Antinutrients

Thanks to good old TikTok we have lots of nutrition myths floating around. The last few years antinutrients have gotten a lot of attention leaving people confused about whether or not vegetables or other nutrients that contain them are really healthy or not. 
In this episode we talk about what antinutrients are (yes, they are a real thing) and whether or not you need to worry about them.

If you have questions, or topics that you want to hear about, head over to our Instagrams https://www.instagram.com/bayleethedietitian/ or https://www.instagram.com/brianna.dietitian/ and send us a DM!

Featured Mocktails:
Buoy - https://www.instagram.com/buoy/
Recess - https://www.instagram.com/takearecess/

Click play, sip back, and be empowered.

Transcript

Baylee: 0:23

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minutes. This is Bailey.

Brianna: 0:29

And this is Brianna.

Baylee: 0:30

Oh, and we have a little guest, Gannon. Gannon, can you say hi? No, nothing. Okay. Today, I am drinking, I have a concoction of things, so we are doing the raspberry element. And then there's a company called buoy. they have a couple different like squeezers. They almost look like the Mio squeezers and they have, they have like a trace mineral ones. They have like a salt one. They have a digestive one, a brain health. So I've been a little bloated lately and I was like, okay, I'm going to, I got one of each. So I'm just going to try it. Good ingredients and everything. And I did the digestive one yesterday and it worked really well. I feel a lot better this morning. So, and plus creatine.

Brianna: 1:16

All the things. I need to try those. I'm drinking a recess again. I was actually really excited because my store got all of them. Like now they have all the mocktails, a bunch of the different flavors. So like I tried the tropical, there's like in a blue can, a tropical one the other day. It was actually really good. So I think that's my new favorite. But yeah, I'm doing the raspberry lemon today.

Baylee: 1:35

we still don't have the mocktail ones at Fresh Thyme. I looked the other day.

Brianna: 1:40

Yeah. I mean, before that I just, I could only find them on Amazon, but yeah, I went down the aisle the other day and I was like, Oh, like, what is this? They had like the mojito. They had all kinds of stuff. So I was like, perfect. And then, yeah, they had a ton of flavors and they now sell them in the case

Baylee: 1:54

Oh, that's nice. So

Brianna: 1:55

instead of just the can. but yeah, so that's what I'm sipping on.

Baylee: 1:59

Perfect. Yeah, I've just been like loading up smoothies and drinks. This life has been crazy per usual. So I'm like, whatever I can get in one, that's how we're going to do things right now.

Brianna: 2:11

I'm trying to do that too because I feel like when it's cold I barely drink anything. Like I've been drinking maybe one Stanley a day and I'm like I need to knock this off a yes and I'm like just okay put everything in it that I need so at least if I'm under hydrating I get all the things.

Baylee: 2:26

yes. And that's like, I feel like when I was pregnant, I was so thirsty. Like I was drinking 120 ounces of water a day. And then, I mean, I had them in June and then I kind of got, I mean, didn't really get chilly right away, but I mean, postpartum is just wild. And then I came winter and yeah, my water naturally started to decline too. So that's been one of my commitments lately is we're getting the water in because man, it makes a difference when you're actually hydrated and especially when you got in those electrolytes.

Brianna: 3:00

It really does. It really does. He's all, yeah, I love being hydrated.

Baylee: 3:04

is. Yeah, Mom.

Brianna: 3:05

How hard is it?

Baylee: 3:06

Yeah. And now he's in the phase of, like, he wants to drink anything of mine with a straw. So he's been really trying that.

Brianna: 3:15

He's all, ooh, yes. Yeah, where you just see them, like, staring at your stuff.

Baylee: 3:19

Yes.

Brianna: 3:20

I want it.

