Top 4 Antinutrients and Why You Should Avoid Them
Very few people know what antinutrients are. If you ask anyone in the streets about it, chances are they will shake their head and continue with their activities. However, in this article, you will learn what antinutrients are, how they affect your body as well as how you can minimize their consumption.
What are antinutrients?
Antinutrients are natural compounds that interfere with the absorption of food nutrients and minerals in the body. The human body acts as a micronutrient sponge, but the antinutrient compounds affect this mechanism. Humans, as well as animals, get their nourishment from the environment; however, plants developed a mechanism to fight back. They have nutrient-sapping phytochemicals that protect the edibles from going extinct.
Animals have learned from the defense mechanism that overconsumption of plants causes’ illness and sometimes death. They either began digesting plants rich in antinutrients, or they are no longer part of their diet.
Grains, legumes, nuts, and beans have high levels of antinutrients. They are also present in roots, leaves, and fruits of some plants.
Do you have to avoid them?
Not all antinutrients are dangerous. It is difficult to avoid them all since they are part of our diet. However, you can avoid the ones that make you feel sick or cause big holes in your digestive system. Health experts designed the Bulletproof Diet to minimize the exposure of health-snapping foods. It places the hazardous antinutrients in the Bulletproof Diet Roadmap under the toxic section.
Lectins
Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that stick on the consumer’s intestinal walls leading to intestinal permeability. As the food is moving down the GI tract, the lectins peal the gut’s lining leading to microtrauma. Cells repair those bruises naturally, but the lectins adhere to the walls obstructing that from happening. The damage leads to low-level inflammation in the system.
There are numerous varieties of lectins present in most plants. However, some are safe to consume. Some plants rich in lectins include legumes, grains, and nightshades. That is why beans, peas, beans, quinoa, and peanuts are suspect to the Bulletproof Diet. Concentrate on getting your nutrients from the anti-inflammatory diet.
If you experience inflammation, migraines, brain fog, and stomach issues after eating a lectin-rich meal, you are lectin sensitive. There are several ways of reducing lectin levels in your diet, but the most common one is cooking your means first. Pressure-cooking is an effective way of destroying lectins. Soaking beans with several changes of water is also ideal for decreasing lectins.
In addition, it is good to experiment using various foods and preparations to determine how your biology reacts.
Bulletproof Diet Tips:
- Prefer white rice over brown rice since the lectins are high in the hull
- Sweet potatoes have minimal lectins compared to white potatoes.
- Choose almond butter over peanut butter. Peanuts have lectins that cause inflammation and cannot be destroyed by heat.
Phytic Acid
Phytic acid is among the antinutrients that block the absorption of nutrients such as magnesium, iron, zinc, and calcium. The minerals are present in nuts, whole grains, and soybeans, but the phytic acid makes it difficult for the body to absorb minerals.
Phytic acid, also known as Phytate, hinders digestive enzymes like trypsin, amylase, and pepsin. The body requires these enzymes to facilitate the breakdown of food. Amylase is essential for the breakdown of starch, while pepsin and trypsin digest proteins. If the body lacks the required amount of these enzymes, the digestion process will be insufficient, leading to a low supply of nutrients, which may cause weight loss.
However, your body can handle a moderate amount of phytates now that you cannot remove them from your diet. Eliminate the major sources of the phytic acid to allow your body to absorb minerals.
For you to burn some calories or build muscles, your body requires a certain amount of carbohydrates or proteins. The amount depends on the health of your digestive system. An optimized gut only needs less food to supply the body with energy.
Since grains have a high concentration of phytic acid, Bulletproof ranks white rice higher than brown rice. The cotyledon layer of legumes stores the phytates, which is difficult to remove; thus, why Bulletproof Diet list does not include kidney beans, soy, and lentils.
If you want to prepare foods that have high levels of phytates, cook them and drain the excess water or soak them in vinegar or lemon to minimize the phytic acid.
Bulletproof tips:
- Avoid seed oils like canola, use avocado, coconut, or butter oil.
- Keep off from beans since they have high levels of carbs and low in nutrients.
Oxalic acid
If you are a vegan and you love kale green smoothies or spinach, they may be causing your body harm than good. Also known as, oxalates the antinutrient compound is present in various plants such as raw cruciferous vegetables, which include kale, cauliflower, spinach, beets, black pepper, and broccoli.
Oxalates bind calcium in blood leading to formation of tiny oxalic acid crystals, which can cause muscle pain. If this takes place in the kidneys, you may have kidney stones. In addition, oxalates cause burning in the throat, mouth, ears and eye. When taken in large amounts, it can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea.
Similar to phytates, one can reduce oxalates through cooking and draining excess water or soak in acidic solutions like vinegar. Search for more diet tips if you are sensitive to foods with phytates.
Bulletproof Tips
- Do not add raw spinach, chard, or kale to salads or smoothies.
- Avoid black pepper when seasoning meals.
Gluten
Gluten is protein present in barley, wheat, oats, and rye. It has the potential of causing intestinal permeability. It is not possible for humans to digest gluten proteins. Its indigestibility places people in two categories, which include, celiac and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Grains containing gluten break down into opioid compounds known as gluteomorphins. The opioid compound interacts with the brain receptors similar to opiate drugs like heroin making them addictive.
Gluten has two types of storage proteins, glutelins and prolamins. Health experts named wheat-based glutelins as gltenins. They have (HMW) high molecular weight as well as (LMW) low molecular weight subunits. Wheat products rich in high levels of HMW like pretzel or pizza dough are more elastic and chewy. While lower levels of HMW, take the form of pastries. Initially, experts thought gliadin was the primary antinutrient contributor to gluten. However, professionals later discovered that glutenin is also toxic.
Products like soy sauce, processed meat, and beer are rich in gluten that can downgrade your productivity.
Bulletproof Tips:
- Avoid gluten in wheat-based flours by using cassava flour
- If you cannot do without alcohol, avoid beer and take potato vodka or gin