Are whole grains not nutritious because they contain antinutrients?
Last Updated : 12 November 2025Fact
Anti-nutrients are chemicals that are found in plant-based foods that can interfere with how your body absorbs nutrients. In whole grains, the main ones are lectins, oxalates, phytates, and tannins. Although evidence is limited, some suggested implications of these anti-nutrients include altered gut function and inflammation (lectins), reduced absorption of calcium (oxalates), reduced absorption of iron, zinc, and calcium (phytates), and iron (tannins).
But here’s the important part: in a balanced diet, this effect is minimal and doesn’t make whole grains “nutritionally worthless.” In fact, whole grains contribute significantly to daily nutrient intakes, and their benefits far outweigh any potential minor reduction in mineral absorption.1
Myth
The myth suggests that compounds like phytates, lectins, oxalates, and tannins in whole grains hinder nutrient absorption, making them unhealthy. This oversimplified view, for example, ignores the difference in how these compounds behave in isolation versus within a complex food matrix:
- Context matters. Concerns about antinutrients largely arise from studies using isolated compounds (e.g., not as part of a food), very high amounts, unprocessed forms (e.g., raw grains), or in animal models or in vitro, which don’t accurately reflect real-world human consumption patterns. Human trials on whole, cooked foods generally don’t show significant health risks from these compounds.
- Processing reduces antinutrients naturally. Cooking, soaking, sprouting, germinating, and fermenting all lower antinutrient (e.g., phytate) levels. Bread, for example, contains far less phytate than the raw grain.
- Antinutrients may even have health benefits. Some studies suggest they act as antioxidants that can protect against various chronic diseases and even have anti-cancer properties. For example, tannins are well known antioxidants.
Fallacy
The misconception relies on the fallacy of isolation. While antinutrients can bind minerals in a lab test, that doesn’t mean eating whole grains leads to deficiencies in real-life diets, especially in Europe, where diets are highly diverse. Research from large populations eating whole grains over multiple years and trials of people replacing refined grains with whole grains consistently shows that whole grains improve overall nutrient intake and health outcomes.2,3
References
- Petroski, W., & Minich, D. M. (2020). Is there such a thing as “anti-nutrients”? A narrative review of perceived problematic plant compounds. Nutrients, 12(10), 2929.
- Marshall, S., Petocz, P., Duve, E., Abbott, K., Cassettari, T., Blumfield, M., & Fayet-Moore, F. (2020). The effect of replacing refined grains with whole grains on cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control
- Blomhoff, R., Andersen, R., Arnesen, E.K., Christensen, J. J., Enoroth, H., Erkkola, M., Guadanaviciene, I., Halldorsson, I.I., Hoyer-Lund, A., Lemming, E.W., Meltzer, H.M., Pitsi, T., Schwab, U., Siksna, I., Thorsdottir, I. and Trolle, E. Nordic Nutrit