Anti-nutrients – they’re part of a normal diet and not as scary as they sound

Maybe you’re trying to eat healthier these days, aiming to get enough of the good stuff and limit the not so good stuff. Do you pay attention to things like fiber and fat and vitamins… and anti-nutrients?

What the heck are anti-nutrients and are they something you need to worry about in your diet?

Let me, as a public health nutrition researcher, reassure you that anti-nutrients are not the evil enemies of all the nutritious foods you eat. As long as you have a balanced and varied diet, anti-nutrients are not an issue. In fact, scientists are realizing that they actually have many health benefits.

illustration of the small intestine in the middle of other organs

What are anti-nutrients?

Antinutrients are substances that occur naturally in plant and animal foods.

The name comes from how they work in your body once you eat them. They block or interfere with the way your body absorbs other nutrients out of your gut and into your bloodstream so you can then use them. So anti-nutrients can decrease the amount of nutrients you actually get from your diet. They most often interfere with the absorption of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc.

Plants have developed these compounds as a defense mechanism against insects, parasites, bacteria and fungi. For example, some anti-nutrients can make a food bitter; animals will not want to eat it, leaving the seed, for example, to feed future seedlings. Some anti-nutrients block the digestion of seeds that are eaten. The seeds scatter when they come out the other end in the animal’s feces and can continue to grow new plants. Both of these survival tactics help plant species grow and spread.

In terms of the foods people eat, you’ll most often find naturally occurring anti-nutrients in whole grains and legumes.

It’s time to change your image by improving health

Although it sounds scary, studies show that anti-nutrients are not cause for concern unless consumed in ultra high and unrealistic amounts – and they have many health benefits.

Anti-nutrients are currently undergoing a very similar image change as dietary fiber. At one time, scientists thought dietary fiber was bad for people. Since fiber could bind to nutrients and pull them out of the digestive tract into poo, this seemed like something to avoid. To solve this perceived problem, grain processing in the late 1800s removed fiber from foods.

But now scientists know that dietary fiber is extremely important and encourage its consumption. Eating plenty of fiber reduces the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain gastrointestinal diseases.

Similarly, rather than something to be avoided, many anti-nutrients are now considered health-promoting nutraceuticals and functional foods due to their many benefits. Here is an introduction to some of the most commonly consumed anti-nutrients that have benefits:

Saponins, common in legumesmay boost the immune system, reduce the risk of cancer, lower cholesterol, reduce blood sugar response to food, reduce the number of cavities, reduce the risk of kidney stones, and fight blood clotting seen in heart attacks and accidents cerebrovascular.
Lectins, present in cereals and legumesare associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers and being overweight or obese.
Tannins, commonly found in teas, coffees, and processed meats and cheesesare antioxidants that can inhibit the growth of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and yeasts and can lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
Phytates, found in wheat, barley, rice, and corn, are associated with increased immune function and death of cancer cells, as well as reduced growth and spread of cancer cells. They also have antioxidant properties and can reduce inflammation.
To finish, glucosinates, found in brassica vegetables like cauliflower, inhibit the growth of tumor cells.

Oxalates are one of the few anti-nutrients with predominantly negative effects on the body. They are found in many common foods, including legumes, beets, berries, cranberries, oranges, chocolate, tofu, wheat bran, sodas, coffee, tea, beer, dark green vegetables, and sweet potatoes. Negative impacts of oxalates include calcium binding in the digestive tract and its elimination from the body in the stool. Oxalates can also increase the risk of kidney stones in some people.

Integrate anti-nutrients into a healthy diet

Overall, when weighing the pros against the cons, the pros of anti-nutrients outweigh the cons. Healthy foods that contain it — primarily fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes — should be encouraged, not avoided.

Anti-nutrients only become a concern if these foods are consumed in very large amounts, which is very unlikely for most adults and children in the U.S. Also, a lot of anti-nutrients are removed or lost from the foods people eat while they are processed and cookedespecially if soaking, blanching, boiling or other high temperature processes are involved.

Vegetarians and vegans may be at greater risk for negative effects from anti-nutrients because their diets rely heavily on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. But these plant-based diets are still among the healthiest and are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and many types of cancers.

Vegetarians and vegans can take a few steps to help counteract the effects of anti-nutrients on their absorption of particular nutrients:

High iron pair and zinc food with foods rich in vitamin C (examples: vegetarian meatballs in tomato sauce, tomato-based chili with beans).
Soak legumes before cooking.
Dairy consumption time so it is not always associated with oxalate-rich foods.
Buy dairy products fortified with calcium.
Consider a multivitamin and mineral supplement containing about 100% of the recommended daily dose of nutrients (check the Nutrition Facts table) as nutritional insurance if you are concerned, but be sure to talk to your doctor first .