In my recent post, “Why No Grains and Legumes? Part 1: Lectins“, I gave you one good reason to stop your greedy little hands from dipping into the proverbial cookie jar: lectins. Those sticky little proteins that help cause leaky gut, and therefore an immune response to foods, are one of the main culprits driving the Paleo movement. There’s more to the story, though, and today we’re going to cover phytic acid, which is also found in grains and legumes.
What’s phytic acid?
Phytic acid, also called phytate in its salt form, is another anti-nutrient. Phytic acid is the main phosphorus store of many plants, as well as an energy store, and it’s a source of cations and myoinositol (a cell wall precursor). Unfortunately, phytates aren’t digestible by non-ruminants (read: non-cud-chewers) because we lack the enzyme phytase to break them down.
The Big Deal
Phytates actually bind to the magnesium, calcium, zinc and iron in your intestines and take them OUT of our bodies. We do not want that to happen. Cordain and others believe that this alone is greatly contributing to the worldwide epidemic of iron-deficiency anemia. It could be part of the reason many people are deficient in magnesium as well, which can contribute to everything from muscle cramping to PMS. And zinc? Well, it’s just SUPER important to our immune systems and for our reproductive abilities, so we wouldn’t want to lose any of that. And the fact that phytates are chelating calcium out of our bodies means that we have less access to that bone-building and nerve-transmitting mineral we’re all so fond of.
It’s not just grains and legumes, though.
So, grains and legumes, here’s yet another check mark on the list of reasons to not eat you. But here’s the kicker: many nuts and seeds have MORE phytates in them than grains and legumes. Here are two lists showing phytate content in foods – one for grains & legumes and one for nuts & seeds. For instance, Durum wheat contains an average of 720 mg of phytic acid per 100 gm, while almonds (all of you eating almond butter as you read this, close your eyes now) contain a whopping 1,280 mg per 100 gm. What??!! That’s what I said. In all of my reading, I’ve always understood that soybeans (1,433 mg) have the highest phytic acid content, but black walnuts (1,977 mg) and cashews (1,866 mg) are higher. Soooo, now what?
Basically what we have here is some evidence that nuts and seeds are as bad or worse than grains in terms of lectins and phytates. Not exactly what I set out to accomplish, but good information, nonetheless.
The good news is that you can sprout, ferment and soak the phytates out of just about anything. Here’s a post on soaking nuts properly. I suggest we all do this to our nuts and seeds. The practices of soaking, sprouting and fermenting have been all but laid to rest in the modern world, and it’s a shame.
Even 100 years ago, people were sprouting, fermenting and soaking the foods they knew would give them a stomach ache if they didn’t. Anyone out there get cramps from eating nuts? Phytic acid is one of the reasons for that. I don’t know why we stopped processing our foods properly – it’s all part of the fast food revolution I suppose.
The bad news is that I don’t think the Paleo world has sufficiently discussed this in books, blogs and podcasts. Everyone’s touting nuts and seeds as totally Paleo foods, but I think the anti-nutrients they contain deserve more attention than they’re getting. Don’t worry – I’ll be doing another post on this soon.
Are there anti-nutrients in grains and legumes that AREN’T also in nuts?
Yes. Saponins are in even sprouted legumes and grains. And nuts and seeds don’t contain gluten. Those are a couple of the other anti-nutrients I’ll cover in coming posts.
For now, though, you need some justification for continuing to eat those spoonfuls of nut butter, right?
Why should we eat them?
I think the reason we should keep (soaked) nuts and seeds in our diets is that they’re a convenient, calorie and nutrient rich snack food that we can soak most of the anti-nutrients out of.
We have to remember that nuts and seeds grow in hulls and husks – not jars and bins – and they’re difficult to get to. Ancient hunter gatherer people weren’t sitting around eating tablespoons of Justin’s almond butter all day because it wasn’t energy efficient (or often even possible) to gather that many almonds. And seeds? Have you ever seen a flax seed? It would take you days to find enough of those things to make it worth your effort, and even then… So go easy on your phytate intake, just like you would have been forced to if you were a hunter gatherer.
My conclusion to this tortuous (and maybe torturous) post is that 1. phytates are one more reason we should not be consuming grains and legumes. However, 2. they’re also a good reason to look at our unsoaked nut and seed consumption.
