Comments on: Grains and phytic acid: Soak, sprout, ferment? http://www.phyticacid.org/grains/grains-and-phytic-acid/ Tips For Consumers From Food Science Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:47:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: Lew http://www.phyticacid.org/grains/grains-and-phytic-acid/comment-page-1/#comment-559 Lew Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:36:42 +0000 http://www.phyticacid.org/uncategorized/grains-and-phytic-acid-soak-sprout-ferment/#comment-559 @<a href="#comment-6" rel="nofollow">Tim</a>: >Phytic acid is also protective against bowel cancer which is why a diet high in unprocessed grains is recommended to prevent it.< I don't think that's right. Most of the protective effect is due to insoluble fiber, which has two actions: 1. By bulking the stool it reduces bowel transit time. This results in less production of carcinogenic putrefactive substances such as skatole, and less exposure to those that are produced. 2. Fermentation of insoluble fiber in the large bowel increases the amount of butyric acid and its salts (butyrates) relative to other simple organic acids such as lactic and propionic. Butyrates nourish the lining of the bowel, making it better able to resist chemo-insults. Wheat bran has been found to have greater protective effect against colorectal cancer than corn or oat bran. A study investigating this difference found that when wheat bran was denatured by removing both bran oil and phytate the protective effect was reduced to that of corn bran. Restoring the phytate did not restore the lost protective effect, but restoring the bran oil did. The authors concluded that wheat bran oil contained something that protected against cancer by mechanism(s) other than the two explained above. @Tim:

>Phytic acid is also protective against bowel cancer which is why a diet high in unprocessed grains is recommended to prevent it.<

I don't think that's right. Most of the protective effect is due to insoluble fiber, which has
two actions:

1. By bulking the stool it reduces bowel transit time. This results in less production of
carcinogenic putrefactive substances such as skatole, and less exposure to those that
are produced.

2. Fermentation of insoluble fiber in the large bowel increases the amount of butyric acid
and its salts (butyrates) relative to other simple organic acids such as lactic and propionic.
Butyrates nourish the lining of the bowel, making it better able to resist chemo-insults.

Wheat bran has been found to have greater protective effect against colorectal cancer
than corn or oat bran. A study investigating this difference found that when wheat bran
was denatured by removing both bran oil and phytate the protective effect was reduced
to that of corn bran. Restoring the phytate did not restore the lost protective effect, but
restoring the bran oil did. The authors concluded that wheat bran oil contained something
that protected against cancer by mechanism(s) other than the two explained above.

]]> By: Tim http://www.phyticacid.org/grains/grains-and-phytic-acid/comment-page-1/#comment-6 Tim Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:08:56 +0000 http://www.phyticacid.org/uncategorized/grains-and-phytic-acid-soak-sprout-ferment/#comment-6 Phytic acid is also protective against bowel cancer which is why a diet high in unprocessed grains is recommended to prevent it. As with all things a balance is required. Unless you have evidence that you are deficient in calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, maybe you shouldn't worry about the impaired absorption of these minerals present in the grains. There are plenty of other sources for these minerals than grain. Phytic acid is also protective against bowel cancer which is why a diet high in unprocessed grains is recommended to prevent it.
As with all things a balance is required. Unless you have evidence that you are deficient in calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, maybe you shouldn’t worry about the impaired absorption of these minerals present in the grains. There are plenty of other sources for these minerals than grain.

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