Baylee: 3:21

All right. So today we are talking about Anti nutrients I don't think it's something that's talked about a lot. I mean, honestly if I wouldn't be a dietitian, I don't know where I would have actually heard the term anti nutrients

Brianna: 3:35

Yeah,

Baylee: 3:35

So just starting with the basics. What are they? What are we talking about today? Exactly? anti nutrients are Basically natural compounds found in your plant based foods that they can actually interfere with your body's ability to absorb certain vitamins and minerals. But the thing is, these foods that contain anti nutrients are also some of the like best foods you can eat.

Brianna: 4:02

mm hmm.

Baylee: 4:03

So some people can think like, Oh, anti nutrients. We need to avoid those foods because they're blocking absorption of certain things. Not exactly. They're not like a bad thing. You just need to understand how they work and how to reduce their impact. And that's where, like, that's, what's going to be helpful. You don't need to just avoid them

Brianna: 4:24

I think they're because it's becoming more of like a buzzword and I don't know what started it I don't know if it was like the carnivore diet or you know all the ones that are like you don't need any plants or You know, plants are vegetables because you know this and then also they have anti nutrients, which makes them sound really scary, right? It's like, Oh my gosh, if I eat this and I'm canceling out other nutrients, but like Bailey said, that's not true. And these are usually found in foods that are very high in. multiple nutrients. So just because they have anti nutrients doesn't mean you need to be afraid of them. And it also doesn't mean that they're going to impact you because there's some people that some of these don't even impact. So we'll kind of go over like common ones, what they're found in their effects. And then at the end, we'll give you like some methods of decreasing these anti nutrients if you are concerned about them.

Baylee: 5:15

The first one I would say, like this one is pretty common. I feel like a lot of people have heard about this, especially in like beauty products but phytates or phytic acid. So these are typically found in whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Phytates are going to bind to your minerals, like iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. So when we're saying like they're binding to these minerals, it means it's making it harder for your body to absorb them. So things you can do like soaking, sprouting or fermenting these foods will actually reduce the phytates. So if you like soak your oats overnight or sprout your lentils, you're lowering the fight at levels, making the nutrients more vile available.

Brianna: 6:01

one is going to be, I feel like this one is a big buzz. One is the oxalates. So these are found in spinach. And that's where everyone's like, Oh my gosh, spinach is actually so bad. I actually watched a TikTok about this girl going on for like three minutes about how spinach is the worst food that you could eat. And like the conspiracy theory around people treating spinach as a health food. It was very strange. And then I was like, great. Or my algorithm is going to be this.

Baylee: 6:26

all those videos pop up for like days.

Brianna: 6:28

Yes.

Baylee: 6:29

Anytime you see someone promoting to like not eat a fruit or a vegetable, you should probably just unfollow them. They might have. Some good information, but I think a lot of them get popular because it's like a shock But they're really not telling the whole story there most of the

Brianna: 6:47

No. So yeah, if you come across someone who's like screaming at you not to eat spinach, it's totally fine. I think the benefits outweigh the possible risks of oscillate, oscillates, but it's a spinach, it's in beef, nuts, and then certain berries. So they bind to calcium and potentially lead to like kidney stone formation in sensitive individuals. So if you were someone who, you know, you're constantly have kidney stones, you form them very easily. Okay. Maybe I would. Watch my intake of the oxalates so that you don't have a bunch of kidney stones because anyone that's ever had them, it's painful. But something that you can do to help the oxalates or reduce the oxalates is things like cooking. So boiling, steaming, roasting those can help. And then also removing peels of certain things, but most of those don't have peels. So I would say cook your, cook your spinach, that sort of thing. Yeah.

Baylee: 7:43

to kidney stones And so as we're trying to figure out what's going on there that is something like we'll do kind of like a low oxalate, but They don't have to completely eliminate like the spin the spinach the beets the almonds sweet potatoes and everything We kind of reduce it and like I said cooking the spinach will help too

Brianna: 8:00

And I feel like, you know, when you look at things like spinach, beets, I don't know if people are really eating a ton of those.

Baylee: 8:07

Yeah.

