Nutrition

Integrative Medicine

Unveiling the Mystery of Antinutrients: Protecting Plants, Hindering Absorption

What are anti-nutrients? Great question. Anti-nutrients are things found naturally in plants, sometimes in animal foods, that prevent the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. Now, they're not all in bad foods, and that's where it gets tricky. The most famous example of anti-nutrients are goitrogens, which are found in vegetable royalty, the brassica family, which is broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. And yeah, they contain substances that prevent, can prevent the absorption of, for example, iodine. How important is that? That is a very individual thing. If you took all the anti-nutrients out of your diet, there'd be very less, very little left to eat. So it includes phytates, which are found, you know, in grains and seeds, oxalates. Lectins is another big one, which some people are very sensitive to, and other people, it doesn't phase them in the least. So they're basically things that protect the plant, but also protect the things in the plant from you being able to absorb them. They protect them from predators, but they also protect them from you being able to fully utilize them. It's always a balancing act, because most of these foods like broccoli are just stupendously healthy foods, and you don't want to take them out of your diet because they've got a little bit of something that can interfere with absorption. You have to look at every case individually. Are you particularly sensitive and particularly vulnerable?

Anti-nutrients are substances that naturally occur in some plant and animal foods to protect them from predators, but can also prevent the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. They include phytates, oxalates and lectins, and their effect on an individual depends on their sensitivity level. Although they can interfere with nutrient absorption, it is important to not take these healthy foods out of your diet. Each case should be looked at individually.

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Anti-nutrients are substances naturally found in plants and sometimes in animal foods that hinder the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. Not all foods containing anti-nutrients are bad, which makes it a bit complex. A well-known example of anti-nutrients is goitrogens, found in vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. These substances can interfere with the absorption of iodine, but the significance varies from person to person. Removing all anti-nutrients from our diet would leave us with very little to eat. Other types of anti-nutrients include phytates in grains and seeds, oxalates, and lectins. While these compounds protect plants and their contents from predators, they can also limit our ability to fully utilize them. It's a balancing act because foods like broccoli are highly nutritious despite containing some interfering components. Each case should be evaluated individually to determine if someone is particularly sensitive or vulnerable to the effects of anti-nutrients.

What are the dire cases in which vitamin supplementation is needed?

Vitamin supplementation: Beyond dire cases, strive for optimal nutrition

Here's a really interesting and tricky question. What are the dire cases in which vitamin supplementation is needed? So scurvy, rickets, beriberi, those are the nutritional deficiency diseases where everybody would agree you must supplement with the missing vitamin. All of those are vitamin deficiency diseases. I've been in practice 33 years, I've never seen one of them. So I think we really need to distinguish between needed as in a deficiency disease and optimal. We're not getting the optimal amount of vitamins in our diet. We're just not. If we're getting optimal amounts of some of them, I can guarantee you others are very far from optimal. So using dire cases as the bar for when vitamin supplementation is needed is, I think, a mistake. I don't want minimum wage nutrition. I want good nutrition. I want optimal nutrition. I want optimal dosages. And those are just generally not available in the diet most of us eat.

Vitamin supplementation is not only needed in dire cases such as scurvy or rickets, but also to get optimal amounts of vitamins that many diets lack.

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The cases in which vitamin supplementation is deemed necessary are typically related to severe nutritional deficiency diseases such as scurvy, rickets, and beriberi. However, these cases are relatively rare, and it is important to distinguish between necessary supplementation for deficiency diseases and optimal supplementation for overall health. While deficiency diseases may require vitamin supplementation, the goal should be to achieve optimal levels of vitamins in our diet. It is unlikely that we are obtaining optimal amounts of all vitamins solely through our diet. Relying on dire cases as the benchmark for determining when vitamin supplementation is needed may overlook the importance of striving for good nutrition and optimal dosages. In many instances, the diets most of us consume fall short of providing optimal nutrition.

Is Sulforaphane the best phase 2 detoxifier in the world?

Sulforaphane: A Powerful Detoxifier and Liver's Little Helper

So, this question, I think this question might be tongue in cheek, it's, is sulfuraphane the best phase 2 detoxifier in the world? Well, I don't know if it's the best phase 2 detoxifier in the world, but it's damn good and it's damn important and it's very significant. And for those who don't know what the writer is referring to when he says phase 2 detoxifier is the liver, which is kind of ground zero for detoxification in the body, does its detoxification in two separate phases. Phase 1, I always liken to pulling the pin out of the grenade and phase 2 is when you throw the grenade out the window, which is very important to detoxification. And sulfuraphane, which is a plant compound found primarily in cruciferous vegetables, primarily broccoli, is a very powerful antioxidant and detoxifier, if you will, or liver's little helper in phase 2 detoxification. It's very important. It's primarily found, as I said, in cruciferous vegetables. It's known to be found in broccoli. And I don't know about the best, that sounds like something you do on TikTok. This is the best this and the best that, but it's a really powerful and important nutrient for human detoxification.

Phase 2 detoxifier is the liver, which is important for detoxification in the body. Pure pain, a plant compound found primarily in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, is a powerful antioxidant and liver helper for Phase 2 detoxification.

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Regarding whether Sulforaphane is the best phase 2 detoxifier in the world, I'm not sure if it holds that title, but it is certainly a highly effective and significant compound. When referring to phase 2 detoxification, we're talking about the liver, which plays a crucial role in detoxifying the body. The liver carries out detoxification in two phases: Phase 1, likened to pulling the pin out of a grenade, and Phase 2, when you throw the grenade out the window. Sulforaphane, primarily found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, acts as a potent antioxidant and assists the liver in Phase 2 detoxification. While I can't claim it to be the absolute best, as that sounds like something you'd see on TikTok, it is an important nutrient for human detoxification and carries significant benefits.

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Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS answers your Integrative Medicine questions. See all the advice Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS has and get answers to your own Integrative Medicine questions.

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Jonny Bowden began his career as a jazz musician, studying under Herbie Hancock and at Juilliard before earning degrees in music & psychology from NYU. He found his passion for nutrition while working as a pianist for Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. Bowden changed careers and earned 6 personal training certifications, a psychology masters, and a nutrition PhD. He was the Dean of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute for 4 years and became a board-certified nutritionist. Bowden has penned 15 books, including best-sellers "The Great Cholesterol Myth," "Living Low Carb," and "150 Healthiest Foods on Earth”. He's a worldwide speaker, has appeared on every major network (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC), has been interviewed on dozens of podcasts, and featured in The NYT, Men’s Health, Woman’s World, Forbes Online, GQ, Cosmo, Self, Prevention, InStyle, Shape, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Known as The Nutrition Mythbuster™, Bowden is committed to debunking health myths and speaking truth to power.