Guide to anti-nutrients

There are different kinds of anti-nutrients, and they affect your body in different ways. It’s worth understanding a bit about how anti-nutrients work.

Phytate. Also known as phytic acid, phytate is an indigestible, mineral-binding compound that is located in the hulls of grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. While ruminant animals like cows, sheep, and goats have adequate enzymes in their digestive systems to break down phytates, non-ruminants, like humans, do not. Phytates bind to minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, and this process prevents their absorption in our bodies. This means that we’re unable to actually use the minerals we eat when they’re blocked by the phytates we also eat.

Just how important are these minerals that are blocked by phytates? Minerals have a role in every cellular function in your body. They are responsible for proper formation and regeneration of structural tissues to prevent you from easily sustaining injuries such as fractures, broken bones, torn ligaments, and osteoporosis. Minerals also serve as anti-oxidants to help you better fight cancer, and they protect against heart disease by mediating the appropriate constriction and relaxation of blood vessels. Proper mineral reserves are also necessary to regulate hormones for fertility and stress management, among other things. There is no end to the types of body systems and tissues that require minerals for proper function. We simply need them for everything!

Magnesium alone is required to complete over 300 enzymatic processes in your body. Most of us don’t obtain enough magnesium from our diets, so nutritionists frequently suggest that their clients take magnesium supplements.

Mineral deficiencies can result in a myriad of symptoms that include, but are not limited to, suppressed immunity, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, heart palpitations, muscle cramps, restless leg syndrome, muscle spasms, asthma, migraines, constipation, and hormonal imbalances like premenstrual syndrome (PMS), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and infertility in both men and women.

We already know that soils today are depleted in mineral content, so the vegetables and fruits we eat are far less mineral-rich than those our ancestors ate. The high-stress, high-sugar, modern lifestyle also tends to deplete our systems of minerals, which means we need even more perhaps than our ancestors when we go through life events like growth spurts, puberty, pregnancy, infection, intense exercise, illness, high stress, trauma, or surgery. All of these factors create a greater need for minerals and other nutrients. Therefore, we have to make sure we not only get sufficient amounts in our diets, but that we’re also able to use the minerals and other nutrients we ingest. What’s the point of eating a nutrient-rich food if the nutrients are going to be inaccessible inside you?

Grains and legumes are not the only plants that contain phytates, however. Nuts and seeds contain them, too. For most nuts and seeds, their hard outer shell is the first “barrier to entry” to accessing the reproductive force of the plant. For this reason, they’re well tolerated by most people in small quantities once the shell has been removed, but only when combined with a balanced, mineral-rich Paleo diet. Phytates are the main reason why large quantities of nuts and seeds are not recommended. (You will notice that nuts and seeds are eliminated entirely in some of the meal plans in the book. This is to offer the best possible chance of healing for people with specific health conditions.)

Know this: You can absorb more of the minerals you take in (from foods like leafy green vegetables and bone broth), including calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc to name a few, simply by removing grains from your diet and not overdoing it with nuts and seeds. Remember that phytates keep minerals and other nutrients out of reach of your body’s systems.

Lectins. Thesearesugar-binding proteins that are resistant to digestive enzymes and stomach acid. They are richly present in the seeds of plants, becoming less concentrated as plants grow. They can stick to the cells in the lining of the small intestine, impairing digestive function by altering the texture of the cell walls.

We need the cells that line our small intestine to remain intact and ready to absorb nutrients. If they become sticky from overconsumption of lectin-rich foods, like grains and legumes, digestion becomes quite difficult. Grains and legumes are actually the seeds of plants, and when you eat a grain product, you’re eating hundreds, if not thousands, of the seeds of a plant. That’s a lot of concentrated lectins!

Saponins. Bitter-tasting, soap-like molecules with the ability to puncture or create pores in cell walls; saponins are often used as carriers for vaccines due to their ability to infiltrate cells. Saponins are the main anti-nutrient in quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). They have the ability to stimulate an immune response from within your cells and can up-regulate antibody production. When you create more antibodies, your body gets revved up and ready to launch at the first sign of an offending undigested food particle in your blood stream. This is what causes digestive distress after eating certain foods or even leads to the more behind-the-scenes chronic inflammation. Remember, you don’t want to eat foods that cause an immune response of any kind.

eggs contain anti-nutrients, too.

As the reproductive force of the chicken (or other animal laying them), eggs contain built-in defense mechanisms that help them to resist predation beyond simply their thin, easily cracked shells. When mama-bird gets up and walks away from guarding her nest, these antinutrients protect the eggs from within their shell and help to warn other animals against their consumption. While most humans are well adapted to eating eggs without issue, some people are sensitive to them for this reason.

zon-u-what?

One last—but certainly no less important—mechanism by which the lining of your small intestine may become “leaky” is through the action of a molecule called zonulin. Simply put, according to Dr. Alessio Fasano, zonulin increases leaky gut by loosening that tight junction between the cells that was mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. This process is a factor in the development of inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

Sound dismal? Don’t sweat it! Fasano says that the condition caused by zonulin and other anti-nutrients can usually be reversed through changing your diet and lifestyle. The glass is actually half full because you can take an active role in improving your gut barrier function, which, in turn, will improve your immunity and your ability to resist chronic diseases.

beyond food: leaky gut contributors aplenty

While dietary factors are not necessarily the least harmful, they are the easiest to control through everyday choices. Take a look at the “leaky gut contributors” on the chart see here. The factors listed become increasingly difficult to consciously control as you move from the bottom to the top of the list, but you can take steps to work on all of them, starting first with your diet and lifestyle changes.

Managing stress is one of the best ways to start to improve leaky gut. This helps to reduce cortisol, your body’s fight or flight hormone. Cortisol output places extreme demands on your body. In fact, my clients have consistently reported better digestive function on days of lower stress like during weekends or vacations. Incidentally, we could probably significantly reduce the need for several classes of medications like antacids and NSAIDs by reducing physical and emotional stress. Meditation, yoga, golf, walking, listening to relaxing music, and even fun activities with friends and family can reduce stress.

If you have an autoimmune condition, you may always have a leaky gut to some degree. This doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel, however, and just eat foods that you know contribute to the problem. If you have a known autoimmune condition, all the more reason to keep your diet and lifestyle “ducks” in a row. This gives your gut the best possible chance of properly digesting and assimilating nutrients from food.

Most people who change their diet report alleviation of symptoms of one or more of the chronic inflammatory conditions listed see here within anywhere from two weeks to six months. Even if you cannot control all factors that have caused your leaky gut condition, you may very well be able to take control of your health in ways you never thought possible and cross a few chronic conditions off your list.

guide to: healing a leaky gut

Leaky gut (also known as intestinal permeability) is when your digestive system isn’t functioning properly. Rather than only allowing fully broken-down proteins in the form of single amino acids to pass into your bloodstream, it allows larger, partially undigested proteins to pass through. This is normal in infants, as their systems are not yet fully developed, but in adults, it leads to a myriad of health concerns and uncomfortable symptoms.

signs & symptoms

gi distress:

- Constipation

- Diarrhea

- Pain

- Bloating

- Gas

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Дата добавления: 2015-11-14