Antinutrient

Common card · No. 363056

Antinutrients or anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Nutrition studies focus on antinutrients commonly found in food sources and beverages. Antinutrients may take the form of drugs, chemicals that naturally occur in food sources, proteins, or overconsumption of nutrients themselves. Antinutrients may act by binding to vitamins and minerals, preventing their uptake, or inhibiting enzymes. Throughout history, humans have bred crops to reduce antinutrients, and cooking processes have developed to remove them from raw food materials and increase nutrient bioavailability, notably in staple foods such as cassava. Antinutrients may also be therapeutic, such as in the case of anti-diabetic drug Acarbose or anti-obesity drug Orlistat, both of which reduce effective caloric intake.

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