Enhance Your Digestion of 4 Common Foods
Phytic acid helps little seedlings sprout and grow into strong plants. It is the storage form of the mineral phosphorous, which means that it keeps phosphorus tucked away until the sprouting seed is ready to use it.
However, in your body, phytic acid is an anti-nutrient. In other words, it doesn’t nourish your body — it steals from your body.
Phytic acid is found in:
1. Seeds
2. Beans
3. Nuts
4. Grains
You will find phytic acid in the hull or outer shell. Once a seed has germinated, there is far less phytic acid.
Phytic Acid and Mineral Deficiency
When you eat unprepared seeds, legumes, nuts, or grains — you are also eating large quantities of phytic acid.
Beans contain phytic acid, an anti-nutrient that binds to important minerals and can cause mineral deficiency. Soaking, sprouting, and fermenting certain foods with the Veggie Culture Starter can lower their phytic acid content and make them easier to digest.
Phytic acid can’t help but bind to minerals like:
- Iron
- Zinc
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Copper1
Phytic acid binds to the minerals in your digestive tract. When it binds to these minerals, salts are formed. Most of these salts are excreted. Over time, a diet that is rich in phytic acid can lead to mineral deficiency or mineral depletion. Iron and zinc are particularly susceptible to deficiency.2,3
Who is most at risk?
- Children and childbearing women that use seeds, legumes, nuts, and grains as a staple in their diet. They have an extra need for energy and resources.
- Vegans or vegetarians that rely on seeds, legumes, nuts, and grains to meet their nutritional needs.
Phytic Acid and Vitamin B3
According to Eugene Anderson, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, niacin binds to phytic acid.4 Corn, for example, is low in niacin — or vitamin B3 — and high in phytic acid. In other words, a diet that is high in untreated corn can lead to severe B3 deficiency.
Traditional methods that were used to prepare corn got around this potential health hazard with a process called nixtamalization.5
Vitamin B3 deficiency is serious and can be deadly. Pellagra is one disease that results from extreme vitamin B3 deficiency. It causes dementia, diarrhea, skin disorders, and eventually death. These days, food is often fortified with vitamin B3 and quickly processed to prevent pellagra. But at the turn of the 19th Century, this was not the case in the American south.
Between 1906 and 1940, pellagra affected more than 3 million Americans. Over 100,000 people died. During this time, most people did not understand that it was caused by a simple nutrient deficiency — from not soaking their corn in alkaline water before eating it.
If you aren’t feeling like yourself, a virus could be to blame. Learn more here.
The Antioxidant Confusion
Seeds are difficult to digest for a reason. In order for a seed to become a plant, it must survive until the conditions of its environment are just right. Without phytic acid, a seed would not have enough energy to sprout.
In fact, researchers are currently designing low phytate seeds through genetic engineering. The problem: Many of the seeds are not able to grow into healthy plants.6
Other studies show that phytic acid acts as an antioxidant in the seed. Seeds that are designed to be “low phytate” do not thrive. They are more susceptible to DNA damage and to free-radical stress. Low phytate seeds that grow into plants also show early signs of degeneration, or aging.7
In the human body, phytic acid acts like an antioxidant.8 Research suggests that it may even stop the growth of cancer — including ovarian, breast, and liver cancer.9
However, it is important to weight the benefits of phytic acid against the risks. And while phytic acid shows promising results against cancer cells in the lab, studies are not conclusive in the human body.
There are plenty of antioxidant-rich foods that you can eat without leaching minerals from your body. In spite of the antioxidants available in phytic acid, we suggest soaking and even sprouting all seeds, legumes, nuts, and grains.
Which health and wellness products does Donna recommend? Here’s the big list.
Nut Butters Are Still High in Phytic Acid
If you eat a plant-based diet, you may rely on seeds, legumes, nuts, and grains for energy and essential nutrients. The problem with modern food processing and even with home processing is that many of us do not know how to properly prepare these foods.
For example, you can find a wide variety of nut butters at the market. Yet standard processing and heat only minimally reduce levels of phytic acid.
If you want to reduce phytic acid, research shows that soaking is better. Sprouting your nuts before you process them is best. Exceptions to this rule are macadamia nuts and pine nuts, which are naturally low in phytic acid.10
The 3 Keys to Good-for-You Seeds: Soak, Sprout, and Ferment
To enhance digestibility, properly prepare all seeds, legumes, nuts, and grain-like seeds before enjoying them:
1. Soak: While many people skip this step and cook their grain-like seeds or beans right away — do not underestimate the value of a long soak.11,12 Soaking reduces anti-nutrients like phytic acid. It also makes them easier to digest.
Soak your grain-like seeds and legumes for at least 8–24 hours, changing the water every 8 hours. Use only filtered water. If you are cooking a grain-like seed, add an acidic medium — like unfiltered apple cider vinegar — to the soak water. If you are cooking beans, add an alkalizing medium, like Celtic sea salt.
2. Sprout: If you would like to sprout your seeds, you will need to dedicate more time to soaking, rinsing, and draining your seeds until they sprout. It may take several days for your seeds to sprout, but you might find them well worth the wait. Some sprouted foods you can enjoy raw — like almonds or buckwheat. Others, like black beans, you will want to cook.
Studies show that sprouted seeds, legumes, nuts, and grains have even less phytic acid than those that are only soaked. They are also easier to digest.13,14
Take the next step to address your underlying health problem. Book a Body Ecology consultation here.