Eat those nuts and seeds in moderation unless you’re in dire need of extra calories. And if that’s the case, make sure you soak them. There’s no reason to eat a whole lot of them every day, besides the fact that they’re really yummy…
![Pin It](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.paleoplan.com/2011/04-27/phytates/&media=http://www.paleoplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/grainslegumesseeds1.jpg&description=In my recent post, "Why No Grains and Legumes? Part 1: Lectins", I gave you one good reason to stop your greedy little hands from dipping into the proverbial co){kind=link}
58 Comments
Judy
I have just started the paleo diet. I need receips. Help!
Neely
Check out our recipes page here, and if you need help beyond that, sign up for Paleo Plan – we give you a meal plan and grocery list every week for $9.99/mo. Good luck!
Neely Quinn
Nutrition Therapist
Paleo Plan
Blas
How can a Paleo way of eating be altered for performance athletes?
Neely
That is a short question with a very long answer. If you want more information, get Cordain’s book, “The Paleo Diet for Athletes”, which goes into how to eat Paleo when you’re, in particular, an endurance athlete. In general, though, you just want to eat more starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and squash, along with more fruits. The point is to get more carbohydrates than you’d normally get on the Paleo diet. It depends what kind of athlete you are, though, and how many calories you’re burning. Whatever you’re doing, you need to make sure you’re getting enough calories in your diet to facilitate your activities (go to http://www.fitday.com or http://www.myfitnesspal.com for help with that), unless you’re trying to lose weight. Email me at neely@paleoplan.com for more info if you want help.
Neely
Marlena Alva
this post “Here’s a post on soaking nuts properly” is saying that nuts have smaller amount of phytic acid & base their soaking on the enzymes inhibitors. is that correct? that nuts have smaller amounts or did you just pick the lowest example from grains (durum)?
Neely
Hi Marlena,
All nuts (and seeds and grains) have different phytic acid contents. Some are higher than grains and some are lower.
Matt Joseph
Hi, I’m 42 and am new to Paleo. I have probably consumed a fair amount of grains and legumes in my life so far. So if by eating these things, I have damaged my gut in any way, do you know if it is reversible by removing them from my diet?
Neely
Hi Matt – It’s often reversible, but it depends on how much damage has been done and to what extent your immune system is involved. If you have an autoimmune disorder like celiac, for instance, that’s probably never going to go away.
Christine Bryant
According to Loren Cordain’s book the Paleo Diet – nuts are good to eat. So why the turn around. Is Mr. Cordain saying nuts are bad now?
Kasey Sikora
I’m a primarily paleo eater and support the general recommendations, but in the defense of other foods, may I just point out that “The practices of soaking, sprouting and fermenting have been all but laid to rest in the modern world, and it’s a shame” is a pretty big exaggeration. I’m largely thinking of soyfoods here- soy has issues, certainly, but what do most peoples who eat great quantities of soy do? Ferment it and make tofu products. Similarly many corn products are nixtamalized to reduce issues. All I’m saying is that we’ve found ways around a lot of food problems, just as you’re recommending processing nuts and seeds to make them as healthy as possible. I love paleo but I don’t think it means non-paleo foods are evil and I love the ingenious ways people have figured out to survive on suboptimal foods the world over. Go humans!
Neely
Kasey Sikora – I hear what you’re saying, and I don’t think any one food is evil (except maybe GM soy :), but tofu isn’t fermented. Here’s a wikipedia page on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu
Tenuod
There are more health benefits involved in eating legumes, such as being antioxidants and being high in protein, iron and fiber. If you cook legumes right, you don’t need to worry about toxins.
Deborah
Well, I’ve spent the last week reading up on phytic acid and sprouting and soaking and related topics, and I must say it all seems like a vast overreaction. Is everyone suffering from malnutrition? …in the U.S.? …from phytates?
It reminds me of egg white omelets. Got that one wrong, didn’t we?
Neely
Deborah – I don’t think it’s a life or death kind of malnutrition that’s happening, but many people are iron deficient, even if it’s just slightly, and many people are zinc, magnesium, and calcium deficient as well. I don’t think it would hurt to stop eating things that take those minerals out of your body unabsorbed and I don’t doubt that those deficiencies have to do with eating those things in the first place. But I didn’t say the “everyone is suffering from malnutrition”. Just some people.
Tricia
So are nut milks , such as almond and hazelnut off the OK to eat list? commercially made?
Please explain.
