Soaking beans and legumes like lentils, chickpeas, and black beans can reduce cooking time and remove compounds that cause gas and bloating. It also makes them easier to digest.
Grains like rice, barley, and oats can benefit from soaking as it helps reduce phytic acid, which can bind minerals preventing their absorption. Soaking also speeds up cooking time.
Soaking nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews helps to break down enzyme inhibitors, making them easier to digest and allowing better nutrient absorption.
Seeds like flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds can be soaked to reduce anti-nutrients, activate enzymes that make nutrients more available, and improve texture for consumption.
Soaking dried fruits like apricots, prunes, and raisins helps to rehydrate them, making them juicier and easier to digest, while also reducing their concentrated sugars slightly.
Soaking flour used in baking can help to deactivate phytic acid, improving mineral availability and making the grains easier to digest.
Soaking corn, especially when used in traditional dishes like hominy or masa (for tortillas), not only softens it but also enhances its nutritional value through a process known as nixtamalization.
Soaking quinoa is particularly important to remove its natural coating called saponin, which can be bitter and can cause irritation in the digestive tract.