3. Ferment: Fermentation happens when you add a starter culture that contains good bacteria to the food that you would like to ferment. Traditionally, foods high in phytic acid are ground or milled into flour before fermenting.15,16
Research shows that fermentation makes the protein in grains, grain-like seeds, and legumes more available for your body to use.17,18,19
The traditional methods of seed preparation — like soaking, sprouting, and fermentation — have been around for thousands of years. And while soaking, sprouting, and fermentation may take several hours to several days, these methods enhance your digestion and safeguard against nutrient deficiencies.
What To Remember Most About This Article:
Phytic acid is found in seeds, beans, nuts, and grains. While it is necessary to help plants grow, it is also an anti-nutrient that steals precious minerals from your body. These minerals include iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and copper.
Yes, phytic acid can lead to a mineral deficiency, especially in children, pregnant women, vegans, and vegetarians. Phytic acid in grains, nuts, seeds, and beans has also been linked to vitamin B3 deficiency, which can be deadly if left untreated.
To better digest your favorite foods, consider these 3 preparation tips for a plant-based diet:
- Soak. Soaking can reduce phytic acid and make beans or grain-like seeds easier to digest. For the best results, soak for 8-24 hours in filtered water, rinsing every 8 hours. Remember to alkalize soaking beans with Celtic sea salt.
- Sprout. It can take a few days to sprout seeds to make them more digestible. Sprouting seeds, nuts, grains, and legumes will lower the phytic acid content considerably.
- Ferment. Use a starter culture full of friendly bacteria to ferment foods rich in phytic acid. This process will make grain-like seeds, grains, and legumes more easily digestible and beneficial to your health.
REFERENCES:
- Mbithi, S., Van Camp, J., Rodriguez, R., & Huyghebaert, A. (2001). Effects of sprouting on nutrient and antinutrient composition of kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris var. Rose coco). European Food Research and Technology, 212(2), 188-191.
- Brown, K. H. & Solomons, N. W. (1991) Nutritional problems of developing countries. Infect. Dis. Clin. North Am. 5: 297–317.
- Erdman, J. W. (1981) Bioavailability of trace minerals from cereals and legumes. Cereal Chem. 58: 21–26.
- Anderson, E. N. (2005). Everyone eats: Understanding food and culture. NYU Press. Page 49.
- Bressani, R., Turcios, J. C., & De Ruiz, A. S. C. (2002). Nixtamalization effects on the contents of phytic acid, calcium, iron and zinc in the whole grain, endosperm and germ of maize. Food science and technology international, 8(2), 81-86.
- Raboy, V., Young, K. A., Dorsch, J. A., & Cook, A. (2001). Genetics and breeding of seed phosphorus and phytic acid. Journal of Plant Physiology, 158(4), 489-497.
- Doria, E., Galleschi, L., Calucci, L., Pinzino, C., Pilu, R., Cassani, E., & Nielsen, E. (2009). Phytic acid prevents oxidative stress in seeds: evidence from a maize (Zea mays L.) low phytic acid mutant. Journal of experimental botany, 60(3), 967-978.
- Graf, E., Empson, K. L., & Eaton, J. W. (1987). Phytic acid. A natural antioxidant. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 262(24), 11647-11650.
- Norhaizan, M. E., Ng, S. K., Norashareena, M. S., & Abdah, M. A. (2011). Antioxidant and cytotoxicity effect of rice bran phytic acid as an anticancer agent on ovarian, breast and liver cancer cell lines. Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 17(3), 367-375.
- Venkatachalam, M., & Sathe, S. K. (2006). Chemical composition of selected edible nut seeds. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(13), 4705-4714.
- Urbano, G., Lopez-Jurado, M., Aranda, P., Vidal-Valverde, C., Tenorio, E., & Porres, J. (2000). The role of phytic acid in legumes: antinutrient or beneficial function?. Journal of physiology and biochemistry, 56(3), 283-294.
- Silva, C. A. B., Bates, R. P., & Deng, J. C. (1981). Influence of soaking and cooking upon the softening and eating quality of black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Journal of Food Science, 46(6), 1716-1720.
- Vidal-Valverde, C., Frias, J., Estrella, I., Gorospe, M. J., Ruiz, R., & Bacon, J. (1994). Effect of processing on some antinutritional factors of lentils. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 42(10), 2291-2295.
- Shimelis, E. A., & Rakshit, S. K. (2007). Effect of processing on antinutrients and in vitro protein digestibility of kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties grown in East Africa. Food Chemistry, 103(1), 161-172.
- DHANKHER, N., & Chauhan, B. M. (1987). Effect of temperature and fermentation time on phytic acid and polyphenol content of rabadi—a fermented pearl millet food. Journal of Food Science, 52(3), 828-829.
- Makokha, A. O., Oniang’o, R. K., Njoroge, S. M., & Kamar, O. K. (2002). Effect of traditional fermentation and malting on phytic acid and mineral availability from sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana) grain varieties grown in Kenya. Food and nutrition bulletin, 23(3 Suppl), 241-245.
- Osman, M. A. (2004). Changes in sorghum enzyme inhibitors, phytic acid, tannins and in vitro protein digestibility occurring during Khamir (local bread) fermentation. Food chemistry, 88(1), 129-134.
- Chitra, U., Singh, U., & Rao, P. V. (1996). Phytic acid, in vitro protein digestibility, dietary fiber, and minerals of pulses as influenced by processing methods. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 49(4), 307-316.
- Yadav, S., & Khetarpaul, N. (1994). Indigenous legume fermentation: effect on some antinutrients and in-vitro digestibility of starch and protein. Food chemistry, 50(4), 403-406.