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Anti-Nutrients: Healthy Foods That Are Robbing You of Nutrients
Today we’re going to learn about anti-nutrients:
- What are anti-nutrients?
- What foods contain anti-nutrients
- How to safely prepare foods containing anti-nutrients
1. What are anti-nutrients?
Anti-nutrients are naturally occurring chemical compounds (phytic acid, oxalates, lectins, tannins, etc) found mostly in plant-based foods. Anti-nutrients bind to important minerals and vitamins, preventing the body from absorbing them.
2. What foods contain anti-nutrients?
- Nuts & seeds (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, etc. Incl. quinoa, buckwheat and all the nut/seed milks)
- Legumes (beans, tofu/soybeans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, etc)
- Grains (wheat, barley, rye, oats, brown rice, etc)
- Most vegetables (kale, spinach, celery broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
- White Rice (anti-nutrients are in the husk on brown rice, making white rice the healthier choice)
- Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes (anti-nutrients only in the skin)
- Cucumbers, zucchini, carrots (anti-nutrients only in the skin)
- Mushrooms
- Romaine/cos lettuce
- Fruits
Foods containing anti-nutrients will bind to important nutrients which prevent your body from absorbing them, including: Calcium, Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Selenium, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1 and more. If you’re deficient in these things, many of your normal bodily functions may suffer, leading to health issues.
Examples:
- Spinach
- Soy products
- Almonds
- Cashews
Consuming large amounts of these anti-nutrients without proper preparation leads to a build up of a hard clump of mineral (kidney stones). ~80% of kidney stone cases are due to excessive oxalates.
You can see this Zinc supplement advises NOT to consume it alongside nuts, seeds, legumes, or grains to avoid phytic acid (another form of anti-nutrient) from preventing zinc absorption.
This doesn’t mean you need to avoid all foods containing anti-nutrients though! There are many benefits to eating a variety of these foods, as long as they’re prepared properly.
3. How to safely prepare and consume foods containing anti-nutrients
Thankfully, we don’t need to bury our foods in the ground before consuming!
For nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains:
- Soak: soak in clean water overnight then pour the water out. This will remove a lot of the anti-nutrients.
- Sprouting: soaking then rinsing for several days until the plant germinates which greatly reduces the anti-nutrient content. It’s important to replace the water at least twice a day to prevent bacterial growth.
- Legumes: typically 2 - 3 days
- Grains: typically 2 - 3 days
- Smaller seeds: typically 3 - 5 days
- Nuts and seeds: typically 1 - 2 days
- For extra anti-nutrient breakdown, add magnesium chloride / lemon juice / apple cider vinegar / kefir water into the soaking water. Make sure to dispose of all the water before cooking.
For vegetables:
- Slow cook by steaming, boiling or slowly cooking in a healthy oil (extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin avocado oil, ghee, tallow, red palm oil).
- (Optional) If you’d like extra anti-nutrient breakdown, soak the vegetables for 30 - 40 minutes with some food grade magnesium chloride before cooking.
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