Fw: Rebuild with Phytase: What is Phytic Acid?

[Guest guest]

Rebuild with Phytase

 

Topic #1:  What's phytic acid?  What's this series about?

 

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What's phytic acid?

 

Grains, legumes, nuts and seeds contain a substance called phytic

acid or phytate.  In humans, phytic acid is a strong chelator of iron,

calcium, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorous.  What this means is

that the phytate generally stays undigested in our digestive tract

and it clings to other minerals in our food and escorts them out of

our bowels.

 

 

***Because of phytates, you are missing out on about half of the

minerals your food could be providing if you prepared it a bit

differently.

 

 

Cows have no trouble eating the seed heads of grasses in the

fields: their food passes through the four compartments in their

stomachs and they produce the enzyme phytase to break down

the phytic acid in their digestive tract.  They were made to eat

grains.  We humans lack sufficient phytase in our system.

 

If we're going to eat high phytate foods, we can improve those

foods by breaking down the phytates before they hit our stomach. 

We can also take a phytase supplement as I'll mention later.  But

it is far cheaper and probably better for overall health to prepare

our food properly.

 

In this series, you will learn about the health effects of phytates

and how you can better prepare your foods to unlock their

minerals. 

 

People spend a whole lot of money on food supplements to

improve their mineral intake.  But there are some pretty easy

solutions in our kitchen to increasing the minerals that our bodies absorb.

 

 

***This phytate system fits into my overall food philosophy:  you

have to eat anyway, so you might as well make it count.

 

 

This series includes tips for you even if you don't really cook:

 

* How to select breads from the supermarket

* How to select soy foods

* How to bolster your breakfast porridge

* Put your coffee grinder to work to aid in mineral digestion

 

 

And there are many tips for home bakers and cooks:

 

* How to improve any yeast bread recipe to unlock the minerals

* How to leverage sourdough techniques in any situation

* Why and how you should soak your beans

* Why you need your own grain grinder

 

 

I'll also discuss some health-phytate issues such as:

* How much do phytates inhibit my absorption of minerals?

* Are there long-term health effects of phytates?

* Do phytates fight cancer?

 

 

This series is in development.  As I add new entries

you will receive those as well.  Some of the future topics we are

working on include:

 

* A system to reduce phytates in any quick bread recipe

* Phytates in gluten-free foods, including corn

 

For more general information on phytic acid, read the excerpt from Chapter 13 of

my book.  Go to this page and scroll down to Chapter 13:

 

http://www.rebuild-from-depression.com/book/book.html

 

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Who I am

 

I have a book forthcoming in the summer of 2007, Rebuild from  Depression.  I

identify nutrients that are most associated with  depression in the medical

literature.  If we are deficient in zinc, for instance, we are likely to be

depressed.  To shore up our zinc may require supplementation - the book

discusses how to test if you are

low in zinc, body signs of low zinc, and the best form of supplementation.  But

for the long term, we need to improve our  dietary zinc.  Reducing phytates in

foods is one strategy for increasing our digestion of zinc, iron, magnesium, and

calcium. 

Nutrient deficiencies in any of these can cause depression.  My research

background is in social science and statistics.  You can read my biography here:

 

http://www.rebuild-from-depression.com/biography/biography.html

 

As a r to my phytate series, you will also receive my Rebuild from

Depression newsletter.  The newsletter will include food research that may

interest you, regardless of whether you suffer from depression.

 

Amanda Rose

www.rebuild-from-depression.com

 

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