Phytic Acid an antinutrient?

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How concerned should we be by this? Is it a myth?

If I have to soak grains,nuts, beans and cereals before I eat them they would go soggy. WIll I have to buy sprouted nuts and vegetables?

Thanks
 
No, it's not a myth. Phytic acid is an antinutrient in that it removes certain nutrients from your body. Phytic acid removes minerals such as iron, and calcium. Also, if you soak beans and rice etc. it doesn't remove all of it, just a percentage of it.

This is no doubt a very difficult subject. I have studied it every which way and have decided, for the time being, to eat a small amount of whole grain without soaking. For breakfast I have less than 1/4 cup (dry measure) of steel-cut oats. For lunch I might have one slice of flourless bread (made with sprouts). And for dinner I might have less than 1/4 cup (dry measure) of whole grain pasta. If I could, I would eliminate grains altogether but I can't because I would keep losing weight and become underweight.

For 4 years I lived on a corabination of legumes and rice, pasta etc.. It was a meatless diet. But then I learned about phytates and decided to change back to eating small amounts of lean meat and small amounts of whole grain.
My emphasis now is on eating fruit, and lots of vegetables (a corabination of cooked and raw vegetables). I eat a reasonable amount of heart healthy fats which includes walnuts, olive oil, and avocados.

Occasionally, I will have some lentils or split peas.

Having said all of the above, I eat lots of leafy greens and other vegetables in the hopes that I am getting more nutrients than I am losing, by way of phytates.

P.S. Peanuts are legumes so I avoid them as much as possible.

Also, I did read a book once that was all about phytates and I posted a summary on the health and nutrition board. If I knew how to retreive it for you I would because it was more complete information than what I have provided here.
 
my thoughts are that millions of people and past generations have lived with this though and still goverment's don't give out warnings, so why should I do different if the newspapers and governments don't make a big thing of it.
 
Food is very different than it used to be for a variety of reasons. One reason is that the soil in which we grow our crops is mineral deficient due to over use and the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Before the use of pesticides and fertilizers farmers would rotate crops. This practice constantly nourished the soil, as different types of crops add and take different minerals and nutrients from the soil. With the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers farmers no longer need to rotate crops in the same manner, so the minerals in the soil do not get replenished. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers also have a detrimental effect on nutrient levels. You would need to eat 4 apples today to get the same level of nutrition from one apple that you did 50 years ago.

Another factor in the nutrient level of fooRAB is how they are processed. Historically people have eaten fooRAB that were much closer to their natural state than they are now. The more the food is processed, the less nutrition you receive from it.

You will notice ingredient lists on packaged fooRAB that list ingredients you don't recognize and cannot pronounce. These are not fooRAB. The more chemically altered a substance is, the less nutrition your body gets from it.

The other reason you should be concerned even though you don't read it in a newspaper or hear about it from the government is very simple. Just like everyone else, the newspapers and governments are more concerned with their best interest than they are with your health and well-being. That is something only you can be responsible for.
 
It is true that phytic acid leaches nutrients from your body. Another food that contains phytic acid is non-fermented soy. Tofu, soy milk, soy nuts and soy beans are all examples of non-fermented soy products.
 
okay thank you. I am thinking of buying from a website called bluemountainorganics they sell lot's of products that have been soaked and had the phytic acid reduced.
 
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