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New Mineral Absorption Enhancers Found

The whole grain phytonutrient, phytic acid (phytate), partially inhibits mineral absorption, but has a wide-range of health-promoting properties such as anti-cancer activity. By concurrently eating mineral absorption enhancers such as garlic and onions one can get the best of both worlds by improving the bioavailability of iron and zinc in plant foods.

July 25, 2012 |
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Supplementary Info

New Mineral Absorption Enhancers Found, 4.8 out of 5 based on 8 ratings

Sources Cited

Schlemmer U, Frølich W, Prieto RM, Grases F. Phytate in foods and significance for humans: food sources, intake, processing, bioavailability, protective role and analysis. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2009 Sep; 53 Suppl 2:S330-75.

Gautam S, Platel K, Srinivasan K. Higher bioaccessibility of iron and zinc from food grains in the presence of garlic and onion. J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jul 28; 58(14):8426-9.

Acknowledgements

Image thanks to Yongjiet.

Transcript

According to the swine information center, pork is an excellent source of a number of nutrients, including iron and zinc. When you see on a label that somethingorother is a quoteunquote “good source” of some nutrient, that’s actually a legal definition. meaning it has to have at least 10% of the daily value of that particular nutrient. It says nothing about the goodness of the food choice itself. So for example you could throw a multivitamin into a scoop of sewer sludge and call it a "good" source of half a dozen things, but… it would probably kill you; it’s not good at all.
It always comes back to food as a package deal. It is impossible to get the calcium in dairy, for example, without also getting the hormones. Or the iron in beef without the saturated fat. So these aren’t necessarily good sources of nutrients after all, because we can’t get one without the other—unless, we get your nutrients from nonanimal sources, then we don’t have to worry about the saturated animal fat, the cholesterol and the rest. And there’s a bonus that comes when we get, for example, our iron and zinc from whole grains, greens, beans, nuts and seeds, the fiber, folate, phytonutrients, etc.
 One of those phytonutrients though, phytates, or phytic acid (from the greek word phyton for “plant”) can partially inhibit mineral absorption. Now phytates are actually good for us they have a wide range of health-promoting properties, such as anticancer activity, but because it binds up some of the minerals, that just means one just have to eat more whole healthy plant foods—or eat mineral absorption enhancers , such as garlic and onions—in fact the whole allium family of vegetables, was recently found to have a “promoting influence on the bioaccessibility of iron and zinc”. Here's the bioaccessibility of iron and zinc in a serving of brown rice, cooked with one clove of garlic; cooked with two cloves of garlic. We see the same thing with onions. Here's normalized data for brown rice plain, then eaten at the same meal with one thin slice of onion; or two thin slices of onion. So up to 50% more absorption, but if you don't like garlic or onions, then you get the same mineral absorption from just eating a whole grain serving and a half.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Serena

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

Another example of nutrient synergy is the reaction between black pepper and the spice turmeric as described in Garden Variety Anti-Inflammation. For more on the food-as-a-package-deal concept see Plant Protein Is Preferable, Plant vs. Cow Calcium and Safest Source of B12. Friday's NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day Risk Associated With Iron Supplements will discuss why plant-based sources of iron are preferable as well. For more on the hormones in dairy, check out videos like Dairy Hormonal Interference, Acne-Promoting Effects of Milk, and Dairy & Sexual Precocity. To explore the additional wonders of garlic, see #1 Anticancer Vegetable and Pretty in Pee-nk. For more on the wonders of the science of nutrition, check out my other videos on more than a thousand subjects.

For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk, How to Enhance Mineral Absorption, Treating an Enlarged Prostate With Diet, and Plant-Based Diets for Metabolic Syndrome

  • Michael Greger M.D.

    Another example of nutrient synergy is the reaction between black pepper and the spice turmeric as described in Garden Variety Anti-Inflammation. For more on the food-as-a-package-deal concept see Plant Protein Is Preferable, Plant vs. Cow Calcium and Safest Source of B12. Friday’s NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day Risk Associated With Iron Supplements will discuss why plant-based sources of iron are preferable as well. For more on the hormones in dairy, check out videos like Dairy Hormonal Interference, Acne-Promoting Effects of Milk, and Dairy & Sexual Precocity. To explore the additional wonders of garlic, see #1 Anticancer Vegetable and Pretty in Pee-nk. For more on the wonders of the science of nutrition, check out my other videos on more than a thousand subjects.

    • HemoDynamic, M.D.

      This video is great like all the vids.  And as I tell my patients everyday, probably the most important thing to do, everyday (besides eating plants), is to visit NutritionFacts.org and watch the 2-3 minute video.

