Phytic Acid Friend or Foe?
There's a lot of nutrition information online, which can be both helpful and hurtful at the same time. Nutritional science is a complex blend of biochemistry, physiology, biology, chemistry, microbiology, etc. all of which come together to understand how the body utilizes specific nutrients. One particular aspect of nutrition that has a lot of buzz is the term "anti-nutrients", and many influencers will take the term "anti-nutrients" and twist it into something much more terrifying than what it actually is. For the sake of discussion we won't go over every single anti-nutrient out there; instead, we will focus on phytic acid.
Before we start, we need to ask, "What is an anti-nutrient?" These are compounds found in plant and animal foods that interfere with the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and proteins. They're defense mechanisms, make sense when you're a plant and you don't want to be eaten. Now that we have the definition established, let's move on to phytic acid which has been in the spotlight as the main anti-nutrient villain online. Simply, phytic acid serves as a phosphorus store for nuts, seeds, gains, and legumes; when humans consume those foods, the phytic acid in our body becomes a mineral binding molecule which blocks the absorption of calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron. Sounds scary right? That's where social media plays into your fears "Eat a bowl of oatmeal and there goes all your iron." But that's not the full picture or even the correct one.
Yes, it is true that phytic acid does indeed block mineral absorption, but there's are several catches. First is preparation. Phytic acid doesn't hold up very well to heat, soaking, and fermentation. Each of the phytic containing foods contains a certain amount of phytic acid, as you cook your grains and legumes the phytic acid content reduces by 20-80%. If you soak your seeds, grains, or legumes, you can reduce phytic acid content by 50-90% and sprouting 30-80% (over a 3-to-5-day period). Cooking is an assured way to reduce your phytic acid intake. Second catch, remaining phytic acid entering your system isn't enough to block minerals and cause harm. Paradoxically, legumes, grains, seeds, and nuts are actually good sources of minerals, and whatever phytic acid is left over from cooking isn't nearly enough to prevent block the absorption of all the minerals. As you continue to eat throughout the day, you're consistently put minerals in your body, that small amount of phytic acid isn't binding nonstop. Unless you're eating these foods raw and throughout the day then you'd run in actual problems. Realistically, the number of foods needed to be consumed where phytic acid is an actual problem would be anywhere from 15,000-20,000 calories.
Third catch, there's a benefit to phytic acid that is never mentioned: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, gut health and prebiotic benefits, neuroprotection, detoxification, and metabolic health improvement. That small remaining amount plays a significant role in your overall health that when it comes to risk-benefit analysis, the benefit outweighs the small amount of minerals that are lost which are quickly recovered later on.
Is phytic acid the villain that it is made out to be? No. Ironically, it is actually a helper in disguise. It is easy to take a word like "anti-nutrient" and turn it into a scary story, in reality there's more to nutrients than we think. Homing in on one nutrient doesn't give the full picture since nutrients don't exist in a vacuum, they are a piece of bigger puzzle. So don't skip the oatmeal or seeds or lentils, enjoy them and make sure you're preparing them properly.
