NUTRITION SUPPLEMENTS: ARE YOU EATING HEALTHILY?
Even those who think they are eating healthily may in fact be undernourished. The fashion for wholemeal-everything and added bran is one factor here: bran contains a substance called phytate that is known to impair the absorption of iron, zinc, calcium, and possibly magnesium – all essential minerals. The yeasts used in bread-making break down phytates, so ordinary wholemeal bread is not a problem, but unleavened wholemeal bread (eg soda bread, chapattis), wholemeal pastry and cakes, bran-containing breakfast cereals and other bran products can block the absorption of these minerals.
Bran can cause serious mineral deficiencies because iron and zinc are often lacking in Western diets. Vegetarians and vegans are particularly liable to iron deficiency (anaemia) since vegetarian food is low in iron anyway. Children under the age of two are also at risk, as are many women, because they lose blood while menstruating and have to make good the lost iron. Drinking tea with meals further reduces the absorption of iron, and is something that all vegetarians should avoid.
Zinc deficiency is more controversial than iron deficienq7, and has become something of a fad, but there is fairly good evidence that it may be quite widespread. Vegetarians, pregnant women, elderly people, diabetics, and those on restricted diets are at greatest risk, but almost anyone can be short of zinc. The processing of food may be to blame, since this appears to reduce the zinc content. In addition, virus infections seem to ‘use up’ some of our stores of zinc.
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