At long last, we've moved the house blog to: http://www.gillonthehill.com/ Continue reading

I like thistle because I like pink flowers. I don't like thistles because they are prickly. Continue reading

We are picking wildflowers for our house's birthday. I picked some on the way to the coast. I wrote a story about it. Continue reading

Alastair wears casts and he might not remember how he used to wear casts. I wrote a story about it. Read my story. [Editor's note: Alastair wore casts or a brace until he was about 15 months old, in April of 2010. Frederick wrote this story as Alastair was in his last set of casts.] Continue reading

I had a snail race with a girl named Jenna. Read my story. Continue reading

Oyster is most noted for its high levels of zinc and vitamin B-12, but it is also an excellent source of iron. Oyster is fairly widely available in the marketplace, both canned and fresh. Like all shellfish, however, oysters can be intimidating if you have never had them. What do... Continue reading

Beans as a class can be a great source of iron for people on plant-based diets. Note in the graph that a 100 gram serving of California red beans (about 3.5 ounces) supplies 50% of the daily requirement of iron for women in their 30s. (Iron requirements vary by gender... Continue reading

Since we bought the SodaStream soda siphon last year, we have had great homemade sodas and a lot of fun in the process. This soda siphon is easy to use, requires no electricity or battery power, and allows you to add as much or as little carbonation to your water... Continue reading

Beans as a class have high levels of phytic acid which can inhibit your mineral absorption. However, the highest levels are found in the mature bean, dried for us that we hydrate later and cook. What about green beans? These are immature beans in a pod and we generally eat the whole pod. We eat them raw in salads or lightly cooked in a stirfry. Should we be concerned about phytates in green beans? I addressed the question in a video cast below. I do hate to think that we would miss out on raw and lightly cooked green beans... Continue reading

We have seen that soy has high levels of has high level of phytates (soy phytates). Soy milk is high in phytic acid as well. What about the immature form of the bean, edamame? Edamame is often enjoyed as a snack. You can purchase the pods and pop out the beans to eat as a crispy treat. Should we be concerned about the phytic acid? I addressed the question in a video cast below. Personally I wouldn't worry a whole lot about phytic acid in edamame unless it is all you eat and you are deficient in minerals. I provide... Continue reading

Does coconut flour have high levels of phytic acid? Should we be concerned? A reader asked me this question and there is actually very little information on the topic, but the lack of information is telling. I address the question in a video cast below and generally conclude that we need not worry about it. I would encourage people to use sourdough baking techniques with their coconut flour as a general good practice. I should add as well that the phytic acid paper available on this site is not a gluten-free paper but it does have techniques you can adapt... Continue reading

Download now $11.97 from the Rebuild Market Reducing Phytic Acid in Your Food: A visual analysis of the research on home kitchen remedies for phytic acid Online Credit Card Processing 42 pages 18 graphs/data displays Easy and tasty recipes Digital delivery - download immediately Click here to see a sample page (PDF) *** Excellent paper! Clear and concise and easy to implement the instructions! I can't wait to try out the recipes! - Christine Kennedy *** From Matt DellaFera excited about the processes and recipes: I never would've thought that reading that paper would make me feel like I'm 8... Continue reading

Yes, "funky" fingernails can be a sign of iron deficiency. If your fingernails have become thin and brittle, perhaps flattened and then indented, you may have an iron deficiency. The look of the fingernail is better shown than described. Check out the picture of the nail condition known as "koilonychia"... Continue reading

Soy in general has high levels of phytic acid (soy phytic acid). Soy milk is high in phytic acid as well and tofu is no exception. In a 1985 study of phytic acid in soy, researchers examined the remaining phytic acid after different stages of soy preparation. Typically we see some reduction in phytic acid from simply cooking the food. You can see the results for beans and phytic acid as a point of comparison. Notice in the graph below that soaking and boiling the soy beans made little difference in the phytic acid levels. Steaming made a bit of... Continue reading

Editor's note: "Googol" is a huge number: 10 to the power of 100. The guys at Google named themselves after this large (and basically theoretical) number. Frederick has been learning about large numbers and it has created a game in this house "What's XX% of a googol?" Not long into the game this discussion was overheard in our kitchen: "Dada, What's one-half of a googol?" "A Yahoo?" "No Sander, that's one-tenth of a googol." Frederick presents some results below with the help of this website on names of very large numbers. Before Frederick gets into calculations, he has a concern... Continue reading

I calculated the third and the fourth power of numbers up to twelve. I calculated all of the cube numbers in my head but I got 12 wrong and used a calculator. I did all of the numbers to the fourth power in my head up to six. I calculated the rest on paper. Mama wrote them out for me. [Editor's note: The paper below is written by "Mama."] Continue reading

Corn contains phytic acid that makes it difficult to absorb iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium in the corn. In fact, iron is particularly poorly absorbed in corn. There are simple kitchen preparation techniques you can use to reduce the phytic acid in your grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. You will find such discussions peppered around this website. You can also purchase the downloadable phytic acid 50-page paper that goes into a good bit of detail and includes graphic displays of research like that below. Corn is an interesting grain because it is more difficult to reduce its phytic acid content.... Continue reading

How much iron you need daily depends on your age, gender, and pregnancy status. Women need more iron before menopause due to menstruation; women need more iron in pregnancy due to the iron requirements of growing a baby. The two times in life nutritionists recommend supplementing for iron is in... Continue reading

Do grains have phytic acid (phytates) and should we care? Generally speaking, grains have high levels of phytic acid, a substance that reduces our absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. As an example, compare the milligrams of phytic acid in grains to a random collection of other foods. (This is a small sample of phytate levels as listed in a review article by Harland and Oberleas in a 1987 article.) Phytic acid in an assortment of grains Barley infant cereal: 897 mg/100 grams Mixed grain cereal: 510 mg/100 grams Wheat bran muffin: 498 mg/100 grams Oatmeal:... Continue reading

Do almonds have high levels of phytic acid or phytates? Should we care? Nuts and seeds as a class tend to be high in phytic acid, a substance that reduces your ability to absorb the minerals in the mineral-rich nuts and seeds. Almonds are no exception. From a 1987 review article by Harland and Oberleas, I list the phytic acid content of almonds and an assortment of other nuts and seeds below. Almonds 1,280 mg/100 gram Cashews 1,866 mg/100 gram Chestnuts 47 mg/100 gram Hazelnuts 1,620 mg/100 gram Peanuts, toasted 933 mg/100 gram Jif peanut butter 1,252 mg/100 gram Black... Continue reading

I know people love corn flakes and do not want to give them up. Someone sheepishly emailed me asking if cornflakes have high levels of phytic acid / phytates. The reader is concerned about phytic acid because it can interfere with your body's absorption of important body-building minerals. Typically, corn is pretty high in phytic acid and it is actually hard to reduce the levels in home cooking. I don't know what Michigan-based food scientists do to make Corn Flakes, but whatever it is that they are doing, it appears to reduce the phytic acid in their product. In a... Continue reading

Do nuts have high levels of phytic acid / phytates? Should we care? Nuts and seeds as a class tend to be high in phytates which reduce your ability to absorb the minerals in the mineral-rich nuts and seeds. The only exception I have seen is chestnuts. From a 1987 review article by Harland and Oberleas, I list the phytic acid content of almonds and an assortment of other nuts and seeds below. Almonds 1,280 mg/100 gram Cashews 1,866 mg/100 gram Chestnuts 47 mg/100 gram Hazelnuts 1,620 mg/100 gram Peanuts, toasted 933 mg/100 gram Jif peanut butter 1,252 mg/100 gram... Continue reading