Brianna: 8:08

Some people, like some people love spinach, like that's a daily thing. And so, yeah, if you're, that's totally fine, but yeah, thinking like normally I think the amount of spinach most people are eating, it's going to be okay.

Baylee: 8:20

Yes. Another one you guys have probably heard of is lectins. So lectins are going to be found in your beans, lentils, peanuts, tomatoes, and wheat. These can actually cause like the digestive discomfort if you're eating them in large amounts, but especially if the food is raw. And I feel like a lot of people commonly experience this, like It's always the beans that are causing issues, so what you can do is soak and cook, like, beans and lentils, which can pretty much eliminate the lectins. So that's one way how you can counteract those.

Brianna: 8:54

Another thing too, like it's not cooking, but it does help break it, like for beans, for example, like soaking your beans. helps to break those down. Or like for some people that feel like they're really sensitive to this, I just have them do canned, Just do canned beans. Don't, I mean, I know how cheap beans are and how easy they, I don't like to say easy to make from scratch. They are easy, but it's time consuming.

Baylee: 9:13

I've never done it, actually.

Brianna: 9:16

yeah, it's like, it's just so cheap. And it's like, okay, this really isn't that hard, but it is time consuming. Yeah. For those I'm like, okay, if you really want to cook them, soak them really well, or yeah, just go to, just go to canned.

Baylee: 9:26

I always use canned. I've never made beans from scratch.

Brianna: 9:30

I don't love doing it. I'm just like why?

Baylee: 9:32

Yes.

Brianna: 9:33

The next is going to be tannins. So this is another popular one It's found in like tea coffee legumes and then some fruits. So these are known to Reduce iron absorption which can be an issue right like if you need To absorb your iron, which, which we all do, but I think for this, it's just going to be avoiding taking or avoiding drinking coffee and tea when you're trying to eat like an iron rich meal. Or again, combine it with something like vitamin C. So increasing vitamin C. So it helps your iron absorption kind of counteracts everything, not counteracts, but you know, I mean, yeah, if you're really anemic, I probably wouldn't. Yeah. drink tea or coffee when I'm taking my iron supplement or eating my iron rich meal.

Baylee: 10:21

Yeah. Or yeah, like you mentioned the vitamin C. So vitamin C helps your body to absorb iron. And I mean, I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere like that's why tomatoes started being put on burgers because they have vitamin C in it. So it's sort of that iron there

Brianna: 10:37

It's also why like a really I don't think we do this anymore, but it used to be super, super common to have cereal with orange juice, like not orange juice in your cereal, but like breakfast, I have a bowl of cereal and I have a glass of orange juice. It's because the cereal is fortified and then you drink it with orange juice and it helps the absorption. So, you know, I didn't think about that for like, Burgers. That's actually kind of cool.

Baylee: 10:59

I feel like there's always a reason for everything. I mean, sometimes things are just random, but you know, I feel like it's usually.

Brianna: 11:07

People have figured it out. Oh, just do this.

Baylee: 11:10

Yes. So goiter gins, they are found in your cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and these can actually interfere with iodine absorption and that can potentially affect your thyroid function, but only if you're already iodine deficient. So, Honestly, like again, cooking these veggies reduces their goyogen levels. And if you're eating balanced meals, you're probably getting enough iodine to offset any issues there.

Brianna: 11:43

Also, if you're using iodized salt, which most people are, but, and this is another one where I'm like I really hope people aren't seeing this and being like, oh my gosh, it's so bad for my thyroid health because you need those cruciferous vegetables for like your liver, you know, for your estrogen detox pathways. Like there's so much more beneficial to eat them than to avoid them. And there's plenty of people That have thyroid issues that are totally fine eating cruciferous vegetables. I think with all of these, the moral of the story is like, it's gonna be okay. I don't know, I don't know where this came out. I don't know what people are like. Yeah, because we learned about it in school, but it was never anything like crazy. Not

