Antinutrients

What are some good books to read on the subject?

What's an antinutrient? Do you mean free radicals? Food that just doesn't have much nutrition in it would be junk food.

What's an antinutrient? Do you mean free radicals? Food that just doesn't have much nutrition in it would be junk food.

No,

Anti-nutrients are substances (natural or synthetic) that block the absorption of certain nutrients.

For example, drugs mess with the body is ability to absorb certain nutrients.

Contrary to popular belief soy is not very healthy for you because it contains many anti-nutrients.

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm

What's an antinutrient? Do you mean free radicals? Food that just doesn't have much nutrition in it would be junk food.

 

No,

 

Anti-nutrients are substances (natural or synthetic) that block the absorption of certain nutrients.

 

For example, drugs mess with the body is ability to absorb certain nutrients.

 

Contrary to popular belief soy is not very healthy for you because it contains many anti-nutrients.

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm

Anti-nutrients..... right

Get your info from a credible sourse.

hmmmmmmm when I searched, it kept giving me just two examples, oxalic acid and phytic acid. The wikipedia entries for these respectively are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalic_acid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acid

I don't know anything about them personally. There doesn't seem to be much information. The phrase 'antinutrient' isn't in the dictionary that I looked in, and only comes up with about 2000 results in yahoo, which is pretty low. With so few results, it would surprise me if there's a book about them, or even a book with a chapter devoted to them? I imagine you're out of luck!

The article (cites what I would think are credible sources) has some valid points with soy, but all the isolates I consumed were from non GMO sources, and also that deal about protein absorbtion is pretty bunk, alot of the folks here take it and we're all pretty strong. The thyroid problems are a concern. I wouldnt look for "anti-neutrients" but maybe nutrient blockers (like green tea is a zinc blocker) or antagonists (this is more of a chemistry thing)

What's an antinutrient? Do you mean free radicals? Food that just doesn't have much nutrition in it would be junk food.

 

No,

 

Anti-nutrients are substances (natural or synthetic) that block the absorption of certain nutrients.

 

For example, drugs mess with the body is ability to absorb certain nutrients.

 

Contrary to popular belief soy is not very healthy for you because it contains many anti-nutrients.

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm

Yes, I agree that soy isn't very healthy although it's probably worse for some people than others. I try to limit my intake of it. I never drink soy milk or use soy cheese or soy protein shakes. Occasionally I'll eat soy and feel pretty sick afterwards. I do get some broccoli and tofu from a Chinese take out place maybe once every 5 days, that tofu doesn't bother me. Not sure why. Perhaps it's non-GMO?

Indeed they do. But the Japanese, and Asians in general, have much higher rates of other types of cancer, particularly cancer of the esophagus, stomach, liver and pancreas.( Asians throughout the world also have high rates of thyroid cancer.(9) The logic which links low rates of reproductive cancers to soy consumption requires attribution of high rates of thyroid and digestive cancers to the same foods, particularly as soy causes these types of cancers in laboratory rats.

In 1991, Japanese researchers reported that consumption of as little as 30 grams or 2 tablespoons of soybeans/day for only 1 month resulted in a significant increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone.(10) Diffuse goiter and hypothyroidism appeared in some of the subjects and many complained of constipation, lethargy and fatigue, even though their intake of iodine was adequate.

I get "overheated" and lethargic sometimes from soy. Being overheated can be from hyperthyroidism. I wonder if that is any way related to the above.... although it's talking about hypo not hyper...

Fudgam, I think this article was pretty much all stuff that is well known. The beginning stuff were things I already knew and are all mainstream.

I don't know of any books on anti-nutrients. Interesting subject though. Lots of foods block or increase the absorption of nutrients...

I've been eating a little more soy than before, but I don't think it's *that* bad, unless you completely base your diet on it.

CollegeB: Green Tea blocks iron too if I remember correctly.

Every soy product here has a sign on it saying whether it is or is not GMO. Thankfully, most are not.

Unless you have some sort of sensitivity to soy I don't think its bad to base your diet on it. I know many people that have eaten soy as a staple in their diet for over 50 yrs. My great-grandmother who lived to be 97 is one of them, my grandfather who is 78(still swims 2 miles 4 times a week), and my grandmother. They didn't grow up vegetarian but since they were all poor tofu made up over half of their protein intake(the other half came from rice, and fish a couple times a week...with the occational egg). I'd have no problem whatsover making soybeans my only protein dense source for the rest of my life...but for some people...a few soybeans may really damage them.

As for certain nutrients inhibiting absorbtion of other nutrients...I think everything does that to some extent. I doubt there is a single food that doesn't atleast hinder uptake of some other nutrient...even if its in small amounts.

Unless you have some sort of sensitivity to soy I don't think its bad to base your diet on it. I know many people that have eaten soy as a staple in their diet for over 50 yrs. My great-grandmother who lived to be 97 is one of them, my grandfather who is 78(still swims 2 miles 4 times a week), and my grandmother. They didn't grow up vegetarian but since they were all poor tofu made up over half of their protein intake(the other half came from rice, and fish a couple times a week...with the occational egg). I'd have no problem whatsover making soybeans my only protein dense source for the rest of my life...but for some people...a few soybeans may really damage them.