Neely
Hi Tricia – I just wrote a post about that here: http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/07-26/is-almond-milk-paleo/
The commercially made nut milks are mediocre foods at best in my opinion, but technically they’re mostly Paleo, so I just say consume them in moderation and try to make your own with soaked nuts instead.
Anonymous
Also, are we saying no almond flour either?
Thanks
Neely
Anonymous (Tricia) – I don’t believe I said in the article that nuts were not allowed. I’m just questioning the need to eat them quite as much as some people do, and in their raw form at that. I’d say the same about almond flour as I do about nuts in general – eat them in moderation and if you have gut inflammation or other issues, take nuts out of your diet to see if it helps.
Sarah
Hi!
I have recently been researching and coming across all sorts of things like this and I now realize I have been committing one dietary felony after another. I now can’t believe I have consumed two or three cups of beans a day for two or three weeks at a time. This also may explain why I had a vitiman D deficiency…… anyhoo, I do wonder, after all that soaking, do the nutrients really remain intact? I always hear that we should soak our beans, but cook them in the water we soaked them in. Or the act of soaking flour, the same goes there. I would think we would want to discard the soaking water. I take flax seeds daily,( I grind enough for a few days at a time) should I soak those as well, and what would be a good way to get them dehydrated after soaking? Thanks!
Sarah
I forgot to add this!
Is the phytic acid stored IN the nut, seed, bean, legume in the flesh or in the skin, or husk?
If it is in the husk,Then could we assume that one could forgo the soaking and just get the husk off ? I have so many questions! This all started whith my quest to inprove my oral health!
sue
I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer is this diet ok for me?
Neely
Hi Sue – First off, I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you have a good prognosis. As for whether this diet is good for you, yes. It’s going to be way better for you than a Standard American Diet is, but you’ll want to see a nutritionist or someone who’s familiar with the Paleo diet to see if you need to watch out for anything in particular. For instance, have you had any surgeries done – any removal of parts of your colon? Then special modifications may need to be made. It really just depends.
tim
If the “Paleo people” really think asians are going to stop eating rice, then they are certifiably insane. Everyones body is different and everyone has different ancestors (ie: indians, brazilians, chinese etc). Brazilian ancestors ate cashews often, and chinese ancestors ate tons of rice. How do you explain to an asian that they should not eat what their ancestors ate? It seems like this diet is not made for anyone but european people, or it has nothing to do with ancestors or paleo alltogether.
Why not just eat a wide variety of all quality natural foods in moderation? and if something doesnt agree with you (allergy or digestive Dx) than simply omit that from your diet. Im guessing that this proposed diet makes too much sense and wouldn’t sell many books… Over-eating any food is not healthy, not just nuts and legumes.
Neely
tim – Good question. It’s not any more outlandish of “Paleo people” to suggest that Europeans not eat their precious bread, which they’ve also been eating for thousands of years. We’re talking about our ancestors from LONG ago, before bread, rice, and other grains were eating so copiously. And please don’t insult me and many other passionate “Paleo people” by saying that we just write this stuff to make money.
Mike Burton
I had a friend ask me if legumes picked before they were allowed to harden on the plant were indeed still harmful to us? This was a good question that I did not have an answer for.
Neely
Mike Burton – Young, green legumes like snap peas, green beans, and snow peas are lower in the antinutrients we’re trying to stay away from in the old, hard legumes like pinto beans, lentils, etc. So yes, if that’s what your friend was asking about then tell him/her that those green legumes are perfectly fine to eat.
Eileen Forte
Neely, I am glad to see this post continuing for as long as it has. It means people are interested in their health and are being pro-active. Thank you for such an excellent explanation. There are many good points here but one thing to consider is quantity. While nuts do in fact contain many phytates, they still do not possess many of the other detrimental effects that grain has on our bodies for example the glycemic smack that wheat does. The point I am trying to get to though is quantity. Between the oatmeal or toast, waffles, pancakes etc. with breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner – the American diet is inundated with phytates couples with the other negative impact from grain – we just don’t eat that many nuts!
Lisa
I have just begun a paleo eating plan. I like to have a ‘protein shake’ in the morning and after a workout. I have been using a commercial ‘pea protein powder’ as whey and rice protein powders give me that bloated feeling. It seems that all of these things are not great for a paleo diet. Can you please offer some advice? Thanks!
