There is controversy, however, over whether almonds labeled “raw” are truly raw and able to be sprouted. Currently, nuts grown in the US have to be pasteurized prior to commercialization, so they likely don’t technically sprout. These “raw” almonds from the US are likely “activated” and the anti-nutrients will be removed. That being said, the most benefits you can get from soaking or sprouting occur when the nuts aren’t treated with this pasteurization process first (i.e., if you sprout nuts from outside the US).