      You see it’s just like anything that someone wants to become good at:  If one wants to be good at math then you need to study nearly everyday.  If one wants to perfect playing the piano one needs to do it everyday.  The same holds true for anything–If you want to be good at something then everyday spend a few minutes doing it. 

      So if you want to get good at understanding nutrition and the value of plants in your life and the benefits it has on the world as a whole, then spend the time studying the information.  Soon you will have incorporated all the great information that is found on this website and your health will be an after thought.  You will one day look at yourself in the mirror and say I not only look and feel healthier, I am healthier.

      That’s what NF.org offers not only my patients but the world.

      • HemoDynamic, M.D.

        I am replying to myself because I just read the opening statement to a publication from The National Acadamies Press in Health and Medicine that drives home my previous point of studying a little everyday but especially in plant based nutrition.  Here is the excerpt:

        How Can Health Care Organizations Become More Health Literate?:

        “Approximately 80 million adults in the United States have low health literacy – an individual’s ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information. Low health literacy creates difficulties in communicating with clinicians, poses barriers in managing chronic illness, lessens the likelihood of receiving preventive care, heightens the possibility of experiencing serious medication errors, increased risk of hospitalization, and results in poorer quality of life.”
         http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13402&utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=The%20National%20Academies%20Press&utm_campaign=NAP+mail+new+7.24.12&utm_content=&utm_term=#description

        Teach yourself and then teach the world!

        • http://GreenMommyBlog.com/ Kristen Suzanne

          Interesting. Thx for sharing that.

        • Valnaples

          Yes yes! I’ve been having fun watching the number of “likes” on Dr. G’s facebook page going up and up. I share as much of his information and links to his videos as I possibly can every single day.

          • HemoDynamic, M.D.

            Great Job!!  Don’t ever stop!
            ;-}

  • BPCveg

    I guess that those eating cooked food (as opposed to raw foods) are more likely to include onion and garlic along with their vegables, due to reduced astringency after cooking.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725986334 Wendy Alfaro

    Dr. Greger: thank you so much for your everyday work. All this information is so eye-opening, specially if we take into account that veggies, fruits, seeds, nuts, etc. are so widely available. People around the world is benefitting from your science-based videos.

    • Valnaples

      @Wendy, not only are they widely available but mostly far less expensive than meat/poultry/dairy etc. Espcially with the drought situation in the U.S. which is largely affecting corn which is fed to the livestock, etc… If you eat more foods not linked to corn, yeah, baby, you are not impacted as much financially by the drought, it seems.

  • http://blessedveganlife.blogspot.com BlessedMama

    Another good reason to eat garlic and onions.  Yum!

  • Paulc

    Great video! It seems to answer the paleo peoples’ objections to plant foods because of their phytate content. Now, if we can only find reasons for the other things in the plant-based diet that they object to: oxalates, tannins, trypsin inhibitors, enzyme inhibitors, lectins
    (hemagglutinins), protease inhibitors, gluten, alpha-amylase inhibitors
    and alkylresorcinols .

  • AlexanderBerenyi

    Careful, now…things are not always so rosy with the phytochemicals, and not always so negative with the animal products.

    For (one quick) instance:
    Inhibitory effects of spices and herbs on iron availability
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18651292
    Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2009;60 Suppl 1:43-55. Epub 2008 Jul 4.

    • Jola

      I’d really like to know more about how this study was conducted (e.g., I’m curious about what “simulated digestion” means); but, it is kind of hard to analyze this study and its findings since to view the complete study you need to pay for it (I hate when that is the case). So, all we can use is the abstract.  
      Judging from the abstract, this study seems to be exploratory, i.e. the beginning of a bigger and better understanding of how iron availability is affected by spices and herbs. It seems to be trying to make a “proof of concept” to lay the groundwork for further more rigorous investigation. It really says very little about WHETHER culinary spices and herbs ACTUALLY play a role in iron nutrition IN HUMANS.  And, that is the case it will eventually need to make to show ”that culinary spices and herbs CAN [emphasis mine] play an important role in iron nutrition” in people.

      We will have to see what comes out of further investigation in this area. At this point, however, this study is just a beginning. 

      (Aside from the study, I’m not sure what point you are trying to make or how you think this study supports your point.)

    • Gale

      I didn’t read anything about animal products. It said rice. Interesting finding though. I wonder how they simulated absorption?

    • Jola

      Given Dr. Greger’s video post today (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/risk-associated-with-iron-supplements/) on “Risks Associated with Iron Supplements”, it seems that the high occurrence of iron deficiency in individuals living in tropical regions may also be related to how different iron (i.e., plant-based vs animal based) is absorbed. That might be an interesting study to devise to look at the issue. At this moment, though, the “Inhibitory effects of spices and herbs on iron availability” study raises more questions than it answers, which is what thoughtful scientific investigation should do.

