After having read the Plant Paradox Book by Dr. Steven Gundry, I started to understand the cumbersome preparations my grandmother did in her tiny kitchen in Bulgaria. She deseeded and peeled all the tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants and cucumbers. As a child I thought, wow those food preps take a long time. Later on I asked her why she did that and her answer was :”my mother and grandmother did so I am doing it as well”. Ironically, decades later Dr. Gundry talks about the Greeks, Italians and French doing exactly the same thing. People can’t tell you why they are doing it, they simple continue doing what they learned at home from their parents.
So, are those tiny grapeseed tomatoes good for us? No they are not! They are so difficult to peel and de-seed.
Are pickled cucumbers good for us? No, because they still have their seeds in them.
So what are lectins? They are proteins that plants produce to defend themselves chemically from predators. Yes, we are their predators and we are eating their babies. So plant lectins protect their offspring. They are natural insecticides. An insect munching on a lectin containing plant isn’t going to go back to that plant after not feeling well after it’s meal.
Once lectins are inside of us, those big protein molecules looks for a sugary sticky surface (glycoproteins) to attach themselves to, which would be your mucous membrane in your gut. While sticking to the wall, these big lectin proteins start doing damage by blocking vitamins and nutrients from getting access through the wall to the inside (your blood stream). While attached to your intestinal cells they turn on a switch (release of zonulin),where your tightly connected intestinal cells (enterocytes) separate and a hole has been created. Now we have a Leaky Gut.
The idea of our intestinal cells is to keep all the stuff in our gut inside that tube, and not have it float around in our bloodstream. With a Leaky Gut, that’s exactly what happens, lectins, parts of Gram negative bacteria (LPS), also known as endotoxins, can slide right through that hole into your blood stream. Those foreign invaders invade our lymph nodes, glands and blood stream. The immune system is alerted and attacks via cytokines. An ongoing war is happening. Those lectins getting through those holes bind to carbohydrates and glycoproteins that protrude from our cells and serving as receptors. Now the body attacks our own healthy cells and we are having an autoimmune disorder.
The aggravation you can feel by experiencing gut pain, discomfort, heartburn, fatigue, inflammation, sick stomach feeling. We all have suffered from that feeling right after the meal. Lectins are toxins, we feel their inflammatory effects, experience leaky gut, weight gain. You think we would learn and not consume those products again but we don’t, we simply consume proton pump inhibitors (TUMS) and go right back to it. Generally, you want to eat less of the plants that contain lectins.
Lectins are also known to disrupt communication between cells. When one neuron is trying to relay a message to another neuron, lectins can block the transmission and we have brain fog.
So where are lectins found?
1. Beans and Legumes–do your best and limit the intake of them or cook them in a pressure cooker. Also, some legumes hide as nuts–so it’s best to cut out peanuts and cashews as well.
2. Grains–for the most part, grains are a relatively new food to us. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t search for grains. Grains are lectin bombs, even gluten-free grain substitutes. If you must eat grains, have it be white flour over whole wheat and white rice over brown rice.
3. Squash, as easy rule to remember is that any vegetable with seeds is actually considered a fruit. Squashes, pumpkins and zucchini. The seeds and peels of these foods are full of lectins. If you must eat squash, make sure to toss the peel and seeds aside.
4.Nightshades–eggplant, any kind of pepper, potato and tomatoes. The peels and the seeds of these plants contain loads of lectins. Make sure to peel, deseed, ferment or pressure cook them. All these techniques reduce the amounts of lectins.
5. In-Season Fruit–keep in mind, fruits are nature’s candy, they will bring your insulin level up and insulin is our storage hormone. All it wants to do is store and store and store. Store where? In our fat cells. We don’t have winter all year, so why would we eat nature’s candy non stop to prepare for winter? During the summer months when fruits are ripe and ready to eat that’s when we should consume them in limited quantity. However, once the in season is done, leave them out, even if they are available frozen in stores. Candy = insulin= let’s store fat for winter (weight gain).
6. Corn and corn-fed “free-range meats”. Corn is filled with lectins. American farm industry uses corn to fatten up cattle. Corn has the same effect on us. So avoid “free-range meats”, they are eating corn, therefore you are eating it as well. Opt for only pasture-raised meats.
7.Casein A1 milk–It may sound like science fiction, but a couple thousand years ago cows in Northern Europe suffered a genetic mutation. The result was a lectin-like protein in their milk called casein A1. Turns out, casein A1 is converted to a protein called beta-casomorphin. And this protein can prompt an immune attack on the pancreas of people who consume milk from these cows, or cheeses made from it.
Most store-bought milk in your grocery store, even if it’s organic, is A1 milk.
The unmutated cows, found primarily in Southern Europe, produce a safe protein called casein A2. When people think they’re lactose intolerant, they’re generally affected by casein A1. So, eliminate casein A1 milk from your diet.
Instead, stick to A2 milk, Southern European cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and buffalo milk. Health foods stores are pretty good about carrying these. Also, consider these milks an indulgence, and consume them only in moderate quantities.
ok, so what can I eat now?
Well, let’s start with
1. Cooked tubers – Sweet potatoes, yucca, and taro root are a great source of vitamins and minerals. That’s because their roots have strong absorption abilities and draw water and minerals from the soil for nourishment. They’re also high in fiber that feeds your good gut bugs.
2. Leafy Greens – Romaine, red & green leaf lettuce, kohlrabi, mesclun, spinach, endive, butter lettuce, parsley, fennel, and seaweed/sea vegetables are all great to add to a lectin-free diet. They are high in nutrients and incredible for your health. They are very filling, especially if you drizzle olive or avocado oil on them!
3. Cruciferous & other great vegetables – Load up on broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. And include these lectin-free veggies in your diet as often as you like: asparagus, garlic, celery, mushrooms, and onion. They are full of fiber and polyphenols.
4. Avocado –is a fruit, but it’s actually okay to eat when ripe because it’s essentially sugar-free! It’s full of good fat and soluble fiber – key when trying to lose weight and absorb antioxidants.
5. Olives and Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Olive oil is filled with essential vitamins and minerals. For instance, it contains vitamin K, vitamin E, calcium, iron, sodium, and potassium. Furthermore, olive oil contains polyphenols and fatty acids. It’s an all-around superfood.
In fact, olive oil can contribute to the reduction of inflammatory activity in those suffering from autoimmune disorders. It’s an incredible source of polyphenols, especially oleuropein – a.k.a. the longevity polyphenol.
How to prepare your favorite lectin containing food groups
Use a pressure cooker – If you’re cooking with beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and quinoa, the pressure cooker is your best bet for destroying plant lectins. But, using a pressure cooker doesn’t get rid of all lectins – it won’t even touch the lectins in wheat, oats, rye, barley, or spelt.
Peel and Deseed your fruits and veggies – If you’re going to use lectin-rich plant foods, make sure to peel and deseed them. Often, the most harmful part of a plant is it’s lectin-filled hull, peel, or rind. To reiterate, the peels and the seeds are often where lectins are hiding, so you can significantly cut down on your intake by eliminating that part of the plant.
White over brown – If you must eat grains, opt for white over brown. Instead brown rice, eat white rice. Instead of whole wheat bread, find a healthier version of white bread.
Turns out, though many believe brown rice is healthier than it’s white counterpart, those who eat rice as their staple grain have always stripped the hull off of brown rice before they eat it. That’s because the hull contains all the dangerous lectins.
Think about how much less you’ll spend on doctor visits and prescriptions once you’re living lectin-free.
Soon I will post my lectin -free summary list for you.
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