Neely
Lisa – I’m not a huge fan of protein shakes, but if you absolutely need to have it (if you don’t have time to pre-cook some meat and have it on hand as snacks or eat some beef jerky or other foods) then look for a high quality egg white protein or a high quality grass-fed whey protein if you can tolerate dairy.
Natacha
Hi,
I’m really new to this and would like to know if there are specifics I should adhere to or modify for weight loss. Thanks!!
Neely
Natacha – The diet alone will likely help you lose weight, but here’s an article I wrote on this topic in particular: http://www.paleoplan.com/2011/03-14/qa-how-do-i-lose-weight/
Dietetics Student
Your theory of cutting out grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds to prevent magnesium deficiency is based on poor logic. Whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds are some of the best sources of magnesium. If you’re not eating these foods, then there is no need to worry about phytates binding to magnesium since you’re not getting enough magnesium from your diet anyways. Also, a high protein intake promoted by the paleo diet will promote loss of magnesium through excretion in stool. It’s sad to see the promotion of disordered eating habits, especially through fad diets.
Neely
Hi Dietetics Student – First of all, most people DO eat nuts and seeds on this diet. The point I was making was that it’d be best to soak them to get rid of some of the phytic acid, and that people should at least be aware of what they’re eating. Second of all, not that a high protein diet would necessarily do what you proclaim, but Paleo isn’t necessarily high protein. Up until recently, I was eating about 30% carbs and 20% protein in my own very Paleo diet and consuming at least 10 servings of veggies and fruits a day, which is better than almost any person on a diet as laid out by your organization. Do you think that what you’re learning in nutrition school is actually making people healthier? Do you think it has made people healthier over the last 50 years?? “It’s sad to see the promotion of disordered eating habits, especially through” government sanctioned organizations.
Dietetics Student
First of all, I don’t go to ” nutrition school”; I attend a University. And for your last statement, yes; I do believe that nutrition and dietetics has improved the health of those who can benefit from it. Dietitians who practice medical nutrition therapy (not self-proclaimed “nutrition therapists”) are doing anazing things in a field of science that is relitively young. Here’s what you stated as the conclusion to this post: ” phytates are one more reason we should not be consuming grains and legumes”. On a final note; where do you think all this research and information you cite comes from? The same “government sanctioned organizations” that you belittle.
It’s good to hear that you consume adequate fruits and vegetables; a lot of people who promote paleo seem to think of it as a new, trendy version of a no carb diet. You say you were consuming 30% carbs and 20% protein; So your diet was 50% fat? That’s 15% over the highest end of the recommendation, you should consider working on that.
Would you like me to post a link to the academic and peer reviewed literature that states that high protein diets limit magnesium absorption?
P.S. have you ever heard if the term orthorexic? Look it up.
Neely
Dietetics Student – Yes, I know what orthorexic means. Have you ever heard of people having food sensitivities and needing to stay away from certain foods so they can live a normal life?
I also am well aware of where RDs go to school. I was accepted to–and then opted out of going to–Colorado State University to get my masters and become an RD because I disagreed, even then, with the things I knew I’d learn. My title is not self proclaimed, as you say. I went to a state accredited school in Colorado for over 3 years (after I earned a double major bachelors degree at a university) where I learned about many more aspects of nutrition and health than I ever would have at CSU, and I received a certificate. I help people change their lives using the information I learned there every day, so please don’t belittle it.
I think this debate would be like me, as a democrat, talking with my highly conservative aunt about Barack Obama, which never leads to anything but high blood pressure and a bad taste in both of our mouths. You and I will disagree on most things, that is for sure, so I won’t go any further with this discussion. It’s pointless. I respect that you have your own opinions, and I’ll keep having mine.
DJane Riley
Good site with useful information to ponder! I’m gathering information on what lectins are, where they are found, and autoimmune consequences. Thanks for sharing.
Terry
The extreme weakness in the Paleo plan is the recommendation to eat red meat even though there are in excess of 12 well conducted medical studies showing a definite link between red meat consumption and cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and a shortened lifespan by eight to twelve years. Additionally, an examination of the anatomic and physiological features of humans confirm that humans are plant eaters and were never designed to consume animal flesh.
We could also look to the animals as they have not been brainwashed. Plant eating animals have the longest lifespan by far.
erica
Hi! Thanks for all the good info on this page. I can recall last year when I bought a fancy jar of organic almond butter and was buckled over in pain and nauseated from eating a small spoonful. I stayed away after that! I noticed on this list you don’t talk about pistachios? I love them…are they OK to eat and should I soak and dehydrate?
