Phytates and green peas and green beans.

[rosewater]

Is it in them? Does that mean I should limit these foods in our house (like not everyday). I like to have frozen green peas & green beans in the freezer for last minute dinners that I didn't have time to plan, but now I'm wondering about them. Help!

[kbchavez]

I've always wondered about this too... Why are dried beans full of phytates, but there is no mention of green beans? I suspect green beans and peas are not an issue, but I have no idea why.

[caedmyn]

Peas must have phytates in them because dried split peas do...maybe it's not really an issue unless you eat loads and loads of them.

[tboroson]

Interestingly, I was just reading about this tonight in The Revolution will Not be Microwaved by Sandor Ellix Katz. He says that fresh seeds are not an issue, that the toxins develop as the seeds dry. He was using squash seeds as his example, he was talking about roasting the seeds you scoop out of a squash. But I imagine the same principle would apply to other seed foods: beans, etc.

I'd like to look up his reference for that, but I left the book upstairs and it's 2 am. Let's see if I remember to do some digging on that after this upcoming busy busy weekend

[Gale Force]

I'll have to look it up sometime. I don't remember seeing anything on it.

But for green beans, the bean part is a small part of that whole food. It's also good to keep in mind that the phytates don't bind to more minerals than are in that particular food (and generally less), so it's not like they are robbing you of all of your nutrition.

[rosewater]

Thanks for all the imput. I'm going to stop worrying now.