( source). If we consume fruit with skin, it is better to soak it overnight as is done for legumes.