Does sprouting grains reduce the phytic acid content of the grain? Absolutely. Listen to the video below for some food science on the topic. To sprout your grains, you soak them overnight in whole form (the whole spelt berry for instance), drain them well, and place them in a container (usually a tray or a…
Category Archives: Grains
Soaking grains for nutrition?
“Should you soak grains for nutrition?” someone at our charter school asked me. “Yes, absolutely.” Grains contain phytic acid which inhibit your absorption of iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. If you rely on grains (and legumes and nuts) for these minerals, it is absolutely to your benefit to soak them before eating them. Here is…
Coconut flour & phytic acid
Does coconut flour have high levels of phytic acid? Should we be concerned? A reader asked me this question and there is actually very little information on the topic, but the lack of information is telling. I address the question in a video cast below and generally conclude that we need not worry about it….
Corn & phytates: To soak or not to soak?
Corn contains phytic acid that makes it difficult to absorb iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium in the corn. In fact, iron is particularly poorly absorbed in corn. There are simple kitchen preparation techniques you can use to reduce the phytic acid in your grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. You will find such discussions peppered around…
Grains and phytic acid: Soak, sprout, ferment?
Do grains have phytic acid (phytates) and should we care? Generally speaking, grains have high levels of phytic acid, a substance that reduces our absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. As an example, compare the milligrams of phytic acid in grains to a random collection of other foods. (This is a…
Cornflakes and phytic acid
I know people love corn flakes and do not want to give them up. Someone sheepishly emailed me asking if cornflakes have high levels of phytic acid / phytates. The reader is concerned about phytic acid because it can interfere with your body's absorption of important body-building minerals. Typically, corn is pretty high in phytic…
Phytic acid / phytates in whole wheat
Whole wheat is high in phytic acid, a fact that has made devotees of Sally Fallon (author of Nourishing Traditions) diligently soak their grains or choose options like oatmeal. Fallon recommends soaking grains, legumes, and nuts to reduce the phytic acid in the food and increase your absorption of key dietary minerals. Fallon lit the…
Phytic acid in rice: Soak it?
Many people interested in reducing phytic acid in their food do not soak rice because they are under the impression that rice does not have phytic acid / phytates. Simply, it depends on the rice. The white rice in your sushi order does not have phytic acid. Phytic acid is in the "brown part" of…
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Amanda Rose, Ph.D., is a political scientist and author of "Rebuild from Depression," on the link between nutrient deficiencies and depression. Her own zinc deficiency led to a keen interest in phytic acid, a component in grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds that inhibits our digestion of zinc and other minerals. A thorough examination of kitchen remedies for phytic acid is in the Phytic Acid White Paper. -