Baylee: 12:25

And I think it can also be confusing because I've also seen things on like TikTok where it's like, don't cook your vegetables. You're losing nutrients and everything. at the end of the day, I say, eat them how your body likes them. Like how you tolerate them. How do you enjoy them? That's fine. Like don't overstress about it because yeah, like if you're steaming something or like boiling it in water, you're going to lose water soluble. Vitamins and that's fine, but just eat them how you're going to enjoy them. It's better than not eating them at all and not overdoing it. Like, let's not just eat curates all day. Let's get a variety of different foods. And speaking of like iodine rich foods that we just mentioned here, you're also going to get iodine from seafood, dairy products eggs, sea, you already mentioned the iodized salt, even like lima beans, those will all be sources of iodine that you can include. So those are good ones as well. Really. You just want balance.

Brianna: 13:25

yeah, you want balance and you want like an ad, like a diverse diet, you know, as many fruits and vegetables, whole foods as you can. I think, what is this? There is a study done on like. the most healthiest people or like what you have to consume per week to have like all the vitamins, minerals and stuff that you need to live optimally. I think it was like 30 different fruits and vegetables a week, which sounds like a lot, but if you're thinking like, this is all coming from like fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, grains, like you can get that in. But I think the more and more you pull out because you're so worried about maybe adverse effects, the more damage it actually does. So if you were just like, okay, I know it can do this. If I frequently have kidney stones, I'm going to cut back on the spinach or I'm going to boil it, you know, or whatever it is. If you're worried about your iron absorption, you're going to switch it up a little bit, but trying just to get a bunch of different nutrients in is going to be better than always just trying to avoid something.

Baylee: 14:21

So yeah, just a quick review. Your anti nutrients are going to be your phytates, your oxalates, your lectins, your tannins, your goitrogens. Those are your anti nutrients. Should you worry about them? I mean, honestly, no, I would not. This is not something that you need to lose sleep over or anything. If you're getting that varied balanced diet. You're not dealing with any major like nutrient deficiencies. There's no reason to avoid anti nutrient containing foods because like Brianna said at the beginning, the benefits of eating your whole grains, your legumes, your nuts and seeds, vegetables is going to outweigh the risk here. Now, And like we did say, if you are at risk for iron deficiency, anemia, or like thyroid issues, then yes, maybe pay a little bit more attention to how you're preparing your meals. Again, you don't have to completely avoid it, but using the techniques like the soaking, the sprouting, the fermenting and cooking can help reduce those anti nutrients to help your body absorb more nutrients. And as always, if you need more personalized advice, let me know. Just work with someone, then they can help you.

Brianna: 15:30

So the idea is moderation where it's needed. What can I add in to help absorption and other scenarios? So yeah,

Baylee: 15:37

Just remember, soak your beans, cook your leafy greens, pair your iron with your vitamin C and time your coffee or tea. If you're struggling with iron levels, don't drink coffee or tea right after a meal, wait an hour or two, that way you can get the most out of those iron. Rich foods too. I

Brianna: 15:59

from it. And if you come across a video on TikTok demonizing eggs or spinach, you can just scroll on by quickly because then your algorithm is going to be built on. Anti nutrient fear monger.

Baylee: 16:12

will like watch those videos to get ideas for things that we need to talk about on a podcast or that here on my Instagram or something, but then it's like my whole feed is that, and then I get deep in the weeds and then it's like, man, I'm confused now.

Brianna: 16:27

know. And then I'm like reading the comments. I'm like, wow, people are like very opinionated and passionate about these things. Like, should it be more concerned? And it's so funny. Cause I always think about that. Like we both have masters in nutrition, so that's like a, you know, upper level education of something. And I feel like if me and you are going through Tik TOK and we're finding ourselves like rethinking things or sometimes getting confused, I always think like. What is everybody else doing?

Baylee: 16:55

But then normal people going through your brains.

Brianna: 16:59

They're probably like, Oh my gosh. And you know, and I, again, I say it all the time. I think people are trying to make the best choices for their health. Like people really do want to be healthy and they want to do the right thing. And so it's very frustrating when you have all this conflicting. information where it's like, well, what do I do? Cause everything is killing me and everything is good for me all at the same time.

