Almond Milk Lectins: Are They Bad for You? (Simple Guide for Beginners)

Okay, so I’ve been messing around with making my own almond milk lately, because, you know, the store-bought stuff can be pricey and sometimes has weird stuff in it. Plus, I wanted to see if I could make it taste better. And I heard some things about lectins in almonds, so I figured I’d look into that, too.

First off, I soaked a cup of raw almonds in water overnight. This is supposed to help with digestion and maybe reduce those lectins. I just dumped them in a bowl, covered them with water, and left them on the counter. Easy peasy.

The next morning, I drained the almonds and gave them a good rinse. Then, I tossed them into my blender with about four cups of fresh water. I let that thing whirl for a good minute or two until it looked all milky and smooth. Some folks say you should use a high-powered blender, but my regular one seemed to do the job just fine.

Next up, straining. I got a nut milk bag, which is basically just a fine mesh bag. You can also use cheesecloth or even an old, clean t-shirt. I poured the almond mixture through the bag and into a big bowl, squeezing the bag to get all that liquid gold out. You end up with this almond pulp, which you can use in other recipes, like crackers or cookies, or just compost it. I don’t like to waste stuff.

Now, I had almond milk! But I wanted to see about the lectin thing. From what I read, most of the lectins are in the almond skins, and soaking helps reduce them. So, I figured I was already doing pretty good on that front.

I decided to taste-test my homemade almond milk against some store-bought stuff. Honestly, I thought mine tasted way better – fresher and more, well, almond-y. I also added a pinch of salt and a tiny bit of maple syrup to mine, which I think helped a lot.

Homemade almond milk: Seemed to have fewer lectins due to soaking, tasted fresh, customizable sweetness.
Store-bought almond milk: Convenient, varying levels of sweetness, and may contain additives. Calorie count for Almond Milk %2B Protein and more foods can track easily.

So, yeah, making almond milk is pretty darn easy. And as far as the lectins go, I feel like soaking the almonds is a good step to take. I’m not a scientist or anything, but my tummy felt fine after drinking my homemade almond milk, and that’s good enough for me.

I’ll keep making my own almond milk for now. It’s cheaper, tastes better, and I like knowing exactly what’s in it. Plus, it’s kind of fun to do. If you’re thinking about trying it, I say go for it! It’s a cool little kitchen experiment.