ABSTRACT
FOR several decades, concerns have been raised about the role of phytic acidin reducing mineral bioavailability. Because dietary phytic acid is a ubiquitous plant constituent present in nuts, cereals, legumes, and oilseeds, current trends in food choices merit a reexamination of this issue. Recommendations for increasing consumption of cereals and grains as the foundation of the food guide pyramid by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Committee has prompted one such trend. A second trend is that soy-containing foods are becoming increasingly popular in the United States due to intensified research on their health benefits. Increased consumption of snack foods with plant seeds including poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds, and granola mixes of nuts and dried foods that contain appreciable amounts of phytate is a third trend. An emerging trend is the interest of manufacturers and consumers in functional foods. Addition of antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or fructooligosaccharides to foods could have tremendous effects on mineral bioavailability that temper the effect of dietary phytate. Genetically modified crops with reduced phytate as discussed in another chapter in this book and still others with higher levels of micronutrients or absorption enhancers as reviewed by Frossard et al. [1] could substantially alter the current food supply.
