When nuts are soaked in hot water, their peels can be easily removed. You should add a bit of salt while soaking to neutralize the enzymes and remove tannins and dust residue.
You should never reuse the water residue as it might contain dangerous substances.
Nuts, like grains, have phytic acid which is part of their defense mechanism to prevent predators so that they can fully mature. This acid inhibits the easy digestion, due to which you can often notice bits of nuts in the stool.
Nuts, when soaked, lose the phytic acid and their enzyme inhibitors are neutralized, meaning that their consumption helps digestion and boosts the absorption of vitamins and other nutrients.
This is the time you need to soak nuts:
- Macadamia: 4 hrs
- Flax seeds: 6 hrs
- Cashew nuts: 6 hrs
- Pumpkin seeds: 7 hrs
- Walnuts: 8 hrs
- Pine nuts: 8 hrs
- Broccoli seeds 8 hrs.
- Pecans: 8 hrs
- Hazelnuts: 8 hrs
- Almonds: 12 hrs
- Alfalfa seeds: 12 hrs
- Garbanzo beans: 12-48 hrs
If the nuts require soaking more than 8 hours, it would be best to re-wash them and change the water on every 8 hours.
Source: www.curejoy.com