Neely
erica – Yep, everyone is affected differently. That goes for pistacchios, too. Of course soaking is best, so try that out and see how they affect you. They’re technically Paleo.
john c.
Hi Neely,
I’m just started paleo last month but have been doing a lot of reading and research since before then….I understand the whole lectin/phytate argument against certain foods (incl. legumes and nuts), but one thing I still can’t reconcile regarding nuts is when it is claimed that they likely weren’t worth the time for our ancestors to collect and consume. That’s exactly where the “gatherer” part of hunter-gatherer comes from…you find food that doesn’t kill you or make you (apparently) ill, collect it, and eat it. I’m sure this was someone’s job 100,000 years ago…the nut guy/gal.
thoughts?
thanks,
J
Neely Quinn
john c – Yes, since I wrote this I’ve seen documentaries and read more about the usage of nuts in hunter gatherers’ diets, and sometimes it’s way more than I would have thought. I still, however, can’t imagine that people would go around and collect little tiny seeds from, say, flax flowers or cotton, for instance. They’re just so small :) But the other thing I learned was that when hunter gatherer tribes (at least, the ones I saw) would eat nuts, they’d go through a long and involved process of making them edible, instead of just eating them raw. And thinking that “raw” was best.
David
Does anybody know if coffee beans (and therefore coffee drinks) contain this annoying phytic acid?
Stan
I have been off legumes for about two and a half years. I do eat a mix of raw nuts. You speak of soaking them before ingesting them. How long do you soak nuts, almonds, brazil nuts, hazel nuts , cashews and others? I take magnesium and slippery elm capsules to relieve constipation. I have reflux disease. Will the Paleo diet work work for me?
Neely Quinn
Stan – It’s worth a shot! Here’s one of many, many sites online that explains more about soaking: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/07/soaking-nuts.html
Steph
The ‘grains & legumes’ hypertext just loops back to original page; that would be a great chart to see.
Neely Quinn
Thanks, Steph! I believe I fixed it.
Bradley W
Wow! Such awesome information, insight, and even arguments in this forum. Hi Neely – love the posts! I’m Bradley, just moved to CO from WI in hopes to attend CSU for my Master’s Degree in Nutrition Sciences. I’m a health freak, raw foodist, and semi-paleo dieter so any advice you have for CSU would be great!
As for soaking/sprouting nuts, we all know now that this process releases most of the enzyme-inhibitors that enter the gut in the form of phytic acid and lectins. Soaking nuts/seeds (EXCEPT FOR MACADAMIA NUTS & BRAZIL NUTS – basically unsoakable nuts!) will get rid of MOST of the phytic acid, esp if you soak them in alkaline water aided by freshly-squeezed lemon, lime, apple cider vinegar, or even Celtic Sea/Himalayan Salt.
While this soaking process may leave a little residual phytic acid in the nut/seed itself, that’s not entirely a bad thing because phytic acid is also an anti-oxidant that in small amounts carries harmful metallic toxins out of your body.
There’s a family-owned company from Madison, WI I want everyone to check out because they are the one company that makes paleo-friendly, sprouted, raw, organic food called “Food Your Body Likes”. They have four flavors and each highlights a low-glycemic, sprouted superfood that surely will satisfy you in a healthy way – check them out! Here is the website:
http://www.foodyourbodylikes.com/
On their facebook page, & this answers your question Stan, they have a nut-seed soaking chart, how long you’re supposed to soak each nut/seed to release the phytic acid and lectin compounds, as well as the nuts/seeds to avoid soaking.
Thanks everyone for supporting a healthy, paleo lifestyle! Cheers!
Bradley
Angela
Im confused as to why it’s ok to soak nuts and seeds (which are higher in phytates), and consume them, but it’s not ok to soak legumes for consumption? Either way you’re soaking them to rid them of their “anti-nutrients,” so why are legumes the bad guy?
