There are certain compounds that would prevent the nutritive value of the food and these are called as anti nutrients. It is noteworthy that these anti-nutrients would prevent absorption of nutrients, by being toxic themselves etc. There are anti-nutrients present in foods like cereal and legumes etc and it is important to get rid of these as they would hamper the absorption of nutrients and lead to digestive issues etc in us.
These are anti-nutrients present in legumes, cereals etc that can impact our nutrient absorption.
Protease inhibitors:
It is important to note that the protease inhibitors work by preventing a virus from making more copies of it. To manage HIV/AIDS etc, protease inhibitors are commonly used. It is also possible to treat hepatitis C etc also. Truth is that in raw cereals and legumes etc block enzymes that digest protein would hinder protein absorption.
Lectin inhibitors:
These are present in legumes and cereals etc and would interfere with the nutrient absorption. It is known that lectin is water soluble and mostly found in the outer surface of the food.
Amylase inhibitors:
In cereal grains like wheat etc and in the legumes like kidney beans cowpea etc, amylase inhibitors are present. The amylase inhibitors would reduce the activity of amylase. It must be noted that amylase is a digestive enzyme that would be needed to break dietary starches into absorbable glucose.
Phytic acid:
It is worthy to note that phytic acid would form an unique iron chelate complex that would suppress iron catalysed oxidative reactions. Truth is that phytic acid found in cereals and legumes etc would bind to minerals and would hinder their absorption.
Oxalic acid:
It is also an anti-nutrient present in foods like cereals and legumes etc and it would hinder calcium absorption. It is also present in beet greens, beetroot and spinach etc.