 

As for certain nutrients inhibiting absorbtion of other nutrients...I think everything does that to some extent. I doubt there is a single food that doesn't atleast hinder uptake of some other nutrient...even if its in small amounts.

Yeah ultimately if you feel fine eating lots of soy than I think it's probably not a thing to worry about. If someone doesn't feel so great though, they might want to remove soy from their diet and see if they feel better.

So I overstated it a little. It can be OK in large quantities for some people. Definitely some people do fine with lots of soy.

Every soy product here has a sign on it saying whether it is or is not GMO. Thankfully, most are not.

You're lucky, then, because in the US, it's pretty much a sure bet that any non-organic soy is GMO (same with corn and wheat).

So I overstated it a little.

I don't think so, you just said how you feel with it.

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm

 

Anti-nutrients..... right

 

Get your info from a credible sourse.

 

Maybe you should read first before coming to such a conclusion. The article is well referenced.

Dr. Atkins has well referenced articles too...but evidence of real people should be enough.

If you have a reasonable science (especially chemistry) background, get yourself a nutrition textbook. Much more factual than most books marketed to the general public, and you'll find precise explanations of what you're looking for.

Examples: as Richard mentioned, phytate = organic form of phosphorous, found in many plants, binds many minerals (calcium, magnesium, etc) and prevents absoption.

Many minerals compete for the same divalent mineral transporters.

Excessive zinc can induce copper deficiency through mucosal block.

Some foods contain goitrogens - block iodine absorption (ex: cassava root, staple food in Africa/many tropical nations).

Etc........

Like I said, if you're looking just facts, I'd go with a college level textbook.

If you have a reasonable science (especially chemistry) background, get yourself a nutrition textbook.

Any recommendations for a good one (or more)?

Raw foodists talk about the phytates and other enzyme and nutrient blockers in nuts and grains. These can be reduced/deactivated by soaking and rinsing the raw nuts (or cooking or soaking and spouting the grains).

If you have a reasonable science (especially chemistry) background, get yourself a nutrition textbook.

 

Any recommendations for a good one (or more)?

 

 

Raw foodists talk about the phytates and other enzyme and nutrient blockers in nuts and grains. These can be reduced/deactivated by soaking and rinsing the raw nuts (or cooking or soaking and spouting the grains).

The one I've got in front of me right now is Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 4th ed, by Sareen Gropper, Jack Smith, James Groff from Thomson Wadsworth publishing. It's the text from my human nutrition science courses, which are senior level classes. I think it's a pretty good book, it is definitly written for someone with a background in organic chemistry and biochemistry though. Even if it's gibberish to you though, the main concepts can be stripped out by just ignoring all the acronyms. I personally enjoy reading it, and it's dense with all sorts of nutrient interaction information.

I've got a whole pile of other texts stacked away somewhere, this is the only one I can reach right now But, like I said, it definitely has all the requested info.

I do not know chemistry but what many state (bonding of chemicals) makes sense but I would use this information not to advocate avoiding certain plant based foods but instead to promote eating more nutrient dense food, which are plant based food. Eating more nutrient dense food will increase your ratio of micro nutrients to calories which should mitigate any chemical bonding caused loss of absorption, simply by consuming many more micro nutrients. Not only should eating, with the goal of concentrating on nutrient dense food, improve your health but it is a good angle to argue for a plant based diet, since that is more nutrient dense and less dense tend to be animal based foods and heavily processed foods.

I think I know what brought about the initial question....

"But, according to the article by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, this is all a tragic mistake, because soy is far indeed from living up to the many health claims that its proponents have made for it. Quite to the contrary, Fallon and Enig say, "the soybean contains large quantities of natural toxins or 'antinutrients (Bold and Italics are my edit),' (including) potent enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion… They can produce serious distress, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake."

I found it on http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm[/b]

And it's debunked later on, with all the things done to soy (fermentation, cooking), etc.

isnt fallon that woman who attacks one of the writers of the china study at Vegsource?

let me see where that link is:

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/campbell_china_response.htm

she seems to have quite an agenda for everything vegan.

I realize it does not have anything to do with the validity of what she is saying here, I just am very apprehensive about people who seem to try to attack everything vegan.

If anyone has read, "The China Study", T. Colin Campbell would say that rather than focusing on one nutrient, look at the whole picture. It is probably the amount of protein causing the problems and not the soy. Their whole study showed that excess protein, mostly animal , can cause cancer to rear its ugly head. Everyone probably carries cancer causing cells but protein and fat can turn them on or off.

It worries me that bodybuilders ingest such HUGE quantities of protein, mostly animal. Its very hard to OD on plant protein. Plants have more than enough protein for our needs bodybuilding or otherwise.

I think its the drugs you have to worry about more than the protein in terms of health

I think its the drugs you have to worry about more than the protein in terms of health

I know a couple people who eat no raw food and only meat and protein supplements too. They don't take drugs, but it's clear that they're not healthy, they're always sick and stuff.