Anti-nutrients
Plants bite back: The surprising, all-natural anti-nutrients and toxins in plant foods
A great primer for learning about the properties of protease inhibitors, phytates, lectins, saponins, oxalates, salicylates and other anti-nutrients present in plant-based foods, with good advice on how to neutralize or minimise damage from these.
A great primer for learning about the properties of protease inhibitors, phytates, lectins, saponins, oxalates, salicylates and other anti-nutrients present in plant-based foods, with good advice on how to neutralize or minimise damage from these.
Mother Nature puts anti-nutritional factors and toxins in grains, nuts, seeds and beans for a variety of reasons. Phytates, for example, block seeds from sprouting prematurely. Protease inhibitors, saponins, lectins and phytoestrogens harm insects, animals and other predators that would otherwise eat too many of them. If evolutionary theories are correct, wounded plants produce extra inhibitors and other anti-nutrients to save the plant species. The idea is to cause predators - including plant-eating humans - to experience slowed growth and diminished reproductive ability.1-4 Although it might sound like a "rotten idea," squirrels are smart to bury nuts in the ground, then dig them up and eat them weeks and months later. Similarly, people in traditional cultures all over the world process their grains, nuts, seeds and beans by a process akin to pre-digestion before cooking and eating them.
Determination Of Plant Proteins Via The Kjeldahl Method And Amino Acid Analysis: A Comparative Study
Abstract: The amount of protein in most foods is usually determined by multiplying its Kjeldahl nitrogen content by a factor of 6.25. The reliability of this method in quantitating plant proteins was investigated. Ten lesser known plant leaf samples of nutritional significance among certain populations in Nigeria were used for this study. Protein contents of the plant samples were determined via the kjeldahl method using the conventional nitrogen to protein (N:P) conversion factor 6.25 (i.e. total nitrogen × 6.25) and by summation of amino acid residues (considered more accurate and taken here as the actual protein content). From data of total amino acid and total nitrogen, specific N:P conversion factors were calculated for each sample. The N:P factors ranged from 3.24 to 5.39, with an overall average of 4.64. Protein contents were also calculated using this new factor. Comparison of the calculated protein contents showed that the traditional conversion factor of 6.25 overestimated the actual protein content of the samples. The degree of overestimation ranged from 16%-93%. Protein contents calculated with our adjusted factor (4.64) gave results that are in good agreement with the actual protein content. Our results indicate that calculation of protein content by N × 6.25 is highly unsuitable for plant samples.
Notes from Malaena Medford
(In response to hearing about the above study about calculating protein availability in plants) No kidding! And the fact that plant proteins are bound to protease inhibitors--which block protein digestion of plant proteins--it means that not only is detecting protein content wrong, but actual digestion and absorption is so far below what one needs that it can make people ill. Like this: Vegetarianism produces subclinical malnutrition, hyperhomocysteinemia and atherogenesis [Conclusion The low dietary intake of protein and sulfur amino acids by a plant-eating population leads to subclinical protein malnutrition, explaining the origin of hyperhomocysteinemia and the increased vulnerability of these vegetarian subjects to cardiovascular diseases.] ~Protein malnutrition. This is prevalent in vegetarians of all types because of anti-nutrients and poor protein quality. Vegetarian diet and all-cause mortality: Evidence from a large population-based Australian cohort - the 45 and Up Study [Highlights • Vegetarians had healthier lifestyle behaviours than non-vegetarians. • No difference in all-cause mortality between vegetarians and non-vegetarians • Semi-vegetarians or pesco-vegetarians did not have a reduced risk of death.] ~Doesn't matter what type, they all showed no reduced risk from a junk food diet. [We found no evidence that following a vegetarian diet, semi-vegetarian diet or a pesco-vegetarian diet has an independent protective effect on all-cause mortality.] |
More on Soy from Malaena
All soybean products are hazardous.
Fermentation releases even more of the hormone disruptors, making it even worse.
Go to that "Soy Alert!" page. There are thousands of studies showing negative effects on both animals and humans.
Why Fermented Soy Is Even More Goitrogenic Than Plain Soy
Health Effects of Soy Protein and Isoflavones in Humans
[Impacts of soy products on thyroid and reproductive functions as well as on certain types of carcinogenesis require further study in this context. Overall, existing data are inconsistent or inadequate in supporting most of the suggested health benefits of consuming soy protein or ISF.]
