Is phytic acid really that bad???

[bright_eyes]

I was reading another thread and someone posted the following article, which makes me wonder if phytic acid is really that bad for us to consume. http://www.breadbeckers.com/phytic_a...end_or_foe.htm

I'm so confused over what is true or not. This article makes a lot of sense to me and I would love to believe it because it would make my life so much easier if I could stop worrying about the whole phytic acid thing. But before I read it, the whole phytic acid is bad thing also made sense to me.

I've read in numerous places that phytic acid is not good for us, but I'm wondering if this has actually been backed much by science/research? The article makes some good points about phytic acid actually being good for us.

The other thing I'm wondering is people's personal experiences. The lady in the article claims that she's seen a lot of healing take places when people simply make the switch to freshly ground grains. Has anyone noticed personal health benefits/healing in yourself or people you know when you properly prepare grains/seeds/nuts? Do you think that the results you are seeing is specifically due to the lowered phytic acid content, or does soaking/sprouting make the grains easier to digest, and that is what is producing the results. My understanding is the lowered phytic acid doesn't make the grains easier to digest, it is just supposed to help you get more nutrients out of the grains.

[bright_eyes]

In case anyone doesn't want to read the entire article, here's the section of phytic acid that really makes me confused:

Phytic acid’s “chelating” ability is considered by some to be a detriment to one’s health. On the other hand, many researches embrace this ability to bind with minerals as its most powerful asset. In her book, Diet for the Atomic Age, Sara Shannon, lists 11 nutrients in particular that protect against heavy metal toxicity and radiation damage. Phytates bind with radioactive and toxic substances and carry them out of the body. Aware of phytic acid’s mineral binding properties, Shannon states that an adequate diet will more than compensate. One must also remember that whole grains themselves are an abundant source of iron, calcium, and zinc. After extensive research, Shannon found that the more toxic our environment becomes, grains are our best source of protection, particularly due to the phytate content. She believes that “for optimal health, at least half of every meal should be grains”. Why would one want to denature something that is so beneficial? In fact, a supplement company is actually isolating this “powerful antioxidant” because of its anti-tumor, anti-carcinogenic, and blood sugar regulating properties!

Studies show that phytic acid, particularly from wheat bran, actually stimulates the productions of phytase in the small intestine. The fact that phytase can be produced in the small intestine eliminates the necessity of fermenting all grains before consuming them, as in the case of unleavened breads, quick breads (that do not use yeast as a leavening), and parched or boiled grains. Phytase activity in the small intestine actually increased, not decreased, the absorption of minerals, especially, calcium. (Journal of Nutrition 2000:130: 2020-2025). Over the years we have seen numerous people healed of life long anemia issues after they began grinding their own grains to make their bread. How could this be if phytic acid in the bran kept iron from being absorbed?

Other studies have also shown that this increase of phytase activity, stimulated by phytic acid, offered significant reduction in the formation of cancer cells in the colon. This anti-carcinogenic protection was also attributed to phytic acid’s mineral chelating properties. If phytic acid strengthen and protects the colon, how could it cause colitis and irritable bowel syndrome? Again we have heard numerous testimonies of healing of both colitis and IBS from eating “real bread”.

Phytic acid can be digested by humans and actually releases inositol during the process. Inositol is a key B vitamin necessary for the metabolism of fat and cholesterol. Whole grains are a valuable source of inositol, as well as choline and lecithin, which are also important in the break down of cholesterol. This may explain why so many people have reported a significant reduction in cholesterol levels once they began making their own bread from freshly milled grains. Inositol is also an essential nutrient in reducing depression. Again I ask - why would we want to denature this valuable nutrient?