Neely Quinn
Angela – You know, I wonder that myself sometimes and have given this more and more thought since writing this post a while back. I don’t eat nuts and seeds, whether they’re soaked/sprouted or not because they give me intestinal issues and joint pain. I think that a lot of people have problems with them and they don’t even know it, and I wish people would eat less of them instead of making them a main staple of their Paleo diet. As far as beans go, I think a lot of people have the same issues with them as they might with lots of nuts and seeds. Also, they’re way higher in carbs than nuts and seeds, and that’s not something a lot (not all) of people on Paleo need in their diet. I ate beans the other day in a chili my aunt made, and they were delicious, but I certainly don’t eat them regularly. If you want to have beans, by all means, eat beans, but be sure you note how they make you feel, and be cautious of the amount of carbs in them if you’re not an active person who’s not trying to lose weight.
Melissa
I’ve also heard that animal protein is very acidic, causing our bones to release alkaline minerals such as calcium to compensate. Can you help me feel better about eating more meat, when it is so acidic?
Neely Quinn
Melissa – It’s all about balance, so grains, dairy, and meat are all acid forming in your body. Most fruits and vegetables, plus some nuts, are alkaline forming in your body. You can see that if you’re eating mostly grains, dairy and meat, as most Westerners do, you’re getting mostly acid forming foods. But if you’re eating a ton of vegetables, fruits, and some nuts along with your meat (and no dairy), you’re golden.
Sharon
Hi I have been eating raw (unsoaked) red split pea lentils for about 6weeks now, can you tell me the harmfully effects this will have on my body? I have been told I have a chest infection and i am on antibiotics…will I be ok?
Neely Quinn
Sharon – I think I told you about the harmful effects in the article… I don’t know if you’ll be ok. You’ve been eating raw lentils? Like not cooked at all?
Shernell
I’m still not sure about this diet ,is there a fruit and veg Paleo diet ?
Wayne
This is a nice and informative article. However, some facts are missing in this fad diet. A 2011 ranking by U.S. News & World Report, involving a panel of 22 experts, ranked the Paleo diet lowest of the 20 diets evaluated based on factors including health, weight-loss and ease of following.[28] These results were repeated in the 2012 survey, in which the diet tied with the Dukan diet for the lowest ranking out of 25 diets.
CT scans of mummies dating back up to 5,000 years and across four populations (ancient Egyptian, ancient Peruvian, Ancestral Puebloan and Unangan) encompassing agrarian, forager-farmer and hunter-gatherer lifestyles, shows clear and similar indication of atherosclerosis across all three lifestyle types and all four populations, rising in each case with age, suggesting that atherosclerosis is likely an inherent disorder of human aging.
Neely Quinn
Hi Wayne – Yeah, we all know about that ridiculous article, and those “experts” have actually gotten us as a country to where we are now – fat and diabetic. Here’s an article to explain why their assessment of the diet was all wrong: http://robbwolf.com/2011/06/09/us-news-best-diets/
Herman Rutner
As a lifelong professional chemist and rational nutritionist by avocation I believe the lectin and phytate phobias are just that. Humans have vegetarian guts like our distant cousins, apes, elephants and especially horses with massive 2000 lb bodies, all thriving on phytate and fiber rich foods without depending on the wisdom of nutritionists who have frequently been proven wrong in their diet guideliines, e.g the folly of iron fortification of baby formulas ( now wisely abandoned) despite the fact that mother Nature ordained iron free mother’s milk during weaning. And look at the proverbial mighty Scots, all raised on oat diets like horses.True, phytates are strong chelating agents of essential macro minerals like iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and numerous trace metals, all needed for optimal health. But among the billions of gut microorganism there are apparently many phytase secretors that liberate the metals needed for their own propagation with plenty to spare for absorption into the host blood stream. And if still unconvinced, eat your phytate rich meals during breakfast and lunch along with a multivitamin, then several hours later take a multi mineral as part of protein or fat rich meal. And lectins in legumes, unlike phytates, are heat labile and destroyed during heating. Hence eating raw legumes or veggies in salads is risky aside from possible pathogens pespecially when using natural fertilizers. Using germicidal vinegar for presoaking and in the salad itself is good practice to aid digestion, especially in folk who are foolishly taking PPI acid reducers for imaginary “acid reflux”, actually due to bubbling from fermentation of stomach contents due to decreased acid secretion commonly occurring in the elderly.
nico
it is so easy to soak almonds for 12+ hrs, pour off the water and squeeze each almond between your thumb and index finger. depending on how fresh the almonds are they should slip off easily (older nuts are more difficult to remove the skin). about 30 nuts average an ounce. the skin contains all the phytates, enzyme inhibitors, tannins, etc. yogis in india have done this for thousands of years, it is so much more digestible and healthy to consume.