Wally Day wrote:
>>  From the referenced page:
>> " Use whole grains and nuts that have been prepared by soaking, sprouting
>> or sour leavening to neutralize phytic acid and other anti-nutrients."
>>
>> I've wondered about this.  What's the concensus on *sprouted* grains?
>> What about soaking oats?
>>     
>
> I do not have an issue with WAP Foundation/Nourishing Traditions *in genera
> l*. I've corresponded with a number of adherents who use soaked grains. unp
> asteurized milk products, etc. etc. who seem to experience great health.
>
> What I do have an issue with is their reluctance to admit that many of the
> foods they eat require "special attention" because the foods are not part o
> f humans' natural dietary. My logic is this: if grains *require* soaking, s
> prouting, or souring (fermentation) to make them safe - then why eat them a
> t all? If you know phytic acid and other anti-nutrients are present to begi
> n with, shouldn't that be enough to make you want to avoid them?
>
> On the other hand, at least one anthropologist I have corresponded with (Jo
> hn K Williams http://faculty.smu.edu/jowillia/articles.htm) believes we hav
> e been eating grains for much longer than the rather simplistic "sudden agr
> icultural revolution" proponents would have us think. In other words, it wa
> sn't inclusion of grains in the diet that started the downward health spira
> l, but the *milling* of grains (and subsequent long-term storage) that did
> it.
>
> If he's right, then infrequent/seasonal use of grains and legumes (likely b
> y soaking or sprouting - fermenting is actually fairly high-tech) by Paleos
> *may* have actually been the norm.
I'm not an anthropologist, but I think that this is probably true. It is 
our diversity and adaptability that makes us the dominant predator on 
the planet. I think that very early in our evolution we already had a 
pretty good handle on what was edible, and what wasn't, and what could 
be edible with a little creativity.

Chimpanzees aren't the smartest animals, but they have been observed in 
the wild to use makeshift tools to extract insects from a log, and to 
teach the behavior to others. I'm willing to believe that early hominids 
were at least that resourceful.

Another anecdote: there are very few limits to what a young child will 
put in their mouth. If left to their own devices they would probably be 
able to figure out which of those things were edible. Hell, they'd 
probably try soaking, burning, smashing, etc. They'd do it just for 
kicks (I know I did) then they'd go home and eat whatever mom gave them. 
It's probably no accident that burning, soaking, smashing, killing, and 
putting things in their mouths are things that kids do often when 
unsupervised. I bet evolution has something to do with it. The only 
reason we don't continue this behavior into adulthood is because of 
careful and deliberate conditioning by society. Early humans probably 
had these same behaviors minus the conditioning (At least it's modern 
form.)