      At least we know, that adding a bit of vitamin C while consuming a meal with iron will lead to greater bioavialability (which is probably why the tamarind is the only spice/herb that enhanced iron availability rather than inhibit it–tamarind has vitamin C). It would be interesting to see what the results would yield if the researchers added a bit of vitamin C to the mix of the iron inhibiting spices. I hypothesize that they’d find that the iron bioavailability would not be inhibited by the spices.  

      • AlexanderBerenyi

        Heme iron absorption ≈ 15–40%. Nonheme iron ≈ 1–15%.
        For most vegetarian diets, the enhancing effect of
        ascorbic acid on nonheme iron absorption is unlikely to counteract the absence of unidentified enhancers provided by meat and the likely increased consumption of inhibitors.
        Nonheme iron absorption is inhibited by phytic acid found in everything from grains to
        legumes to leafy greens to nuts; polyphenols, such as tannic and chlorogenic
        acids,
        found in tea, coffee, red wines, and a variety of
        cereals, vegetables, and spices; soy protein (apparently independent of
        the phytic acid in soy); and eggs. In some instances, as little as one cup of tea can lower the availability of non-heme iron by as much as 60%.

        Please keep in mind that I love fruits, vegetables, spices, teas, superfoods, etc. I try to eat vegetarian with sparing amounts of certain meat. That said, I think it’s outright silly to make claims like animal source foods are just the equivalent of “a scoop of sewer sludge with some vitamins and minerals.”

        • WholeFoodChomper

          Interesting. Could you please share with us, the sources from which you are citing this information and refer us to the scientific evidence that supports the claims you make? I’d like to learn more about it from the direct sources.

          As for animal-based foods, being the equivalent of  ”a scoop of sewer sludge with some vitamins and minerals”, did Dr. G say that? If so, what was the context? Given the current practice of commercial factory farming in the American meat/dairy industry, I don’t think that statement is far from the truth.

          • AlexanderBerenyi

             The sewer sludge comment was made in this video.

            Bioavailability of iron, zinc, and other trace minerals from vegetarian diets
            http://www.ajcn.org/content/78/3/633S.long
            (A very fair review for both sides, in my opinion)

            Is the iron in spinach bioavailable? The whole arena
            of iron and its availability is confusing to me—can you help to clarify
            it for me?
            http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=217

            Some unfortunate truths (coming from the opposite end of the argumentative spectrum, mind you) about plants:
            http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/plants-bite-back

          • WholeFoodChomper

            Alexander,

            Thank you for sharing the citations. I look forward to reading them when I have a bit more time. 

            As for the “sewer sludge” comment, I listened to the video again; and, I believe that you are mishearing (if not misrepresenting) what Dr. Greger is saying.  

            Dr. Greger does not say that “animal source foods are just the equivalent of  ’a scoop of sewer sludge with some vitamins and minerals.’ ”   What he says, while talking about the legal definition of “excellent/good source” is:  ”So, for example, you can throw a multivitamin into a scoop of sewer sludge and call it a good source of half a dozen things.”  He says nothing about animal source foods being equivalent to sewer sludge. Instead, he is showing how the legal definition of “excellent/good source” can be manipulated.  In fact, what he actually says about animal sourced foods (in this case, milk and beef) is that they are not a “good source” of nutrients because it is not possible to get certain nutrients without the harmful doses of, in the case of milk and beef, hormones or saturated fats. 

          • Toxins

             Alexander, I feel that you have a mission to spread misinformation, as we have discussed this many times before. Cooking deactivates these anti-nutrients which include lectins, phytic acid, trypsin and α-amylase inhibitors.This is fairly well established nutritional knowledge.

          • AlexanderBerenyi

            Sorry, but that isn’t entirely true. Please do some more research.

            Assessment of lectin inactivation by heat and digestion.
            http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21374488

          • Toxins

            Cooking at low temperatures can amplify the lectins, in fact, under cooking kidney beans increases the toxicity of lectins. When one cooks these foods at boiling point temperatures then the lectins are indeed deactivated.

          • WholeFoodChomper

            We are all here trying to understand the “truth” behind what we
            eat.  We can play the “look-at-this-study-to-prove-my-point”
            game forever. I’m not sure that will serve any of us well, since 1) most of us
            do not have time or the ability to accurately read and interpret all of the relevant scientific studies, 2) there
            will always be a study pointing to an opposite point-of-view (just b/c that
            view exists and is published in a study does not in and of itself make it true),
            and, 3) what we need to be assessing is the balance of evidence, which requires
            multiple and repeatable studies –not just 2, 3, even 10 studies (which again leads me to my point #1). 

