With Crohn's, is it wise to soak nuts before using?

The short answer is yes, it is wise to soak nuts before eating or using them for baking. A diet which maximizes the nutritional potential of foods while avoiding detrimental foods will be higher in nuts. Because Crohn's predisposes individuals to micronutrient malabsorption and diseases processes deplete micronutrients, guarding the nutritional potential of foods is imperative. The chelating effects of phytate-rich nuts are undesirable; therefore, soaking nuts to lower phytic acid is a positive step toward improving the nutritional potential of this almost perfect food.

"Living with Phytic Acid" from The Weston A. Price Foundation
"It is not necessary to completely eliminate phytic acid from the diet, only to keep it to acceptable levels. An excess of 800 mg phytic acid per day is probably not a good idea. The average phytate intake in the U.S. and the U.K. ranges between 631 and 746 mg per day; the average in Finland is 370 mg; in Italy it is 219 mg; and in Sweden a mere 180 mg per day.

In the context of a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin C, good fats and lacto-fermented foods, most people will do fine on an estimated 400-800 mg per day. For those suffering from tooth decay, bone loss or mineral deficiencies, total estimated phytate content of 150-400 mg would be advised. For children under age six, pregnant women or those with serious illnesses, it is best to consume a diet as low in phytic acid as possible.

In practical terms, this means properly preparing phytate-rich foods to reduce at least a portion of the phytate content, and restricting their consumption to two or three servings per day....

In general, nuts contain levels of phytic acid equal to or higher than those of grains. Therefore those consuming peanut butter, nut butters or nut flours, will take in phytate levels similar to those in unsoaked grains. Unfortunately, we have very little information on phytate reduction in nuts. Soaking for seven hours likely eliminates some phytate. Based on the accumulation of evidence, soaking nuts for eighteen hours, dehydrating at very low temperatures—a warm oven—and then roasting or cooking the nuts would likely eliminate a large portion of phytates.

Nut consumption becomes problematic in situations where people on the GAPS diet and similar regimes are consuming lots of almonds and other nuts as a replacement for bread, potatoes and rice. The eighteen-hour soaking is highly recommended in these circumstances.

It is best to avoid nut butters unless they have been made with soaked nuts—these are now available commercially. Likewise, it is best not to use nut flours—and also coconut flour—for cooking unless they have been soured by the soaking process." [Emphasis mine.]

With Crohn's, is it wise to soak beans?

The short answer is yes, it is wise to soak dried legumes before eating or cooking with them. These harder-to-digest foods are a food source that is not globally suitable in Crohn's. In the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, for example, legumes are considered to be an advanced food eaten only over time in the absence of symptoms. Because Crohn's predisposes individuals to micronutrient malabsorption and disease processes deplete micronutrients, guarding the nutritional potential of foods is imperative. The chelating effects of phytate-rich legumes is undesirable; therefore, soaking legumes to lower phytic acid is a positive step toward improving the nutritional potential of this potentially versatile food.

"Living With Phytic Acid" from The Weston A. Price Foundation
"It is not necessary to completely eliminate phytic acid from the diet, only to keep it to acceptable levels. An excess of 800 mg phytic acid per day is probably not a good idea. The average phytate intake in the U.S. and the U.K. ranges between 631 and 746 mg per day; the average in Finland is 370 mg; in Italy it is 219 mg; and in Sweden a mere 180 mg per day.

In the context of a diet rich in calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin C, good fats and lacto-fermented foods, most people will do fine on an estimated 400-800 mg per day. For those suffering from tooth decay, bone loss or mineral deficiencies, total estimated phytate content of 150-400 mg would be advised. For children under age six, pregnant women or those with serious illnesses, it is best to consume a diet as low in phytic acid as possible.

In practical terms, this means properly preparing phytate-rich foods to reduce at least a portion of the phytate content, and restricting their consumption to two or three servings per day."