Baylee: 17:19

And one of the goals of us creating this podcast was to give you clarity, give you simplicity. That's why we don't sit here for over an hour talking about things. We try and keep it your short mocktail minutes and give you what exactly you need. So yeah. We will be holding our first mastermind workshop this month in January. the topic is going to be 25 and fine. So like the year 2025, but also like let's feel 25 again. I feel like that's a good age where most people felt really good.

Brianna: 17:54

Yeah. Like nothing was a concern. That's like an age where like sleep is cool. If you don't get sleep, you're still fine. You can still tolerate alcohol. It doesn't really matter what you eat. You know, you just feel good.

Baylee: 18:04

We're going to give you tips around, like how to feel 25 again, because, you know, I was trying to think of like a good age, like what's an age that people feel good at. I'm like, eh, there's like 18, but 18. That was a weird time for a lot of people.

Brianna: 18:18

Every, no one feels good. Like emotionally at 18, you know, I feel like 25, you're like, okay, I feel good. I agree. I think it'll be good. So look out for more information on that. We'll definitely post about it. We'll do it on our personal Instagrams, but mostly everything is going to be over at Mocktail Minutes. So if you're not following it, go follow it. And yeah, we'll drop those details soon so that you guys can Be a part of it.

Baylee: 18:41

All right. Everyone have a great rest of your day. I hope no one else is in the snow apocalypse. If you hate the snow, like I do. Verona is complaining about 40

Brianna: 18:51

I know. I'm all 42. When I woke up, it was 21, but it's fine. It's 42 now. It's not the same. I get it.

Baylee: 19:00

We're at 18 right now. So

Brianna: 19:02

I would die. Like you, you text, or you commented on my story yesterday and you're like, it's literally five degrees here. And I was like, I would actually die. Just so everyone is clear. Like I would not survive.

Baylee: 19:13

yes,

Brianna: 19:14

Hopefully everyone is safe out there. I know a lot of people are dealing with like snow storms. It's icy. It's cold. So Hopefully everyone's okay.

Baylee: 19:22

40 degrees in Texas.

Brianna: 19:24

degrees, you know, we're over here like, our store, it, all of our grocery stores are completely out of eggs. Everyone was like panicking. Like, we're out of eggs, a bunch of water is taken, everyone's panicking about their pipes bursting, like, and then I'm thinking of like, Places like Missouri, I'm like, it's like a normal day, like business as usual.

Baylee: 19:44

Good. Well, it's funny too, cause I lived in Iowa for two years when I was in grad school and to see how like they handle snow versus how we handle snow. And then I was in Springfield for undergrad. It's all very. Different. Like what we have now, like we have like 10 inches right now. And that's literally how Iowa was from November till March is awful.

Brianna: 20:07

My sister in law lived in Iowa, she went to Iowa State, and I remember being like, don't ask me to come to you any months that it's snowing. Because what the heck, how are you guys like, she had like little, like a little kid at the time too, and she's like, yeah, we just, we like do it. Like,

Baylee: 20:24

It's terrible. And they're like, cause they're used to it. but everyone walks still, like everyone just has snow boots. I bought like good walking snow boots when I lived in Iowa. I

Brianna: 20:35

I was thinking, like, yesterday I was getting my steps in, and I was in, like, thin little spandex workout pants. And I was like, you know what? This is probably where, one area I went wrong. I was like, I don't think I have any, like, cold weather pants. Because, literally above 80 degrees for like 50 weeks out of the year. Yeah, I was like, you know, maybe I could have done this differently, like not wearing like super thin spandex pants.

Baylee: 21:01

mean, next time you'll know.

Brianna: 21:02

Yeah. Next time. But yeah, so stay safe out there guys.

Baylee: 21:09

All right. We will talk to you guys next week. Bye.

Brianna: 21:12

Bye.