Read here to find information on Sweetwater Market's delicious low phytate sprouted "Better-Than-Roasted"™ raw nuts, nut butters, and treats.

Links to Better-Than-Roasted™ soaked and dehydrated, reduced phytate products:

Better Than Roasted™ nut & seed butters

Better Than Roasted™ nuts & seeds for snacks

Better-Than-Roasted™ Love Bites

Better-Than-Roasted™ Trail Mixes

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"Low phytate levels help people absorb not only more phosphorus, but also zinc, manganese and iron from whole-grain products, thus increasing their nutritional benefits."

-Source: USDA Agricultural Resource Service, December 28, 2006

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"The process of germination not only produces vitamin C but also changes the composition of grain and seeds in numerous beneficial ways. Sprouting increases vitamin B content, especially B2, B5, and B6. Carotene increases dramatically--sometimes eightfold. Even more important, sprouting neutralizes phytic acid, a substance present in the bran of all grains that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc; sprouting also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors present in all seeds."

Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions

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Thank you for your interest in reduced-phytate raw organic foods from Sweetwater Market. This page was last updated on February 10, 2007.

About the Better-Than-Roasted™ product line

Better-Than-Roasted™ products are made by hand at the Blue Mountain Organics food production facility in Floyd, Virginia. These premium soaked & sprouted dehydrated nuts, seeds, and nut butters first became available to the public in 2004, and since then the Better-Than-Roasted™ customer base has steadily grown as more consumers have become aware of the nutritional benefits of a diet which is rich in raw, nutrient-dense foods and low in phytic acid.

Mineral chelation from phytic acid is becoming more and more widely recognized as a significant problem for both humans and the environment, for a variety of reasons. Phytic acid exists naturally in grains, nuts and seeds, but unless you chew your cud, phytic acid can rob your body of phosphorus, zinc, iron, and other important nutritional components.

Better-Than-Roasted™ raw food products are a great way for phytate-conscious consumers to enjoy the health benefits of raw foods while preventing mineral chelation from phytic acid.



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Further reading on phytic acid and public health



What is phytic acid?

Phytic acid is naturally occurring substance which exists in the hulls of nuts and seeds and in the bran of whole grains. Ruminants (animals who chew their cud) have a special enzyme called phytase to process phytic acid, but humans do not produce this enzyme. As a result, human consumption of phytic acid dramatically decreases the bioavailability of phosphorous, zinc, magnesium, and iron, leading many to call phytic acid an "anti-nutrient".

Crop breeding studies have been underway for some time to help find a way to "breed" phytic acid out of grains like wheat, via genetic modification. Other equally effective methods exist to mitigate the harm of phytic acid, which are not so disconcerting as genetic modification and it's as yet unknown consequences.

In 2004, Blue Mountain Organics, a Floyd, Virginia based business, began selling a reduced-phytate, wheat-free line of products which take a somewhat more traditional approach to the nutritional challenges presented by phytic acid.

Better-Than-Roasted™ food products from Blue Mountain Organics are made from nuts and seeds which have been soaked and dehydrated at low, steady temperatures, much in the way that some ancient peoples processed food in water (fermentation) to improve the nutritional value, longevity and flavor.

After being soaked, Better-Than-Roasted™ nuts and seeds begin the first stages of germination. They are then removed from their bath and dehydrated at low, steady temperatures to keep from "cooking" the raw food value (temperature-sensitive vital nutrients) out of the nut or seed. The resulting nutrient-dense food item is one which is significantly sweeter, crisper, and lower in phytic acid than one that is completely raw, or that has been conventionally processed.

Blue Mountain Organics reduced phytate nuts and seeds go into trail mix, love bites raw treats, and peanut-free nut butters in the Blue Mountain Organics product line, which is distributed worldwide.

All Better-Than-Roasted™ products from Blue Mountain Organics are made by hand in small batches, and are 100% organic and suitable for vegans. To learn more about Blue Mountain Organics reduced phyate foods, please visit bluemountainorganics.com.

Better-Than-Roasted™ is a trademark of Blue Mountain Organics in Floyd, Virginia.

Source: Blue Mountain Organics. Author: S. Nees and S. Weisman

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Links of interest

The Weston A. Price Foundation

Blue Mountain Organics news on phytic acid & human health

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