Phytates, or phytic acid, are found in most plants, and are organic acids that store phosphorus in plants, which are found in the outer bran layers of unprocessed whole grains, in edible seeds, legumes, and nuts. Lesser amounts of phytates can be found in tubers and roots.
Phytates have gotten a bad rap, because they bind to certain minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese, chromium, and zinc, and prevent the body from absorbing them. Since the highest amount of phytates are found in raw and unprocessed plant foods, you could process these foods or buy them processed. Cooking, baking, processing, sprouting, soaking, or fermenting these foods makes them fine to eat. In fact, by the time you eat these prepared foods, they don’t contain enough phytates to cause you harm.
The good news is that phytic acid has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Research has also shown that phytates can inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells and help prevent kidney stones. In fact, petri dish studies have shown phytates inhibit the growth of all cancer cells including in the testes, colon, breast, cervix, prostate, liver, pancreas and skin. However, they will leave normal cells alone. In addition to affecting cancer cells, phytates also boost the activity of natural killer cells, which are cells that destroy infected or diseased cells before they can spread and causse tissue damage.
So go ahead and eat your whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts - just be sure they're processed first.
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