One should really wonder why whole grains and phytic acid were “picked on” at all. Why not oxalic acid? It is a mineral chelator found in spinach, chard, cranberries, almonds, rhubarb and other vegetables. Should we quit eating these healthy foods as well? Sally Fallon encourages the use of flaxseed for its rich source of fatty acids, stating that it is low in phytic acid. Yet sources that herald phytic acid as a nutrient, give wheat bran and flaxseed as the richest sources. Does soaking the grain over night actually denature the phytic acid? Not from what I have read. Only about 10% of the phytic acid is broken down in an overnight soak and that is not enough to make a significant difference.

[BetsyPage]

I am very very very interested to hear thoughts on this!!! I have puzzled over why it is so *hard* to prepare properly soaked breads that are "modern"... made with yeast. Right now I'm grain-free/low grain but had planned on introducing sourdough and some other grains again in the future.

I still think the great "evil" is refined grains. I mean, it's ok to have the occassional piece of cake I think, but I cringe thinking of the white bread, Velveta and bologna sandwiches that were my school lunch. Blech!

[melamama]

I think much of what she writes is correct, but the chelating part has me. I'm not ingesting radioactive or other toxic substances, but I am concerned about chelating out many of my minerals--I don't believe that my diet is as rich as it is supposed to be.
It still seems more sensible to me to focus on a more paleo diet, and not give grains such a backbone role in my diet. I'm more comfortable with soaked fresh grains and sourdoughs.

Also since the article comes from a bread/grains site she has a pretty clear opinion.

[FillingMyQuiver]

I seem to remember something from Gale Force about how if you use fresh ground grains, you don't need to soak??? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

So, if what I'm remembering is true, then the phytic acid content of fresh ground grains is lower than stored flour and if you use a "double-rise" method of yeast bread making, you lower the phytic acid content even more.

So, what the article is saying about using fresh ground flour and seeing "healing" results could be true b/c they're naturally lowering the phytic acid content.

[LionTigerBear]

My understanding is coming to be, that phytic acid is even worse than I thought it was. There was some very relevant mention of the role of phytic acid in this article detailing the dangers of zinc/copper imbalance, a serious problem I am now dealing with. I grew up on all 100% whole grains-- the only time I ate refined bread or flour was when I was at other friends' or relatives' houses. My mom usually baked our own bread and even ground her own grain for a while. Now my zinc/copper imbalance is so bad, I am pretty ill and I have been very weak and in poor health my whole life, and now my kids have many of the same problems. I think it is better to be grain-free than to eat improperly-prepared grains. Really.

[Shakti77]

Correct me if I'm wrong... I think I read somewhere that freshly ground flour is rich in phytase. It is this enzyme that tackles the phytic acid. After storing the flour for sometime, this phytase no longer exists... and there is nothing to neutralize the phytic acid in the grains.

[tolovemercy]

So, I saw this thread when it was first posted and didn't have time to really follow it, but actually stumbled on the breadbeckers.com article this afternoon while searching for something else.

The 10% reduction in phytic acid after an overnight soak really got me--is this accurate?

That said, tradition or not, she does agree that sprouted grains are more easily digested than not. This is a big deal and should be emphasized more, as easy digestion is crucial for already-damaged guts.

There also isn't a mention of the fact that modern whole wheat is very different from what it was 1,000 years ago. The gluten content is significantly higher and it isn't processed by our bodies the same way that ancient varieties of wheat are--say, spelt or kamut. I could be totally wrong about that, though.

[Chinese Pistache]

subbing

[covertlycrunchy]

If I recall correctly Weston Price in his experiments with malnourished children included slow rise bread made from freshly ground wheat flour (plus vast amounts of spring butter) and saw significant improvements in health. I thought it was the high amounts of phytase in the fresh flour that was responsible for the phytase reduction. I could buy that with regular flour the phytate reduction would only be 10% if there isn't enough phytase in it to begin with but I'd like to see some actual studies on all of this rather than my conjecture. I'd look now but I gotta go 2 bed.

