Why can healthy food subtly harm health?

      Today, it is fashionable to divide foods into "harmful" and "beneficial." In the pursuit of health, many exclude sugar, flour, and fatty foods from their diets, betting on nuts, legumes, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables. This diet seems ideal, but it is not so straightforward.

      Recently, there has been increasing talk about orthorexia — an obsessive desire to eat only "correct" food. One of the paradoxes of this approach is that a diet consisting of super-healthy foods can lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, as well as exacerbate chronic diseases.

      The culprit is antinutrients. These are natural compounds that plants produce to protect themselves from being eaten by animals. They are not poisons in the strict sense, but they can block the absorption of nutrients or irritate the intestinal lining. Many of them are found in foods that we have come to consider benchmarks of health.

      Let’s examine the three most common types of antinutrients in a typical diet, their dangers, and ways to "neutralize" them.

      Phytic acid: the thief of minerals

      Phytic acid (or phytates) is the main form of phosphorus storage in plant seeds. It is most abundant in whole grains (oats, wheat, brown rice), legumes, nuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

      The danger is that phytates bind calcium, magnesium, iron, and especially zinc ions in the gastrointestinal tract. Insoluble salts are formed that the body cannot absorb. Simply put, phytic acid literally "steals" minerals from you.

      An undesirable effect appears if you consume 2-3 servings of unprocessed foods daily (one serving is 30-40 grams of legumes or 50-60 grams of whole grains). In the long term, this can lead to decreased bone density (osteoporosis, increased susceptibility to fractures, stunted growth in children), iron deficiency anemia, as well as disruptions in the nervous system (insomnia, chronic fatigue, increased excitability) and lowered immunity.

      Particularly cautious about phytates should be people with iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis, and children during periods of rapid growth.

      However, it is not advisable to completely exclude foods with phytates — they are rich in fiber and other beneficial substances. It is sufficient to use simple methods to reduce their quantity: soaking in warm water for 8-12 hours activates the enzyme phytase, which breaks down phytic acid; sprouting; fermentation — for example, when making sourdough bread, the fermentation process neutralizes phytates.

      Lectins: sticky proteins

      Lectins are proteins and glycoproteins that can bind to carbohydrates on the surface of cells. As a result, they cause local inflammation in the area of the intestinal villi and disrupt nutrient absorption.

      Lectins are most abundant in:

      - beans (especially red),

      - lentils,

      - wheat,

      - soy,

      - nightshade vegetables — tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants.

      An excess of lectins is particularly undesirable for people with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and sensitive digestion. Previous studies have investigated a possible link between lectins and autoimmune diseases, but this connection has not been confirmed.

      Acute poisoning from lectins can occur if you eat 5-6 raw or poorly cooked red kidney beans — this will manifest as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

      However, chronic forms are much more common. If you regularly consume minimally processed foods with lectins in small amounts, symptoms accumulate: bloating, periodic abdominal pain, fatigue, weakness, and rapid tiredness.

      How to neutralize lectins? Simple soaking does not help here. Effective methods include:

      - thermal processing (boiling, stewing);

      - cooking legumes under high pressure (in a pressure cooker);

      - peeling nightshades and removing seeds.

      Oxalates: stone builders

      Oxalates are salts of oxalic acid. When they enter the body, they bind with calcium and can participate in the formation of kidney stones — so-called oxalate stones.

      Oxalates are found in large quantities in:

      - spinach,

      - beets,

      - sorrel,

      - almonds,

      - cocoa beans.

      A healthy person needs to consume more than 250 mg of oxalates per day to notice an undesirable effect. However, if you have kidney pathology, even a small amount can worsen the course of the disease: the risk of stone formation increases, which can lead to infections and renal colic when calcium oxalate crystals pass through the ureter.

      In addition to kidney damage, oxalates bind calcium, leading to decreased bone density (osteoporosis) and increased fragility of bones.

      How to reduce the amount of oxalates in food: boiling — draining water after cooking reduces the level of oxalates by 30-50 percent; the so-called "calcium trick" — consume oxalate-containing foods together with sources of calcium. For example, spinach with cream or cheese. In this case, oxalates will bind with calcium in the intestine and leave the body naturally, without reaching the kidneys.

      Should you exclude or properly prepare and consider the features?

      Should you completely exclude foods with antinutrients? Definitely not. Plants containing phytates, lectins, and oxalates are also rich in fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins, which are extremely important for health.

      The main thing is to follow a few simple rules.

      - Do not eat raw legumes and grains in large quantities. Always conduct thermal processing or soaking.

      - Use sourdough for bread — it neutralizes phytates.

      - If you have chronic diseases (kidney, gastrointestinal tract, anemia, osteoporosis), consult a doctor and adjust your diet individually.

      Remember that "beneficial" in large quantities ceases to be beneficial. Variety and moderation are the keys to balanced nutrition. The trend towards a healthy lifestyle often pushes us to extremes. But the body is not a laboratory test tube, and it does not like one-sidedness. Nuts, legumes, and greens are indeed valuable, but only when properly prepared and considering your individual characteristics.

      Do not turn food into a cult and do not fear foods — just learn how to handle them. Then antinutrients will cease to be your enemies and will remain just a natural feature of plants, which can be easily circumvented with simple culinary techniques.