Lectins: Are They Affecting Your Health?
People are often heard saying the same thing, "I eat really healthy and don't understand why I am not feeling well." The truth is, there is no one diet or generalized way of eating that works for everyone. Some people do well with a vegetarian diet, and others don't feel well without animal protein in their diet.
The bottom line with "healthy" eating is that we all have individual food requirements and sensitivities that are based on our genetics, the microbes in our gut, blood type, the amount of a particular food that we consume, our stress levels, toxin content in our foods and environment, etc. Certain so-called healthy foods may be causing inflammation, digestive disturbances, and contributing to systemic conditions and autoimmune disease in many people.
Lectins are another piece in the complex food puzzle, and many people with chronic conditions and disease may need to limit them in their diet. Lectins are proteins found in plants that are basically a defense mechanism for a plant against animals. Why would a plant want to defend itself against animals? The plant's goal is to survive and reproduce, so lectins act as a deterrent so that animals don't eat them.
Many people argue that certain plants want to be eaten, and sometimes it's true that a seed must be eaten before it will germinate. Other plants, however, must not be eaten to survive and reproduce, and thus produce defenses; most commonly lectins. Lectins attach themselves to sugar molecules throughout the body, especially in the gut and the brain. They disrupt the communication between cells and trick the immune system to counter an attack against them which leads to weight gain and inflammation throughout the body. Animals that eat lectin-based foods (such as farmed cows that eat soy and corn which are not a part of their evolutionary diet) also have high levels of lectins in their meat and milk.
Lectins are in too many foods to count, and not everyone has a problem with all lectins. Lectin tolerance is individually based, just like other food sensitivities. Nutrition Muscle Testing using a homeopathic lectin vial is one way to determine whether you have lectin sensitivity. If you have determined it is a problem, you can take active steps to limit your lectin content, and/or take specific supplementation that will help to bind the lectins to neutralize its effect. The supplement glucosamine is one of the binding agents for many lectins like wheat germ agglutinin in wheat. Why certain people's joints feel better taking glucosamine is simply because it is binding to the lectin that causes inflammation.
Steven Gundry, M.D. recently wrote a book entitled The Plant Paradox. It gives a complete list of foods that have high lectin content. Some of the foods with high lectin content include:
The bottom line with "healthy" eating is that we all have individual food requirements and sensitivities that are based on our genetics, the microbes in our gut, blood type, the amount of a particular food that we consume, our stress levels, toxin content in our foods and environment, etc. Certain so-called healthy foods may be causing inflammation, digestive disturbances, and contributing to systemic conditions and autoimmune disease in many people.
Lectins are another piece in the complex food puzzle, and many people with chronic conditions and disease may need to limit them in their diet. Lectins are proteins found in plants that are basically a defense mechanism for a plant against animals. Why would a plant want to defend itself against animals? The plant's goal is to survive and reproduce, so lectins act as a deterrent so that animals don't eat them.
Many people argue that certain plants want to be eaten, and sometimes it's true that a seed must be eaten before it will germinate. Other plants, however, must not be eaten to survive and reproduce, and thus produce defenses; most commonly lectins. Lectins attach themselves to sugar molecules throughout the body, especially in the gut and the brain. They disrupt the communication between cells and trick the immune system to counter an attack against them which leads to weight gain and inflammation throughout the body. Animals that eat lectin-based foods (such as farmed cows that eat soy and corn which are not a part of their evolutionary diet) also have high levels of lectins in their meat and milk.
Lectins are in too many foods to count, and not everyone has a problem with all lectins. Lectin tolerance is individually based, just like other food sensitivities. Nutrition Muscle Testing using a homeopathic lectin vial is one way to determine whether you have lectin sensitivity. If you have determined it is a problem, you can take active steps to limit your lectin content, and/or take specific supplementation that will help to bind the lectins to neutralize its effect. The supplement glucosamine is one of the binding agents for many lectins like wheat germ agglutinin in wheat. Why certain people's joints feel better taking glucosamine is simply because it is binding to the lectin that causes inflammation.
Steven Gundry, M.D. recently wrote a book entitled The Plant Paradox. It gives a complete list of foods that have high lectin content. Some of the foods with high lectin content include:
- wheat pasta and other gluten-containing foods
- rice
- night shades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers)
- soy
- green beans
- lentils
- sugar
- chia seeds
- melons
- sunflower seeds
- peanuts
- cashews
- zucchini
- squash
- beans
1. Cook beans and lentils in a pressure cooker: Modern day pressure cookers like the Instant Pot are a great way to cook beans and reduce harmful lectins through its high-pressure cooking process.
2. Soak nuts and seeds before eating them: Soaking nuts and seeds help to remove the lectins that are in their hard outer casing. Make sure you throw out the water that you soaked them in and rinse well. You may have noticed an increase in "Sprouted" nut and seed products in health food stores, which is one way to reduce lectins.
3. Peel the skin and don't eat the seeds of lectin-containing vegetables: The outer skin and seeds hold the most lectins and should be discarded.
4. Supplement with lectin binding agents when eating meals with a high lectin content: Lectin Protect, by Supreme Nutrition, is a lectin binding product that contains okra, larch bark (from the larch tree) and bladderwrack (a seaweed). Okra can bind lectins in foods and those attached to receptor sites. Larch is high in arabinogalactans, which bind to lectin foods and lectin binding sites. Okra binds to lectins and eliminates them from the body. D-mannose and N acetyl glucosamine are also excellent lectin binding agents.
If you suspect you have a sensitivity to certain foods that contain lectins, it is advisable to stop eating these high lectin-containing foods and observe how you feel. Give it a couple of weeks on a strict lectin-free diet. If you do this elimination protocol and it is still not clear, Muscle Testing can determine if lectins are a problem for you.
Dr. Louis Granirer is a leading Holistic Chiropractor in NY and Nutrition Response Testing Practitioner specializing in holistic remedies for good health maintenance and prevention of disease. Visit his website at HolisticChiropracticCenter.com to learn more.
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