             

            As for the abstract of the study you shared, it states: “before they can be used safely, legume-based food/feeds
            usually require thorough … heat processing to inactivate antinutritive
            components.” Since one has to cook legumes to consume them anyway, you
            bring up a non-issue. Unless you eat your legumes raw. If that is the case, I can see your concern with the matter.

             

            If you are interested in learning how to read a
            scientific study critically, I recommend these sources as a beginning anyway: 

            http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/118/16/1675.full 

            http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/research-101-understanding-research-studies/all/1/

            http://www.oandp.org/jpo/library/1996_01_024.asp

            http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696241/

          • Toxins

             For whatever reason, WholeFoodChomper’s comment is not appearing, here is what he wrote, and i completely agree.

            We are all here trying to understand the “truth” behind what we eat.  We can play the “look-at-this-study to-prove-my-point” game forever. I’m not sure that will serve any of us well, since 1) most of us do not have time or the ability to accurately read and interpret all of the relevant scientific studies, 2) there will always be a study pointing to an opposite point-of-view (just b/c that view exists and is published in a study does not in and of itself make it true), and, 3) what we need to be assessing is the balance of evidence, which requires multiple and repeatable studies –not just 2, 3, even 10 studies (which again leads me to my point #1). 

             

            As for the abstract of the study you shared, it states: “before they can be used safely, legume-based food/feeds usually require thorough … heat processing to inactivate antinutritive components.” Since one has to cook legumes to consume them anyway, you bring up a non-issue. Unless you eat your legumes raw. If that is the case, I can see your concern with the matter.

             

            If you are interested in learning how to read a scientific study critically, I recommend these sources as a beginning anyway: 

            http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/118/16/1675.full 

            http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/research-101-understanding-research-studies/all/1/

            http://www.oandp.org/jpo/library/1996_01_024.asp

            http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696241/

          • WholeFoodChomper

            Thanks for reposting, Toxins. I posted this late at night and made an error which deleted my original post.

  • Shani

    In the raw food world many recommend soaking nuts to release the phytic acid which inhibits mineral absorption. Now I’m wondering….should I soak or not… since phytic Thank you!

    • Toxins

      Soaking, germination, boiling, cooking, and fermentation all inactivate phytic acid and free up minerals for absorption.

      http://www.ajcn.org/content/70/3/459S.full

    • Lyra

      Phytic acid may actually have a protective effect, so it’s probably not necessary or even wise to soak your grains or nuts. As Sue Becker who blogs @the Bread Beckers reminds us, “whole grains themselves are an abundant source of iron, calcium, and zinc.” Just add some onions or garlic, as Dr. Greger suggests, to enhance mineral absorption. Sara Shannon in Diet for the Atomic Age notes that phytates bind with radioactive and toxic substances and carry them out of the body. And they are protective against certain cancers. So, no worries…bon appetit!

      http://info.breadbeckers.com/phytic-acid/

  • Thinkabouddit

    Onions are notably beneficial for quercetin and other things, but to get the antioxidant effects, do we need to eat them raw or cooked? Has anyone ever juiced an onion in their green drink? Does anyone know?

  • http://www.facebook.com/rick.yen.1 Rick Yen

    wow good to know my question is should be include raw or cooked too like the rice?

  • karina

    Dr. Greger. Is it ok to soak grains, nuts and seeds to reduce the phytic acid in order to increase the mineral and vitamin absorption?

  • Rebecca

    Hi Dr. Greger, I would like to understand more about fulvic acid/fulvic mineral supplementation. Is it safe to drink water with fulvic added, and how much? What about long term consumption? Thanks!

  • Frank Streibel

    (1) The study used garlic and onions because they are “sulfur compound-rich”. Thus, other sulfur-rich vegetables such as Brassicaceae vegetables (cabbages, broccoli etc.) may have a similar (but probably lower) effect. (See the video “#1 Anticancer Vegetable” that shows how these 2 vegetable groups excel – maybe because of their sulfur)

    (2) It may be worth pointing out that the study (according to the abstract) found similar effects for PULSES. In Indian cuisine, lentil soups (dal) are typically prepared with garlic and onion.

    (3) Does anyone know whether in the study it is stated whether the garlic/onion has to be cooked with the grains/pulses or whether it is sufficient to eat it at the same time (for example stir-frying vegetables with garlic and onions and eating them with brown rice that was cooked plain)?!

    (4) I would expect, however, that the quantities of onions and garlic many people typically use are lower than those of the study. Therefore, the absorption “boost” should not be so high.

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