[covertlycrunchy]

Ok I found something:
http://tiny.cc/ZnPRC

Abstract

Whole grains of different cereals have traditionally been prepared with water and heat prior to dehulling, but knowledge of the effect on nutritional properties is limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate if phytate reduction occurred during hydrothermal treatment of whole grains. Wheat, rye, hulled and dehulled barley, hulled oats and naked oats were incubated with either water or acetate buffer (pH 4·8) at 55 °C for 24 h with the exception of oats, which were incubated at 37 °C. Phytate in wheat, rye and barley was reduced by 46–77% when water was used and by 84–99% when acetate buffer was used. The phytate reduction in oats was considerably less, 8–26%, but, after grinding and soaking, phytate was reduced by 72–77% in dehulled oats and by 88–94% in naked oats. Citric acid and citrate buffer was used for pH adjustment in some experiments, and their use resulted in less phytate reduction than when acetate and lactic acid were used. Wet-steeping of naked oats and naked barley in water at 53–57 °C for 20–30 min reduced the bacterial counts by 99·97%, and the addition of acid prevented bacterial growth during the incubations. It was concluded that cereals with reduced phytate content and good hygienic quality can be developed and produced using hydrothermal treatment of whole grains.

[covertlycrunchy]

And something else:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0478399

Hydrolysis of extracellular phytate (InsP6) by high-phytase yeast strains and survival of yeast cells were studied at simulated digestive conditions using yeast peptone dextrose growth medium and wheat gruel as model meals. An in vitro digestion method was modified to better correlate with the gastric pH gradient following food intake in vivo. High-phytase yeast gave a strong reduction of InsP6 (up to 60%) in the early gastric phase, as compared to no degradation by wild-type strains. The degree of InsP6 degradation during digestion was influenced by the type of yeast strain, cell density, and InsP6 concentration. Despite high InsP6 solubility, high resistance against proteolysis by pepsin, and high cell survival, degradation in the late gastric and early intestinal phases was insignificant. Dependency on pH for phytase expression and/or activity seemed thus to be an important limiting factor. Although further studies are needed, our results show the potential of using yeast as a phytase carrier in the gastrointestinal tract.

This was a 2 second google search. I *really* gotta go 2 bed now....

[Koalamom]

Just bumping because I love threads like this!

[pampered_mom]

Actually, due to a couple of areas of her article, I don't think she really understands the point.

One should really wonder why whole grains and phytic acid were “picked on” at all. Why not oxalic acid?

Oxalic acid is a concern and there are suggestions on what to do to in order to minimize it's effects, just like there are suggestions made on how to minimize the effects of phytic acid. In a couple of areas it's almost as if she's under the impression that both WAPF and Rubin are telling people not to eat bread or grains - they're not.

She sells grains, grain mills, etc and obviously believes that bread is of key importance as one can see as she closes out her writing:

I believe that the day has come where God is going to use sickness and disease as a powerful evangelistic tool. As God’s people we must prepare. As we turn to His ways of eating, always letting His word be the final authority, we will see our health return. As those around us become sicker they will look to us for answers. As we share truth for physical health, we will be sharing truth for spiritual health. But if deceptive teaching can prevail and convince the world that bread is bad, then why would any one want the Real Bread of Life. Deceptive teaching is a powerful tool of the enemy. We must pray continually for wisdom. None of us is above being deceived.

I have to say I don't really agree with her nutritional or theological premise. In fact, she already has the answer given by Rubin and the WAPF in her own article at the beginning where she says:

The fermentation process of yeast triggers this same activity and causes phytase to transform non-usable minerals into digestible ones. These minerals include phosphorous, zinc, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. Without proper fermentation, these minerals remain inaccessible to your body. Allowing bread to rise for several hours before baking insures maximum nutritional value and the release of these stored nutrients.

This paragraph plus the one I quoted above are the main reason why I don't actually think the author understands the issue. With this paragraph in particular she's already talking about what WAPF/SF have suggested - a slow rise vs. the quick rise that typically takes place when one uses commercial yeasts.

I guess I'd put more stock in her concern if I actually believed she knew/understood the issue. I think she heard "bread is bad" and went from there. Just my .02