~The more research they do, the more negative soy looks. The soy alert link shows many, many studies.
Soy Isoflavones Exert Modest Hormonal Effects in Premenopausal Women
[The high isoflavone diet decreased free T3 (P = 0.02) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (P = 0.02) levels during the early follicular phase and estrone levels during the mid follicular phase (P = 0.02).]
~It reduced T3 thyroid hormone. That is essential to thyroid function. It was destroying thyroid function.
170 Scientific Studies Confirm The Dangers of Soy
Milk- and soy-protein ingestion: acute effect on serum uric acid concentration.
[Serum uric acid decreased significantly 3 h after ingestion of lactalbumin and casein but increased after soybean consumption.]
~Want gout? This is how you get gout.
All soybean products are hazardous.
Fermentation releases even more of the hormone disruptors, making it even worse.
Go to that "Soy Alert!" page. There are thousands of studies showing negative effects on both animals and humans.
Why Fermented Soy Is Even More Goitrogenic Than Plain Soy
Health Effects of Soy Protein and Isoflavones in Humans
[Impacts of soy products on thyroid and reproductive functions as well as on certain types of carcinogenesis require further study in this context. Overall, existing data are inconsistent or inadequate in supporting most of the suggested health benefits of consuming soy protein or ISF.]
~The more research they do, the more negative soy looks. The soy alert link shows many, many studies.
Soy Isoflavones Exert Modest Hormonal Effects in Premenopausal Women
[The high isoflavone diet decreased free T3 (P = 0.02) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (P = 0.02) levels during the early follicular phase and estrone levels during the mid follicular phase (P = 0.02).]
~It reduced T3 thyroid hormone. That is essential to thyroid function. It was destroying thyroid function.
170 Scientific Studies Confirm The Dangers of Soy
Milk- and soy-protein ingestion: acute effect on serum uric acid concentration.
[Serum uric acid decreased significantly 3 h after ingestion of lactalbumin and casein but increased after soybean consumption.]
~Want gout? This is how you get gout.
Georgia Ede's Excellent Work on Anti-nutrients from her Website - Diagnosis Diet
- Grains, Beans, Nuts and Seeds
Grains, beans, nuts and seeds are all seeds. Rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber, they form the base of most healthy food pyramids. Yet grind grain into flour and suddenly you have a dangerous powder called “refined flour” that is supposed to be avoided like the plague. Gluten intolerance, soy, corn, and peanut allergies are on the rise. What’s going on here? - Vegetables
We are told that vegetables are powerful and virtuous—that they fight off cancer, sweep our digestive systems clean, and strengthen our immune system —that they can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Yet vegetables have a dark side. They don’t want to be eaten any more than animals do, and use sophisticated chemical weapons to defend themselves… - Fruits
Naturally sweet, colorful, and delicious—fruits are the only parts of plants that are specifically designed to be eaten. For those who can tolerate carbohydrate, fruits are the healthiest sources on the planet, but what if you are carbohydrate-sensitive and need to avoid fruit? Don’t you need all those vitamins and antioxidants? What are antioxidants, anyway?
On Oxalates
Health Dangers of Oxalates - Kevin Stock
"Many people think spinach is a good source of calcium. But it’s a fraud. The calcium in spinach is completely useless. It’s all tied up in oxalate. And this is true for all high-oxalate foods.In the lab we can measure the calcium content in spinach, but that doesn’t mean it’s available as a nutrient for the body.
There is a big difference in the nutrition measured in food and the nutrition that the body can actually absorb and use.This is where standard nutrition guidelines fail miserably.
If we eat 100% of our RDI (recommended daily intake) of calcium from spinach, but 100% of it is tied up in oxalate, we really got 0% of the RDI. Making matters worse, certain foods can increase the amount of a nutrients we need."
"Many people think spinach is a good source of calcium. But it’s a fraud. The calcium in spinach is completely useless. It’s all tied up in oxalate. And this is true for all high-oxalate foods.In the lab we can measure the calcium content in spinach, but that doesn’t mean it’s available as a nutrient for the body.
There is a big difference in the nutrition measured in food and the nutrition that the body can actually absorb and use.This is where standard nutrition guidelines fail miserably.
If we eat 100% of our RDI (recommended daily intake) of calcium from spinach, but 100% of it is tied up in oxalate, we really got 0% of the RDI. Making matters worse, certain foods can increase the amount of a nutrients we need."