It may come as a surprise that heart-healthy wheat bran can have a negative effect on bone health.
“Wheat bran has high levels of phytates, which can prevent calcium absorption,” Matzkin explained. Many people eat wheat bran because it’s high in dietary fiber, which is essential for keeping you regular, decreasing heart disease and even preventing colon cancer, all important considerations for many Americans.
Thankfully, if you’re a consumer of oat bran (which is different from wheat bran), it doesn’t have the same deleterious effects on bones as wheat bran, according to Matzkin, as it doesn’t contain high levels of phytates.
Phytates are a type of anti-nutrient naturally found in plants. Many of your favorite veggies and legumes (from kale and cabbage to beans and peanuts) contain compounds that reduce the absorption of other nutrients. Pseudoscience makes a big deal out of avoiding these compounds, but for the most part, there’s no reason to avoid these otherwise-healthy foods.
Beans, spinach and beets also contain anti-nutrients that can decrease calcium absorption, but soaking (in the case of dried beans) or cooking (for raw spinach and beets) lessens their impact, according to Waller. “Beans and wheat bran contain phytates, and spinach and beets contain oxalates that decrease calcium absorption as they bind to the calcium,” she said.
If you want to reduce the phytates in wheat bran, you can try soaking, sprouting or fermenting it. Since it has tons of other benefits, there’s no need to completely remove it from your diet, just moderate your intake.
“As with almost all foods, moderation is key,” Matzkin said. “No need to completely eliminate wheat bran from the diet, but understanding that it can affect [calcium] absorption should prompt supplementation with other [calcium]-rich foods.”