At a minimum, beans should be soaked for twelve hours, drained and rinsed several times before cooking, for a total of thirty-six hours. Cooking with a handful of green weed leaves, such as dandelion or chickweed, can improve mineral assimilation."

Does phytic acid influence Crohn's?

Phytic Acid on Wikipedia
"Phytic acid (known as inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), or phytate when in salt form) is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially bran and seeds.[1] Phytate is not digestible to humans or nonruminant animals, however, so it is not a source of either inositol or phosphate if eaten directly. Morever, it chelates and thus makes unabsorbable certain important minor minerals such as zinc and iron, and to a lesser extent, also macro minerals such as calcium and magnesium. ...
Phytic acid may be considered a phytonutrient, providing an antioxidant effect.[1][21] Phytic acid's mineral binding properties may also prevent colon cancer by reducing oxidative stress in the lumen of the intestinal tract. ...
As a food additive, phytic acid is used as a preservative, as E391."

Phytic Acid: Tips for Consumers from Food Science

"Inhibition of chronic ulcerative colitis associated adenocarcinoma development in mice by inositol compounds" in Carcinogenesis (2006)
" Further mechanistic studies showed that the inhibition of UC-associated carcinogenesis by inositol compounds might relate to their function on the modulation of macrophage mediated inflammation, nitro-oxidative stress and cell proliferation in UC-associated carcinogenesis. This study indicates that inositol compounds may have the potential to serve as preventive agents for chronic inflammation-carcinogenesis." [Emphases mine.]

"Effect of Inositol Hexaphosphate on Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Release of TNF-α from Human Mononuclear Cells" [full text]
"This study also showed that at doses significantly exceeding IP6 cellular contents, it acted as an agonist up-regulating TNF-α secretion. Moreover, IP6 appeared to influence differentially the responsiveness of mononuclear cells to secondary stimulus. Up-regulation by IP6 of TNF-α release, referred to as priming, was observed under the influence of S. minnesota LPS [LipoPolySaccharide]. Priming is considered one of the regulatory mechanisms implicated in controlling immune cell responses. This event improves the ability of immune cells to locate and kill invading microorganisms and hence may be critical to effective neutrophil functions. In this connection, IP6 can take part in the defense against invasive bacteria, such as S minnesota species. On the other hand, priming is implicated in neutrophil- and lymphocyte-mediated tissue injury both in vitro and in vivo. In this context, IP6 by down-regulating TNFα release from cells stimulated with D. desulfuricans and E. coli LPSs which showed higher potency compared to S. minnesota LPS in this study, may diminish the tissue damage caused by lymphocytes. Thus, the effects of IP6 released from necrotic cells at an inflammatory focus may be beneficial for a variety of inflammatory diseases, including septic shock.
...
In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate an extracellular role for IP6, which in this study has appeared to act as a bi-functional modulator of TNF-á release from mononuclear cells in response to bacterial challenge. The enhancing or diminishing effects of IP6 may control the level of activation states and subsequent responses of mononuclear cells, depending on the particular Gramnegative bacteria’ endotoxins."

Are there any foods that affect food absorption?

Phytic acid in Wikipedia
"Phytic acid (known as inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), or phytate when in salt form) is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially bran and seeds. Phytate is not digestible to humans or nonruminant animals, however, so it is not a source of either inositol or phosphate if eaten directly. Morever, it chelates and thus makes unabsorbable certain important minor minerals such as zinc and iron, and to a lesser extent, also macro minerals such as calcium and magnesium."

Lectins on Wikipedia
"Foods with high concentrations of lectins, such as beans, cereal grains, seeds, and nuts, may be harmful if consumed in excess in uncooked or improperly cooked form. Adverse effects may include nutritional deficiencies, and immune(allergic) reactions. Possibly, most effects of lectins are due to gastrointestinal distress through interaction of the lectins with the gut epithelial cells. A recent in vitro study has suggested that the mechanism of lectin damage may occur by interfering with the repair of already-damaged epithelial cells."