How to Protect Yourself from Harmful Lectins in Common Foods that You Eat Regularly

Lectins are a specific type of protein found in a variety of plants and other common foods. Some of these lectins can cause a wide range of severe health issues ranging from lectin sensitivity, prevention of nutrition absorption, and gastrointestinal distress to autoimmune conditions. But there are a few criticisms against lectin-free diets. One, lectin-free diets are too restrictive and may lead to nutritional deficiencies, and two, these diets are difficult to follow. However, there is a wide variety of lectin-free foods. Also, you can substitute foods with lectins with lectin-free alternatives. And you can minimize the harm from lectins by soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and pressure-cooking lectin-containing foods.

What are lectins?

Lectins are compounds plants have developed to protect themselves from predators such as insects and animals. These are also called anti-nutrients. You can find them in a variety of everyday foods that we eat.

Technically, a lectin is a ‘carbohydrate-binding protein of non-immune origin that agglutinates cells.’ These compounds stick to carbohydrates in the body and form a sticky clump. And this can get attached to specific cells in the body and cause a range of health issues.

Some lectins are relatively harmless, and we can digest them. And some go undigested in the body but cause no significant harm. But there are a few lectins in specific foods that our bodies cannot handle and can cause harmful effects. Sensitivity to lectins varies from one individual to another.

How do lectins harm your health?

Lectins have a wide range of harmful effects on our bodies. Let’s look at each of them.

• Lectins prevent the absorption of micronutrients.

  Lectins prevent the absorption of all the major vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc.

• Lectins make you obese.

  Lectins attach themselves to insulin receptors on the fat cells in the body. And this results in the fat cells storing more and more fat. Also, lectins stick to receptor sites for leptin, which tells the brain to stop eating when full. With lectins, you tend to overeat because this communication to the brain fails.

• Lectins increase your gut permeability and set you up for autoimmune diseases.

  Lectins pry open the tight junctions in the gut wall and create a leaky gut. And proteins that spill into the bloodstream from these openings are attacked by your immune system, causing a wide variety of autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.

• Lectins cause food allergies.

  Lectins also cause intense immune reactions and cause food sensitivities, and allergies.

  Your body has developed several defenses against lectins. Let’s look at how lectins cause harm to your body.

• Stage I:

  When you eat foods with harmful lectins, the sugars (called mucopolysaccharides) in your saliva and mucus in your mouth trap these lectins. These lectins are the reason why when you eat certain lectin-containing spicy foods, your nose runs. But some of these lectins can still pass through this stage and enter your food pipe and reach your stomach.

• Stage II:

  Your stomach acid is another defense against lectins. It traps some of these lectins, and yet some pass through and enter your gut.

• Stage III:

  The beneficial bacteria in your gut are the next line of defense. But the lectins that persist through this stage are neutralized by the mucus in your gut wall. But these lectins damage your gut wall because your gut wall is only one cell thick. Some of these lectins penetrate through your gut wall and enter the bloodstream. These lectins can cause serious health issues, including autoimmunity. The lectins that enter the bloodstream are attacked by the immune cells, resulting in a range of autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, arthritis, and even multiple sclerosis.

What are the foods that contain harmful lectins?

The following are the food groups that contain significant amounts of lectins: whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, nightshade vegetables, and dairy.

• Whole grains

  Grains such as wheat, rice, oats, barley, rye and corn, all have lectins. Quinoa (which is a pseudo-grain) also has lectins. Hence, flours of all these grains and processed foods with these grains have lectins.

• Legumes

  All types of beans, lentils, soybeans are the commonly consumed legumes that have lectins. And peanuts and cashew nuts (not nuts, but legumes) also contain a significant level of lectins.

• Nuts and Seeds

  Almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, and Brazil nuts all have a certain level of lectins. Seeds such as pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds are full of lectins.

• Nightshade vegetables

  Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplants are common nightshade vegetables belonging to a family of plants called Solanaceae. The lectins present in these plants can affect digestion and prevent the absorption of nutrients.

• Dairy

  • Milk from Casein A1 cows
    The milk from certain breeds of cows contains a harmful protein called Casein A1. Casein constitutes about 3% of the milk. Casein A1 is known to cause blood sugar imbalances, heart-health issues, digestive problems, and even brain fog. Also, all the derivatives of A1 milk, such as cheese and cream, can cause these issues.

What are the arguments against a lectin-free diet?

There are a few mainstream doctors and scientists that contest the usefulness of a lectin-free diet. Let’s look at each of these arguments.

• Argument: There is no conclusive evidence that lectins are harmful. There are not many human studies to show that lectins are toxic.

There are many cases where we generalize to humans from animal studies because it will be unethical to conduct potentially harmful studies on humans. Also, if something is detrimental to animals, then it’s likely to be detrimental to humans. Why should we take the risk, anyway?

• Argument: If you avoid the foods that contain lectins, you may suffer nutritional deficiencies.

The argument emphasizes the fact that several foods that contain lectins are also rich in a lot of essential nutrients. For example, tomatoes contain lycopene that is beneficial for heart health. And bell peppers are rich in vitamin C.

But this argument ignores the fact that there are a variety of foods available widely without harmful lectins. Dr. Gundry provides a wide variety of lectin-free foods. Also, you can eat some of these foods with lectins after soaking, sprouting, and pressure-cooking them. So, you don’t lose out on nutrients.

• Argument: Many lectin-containing foods are also rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Hence the benefits of eating lectin-containing foods far outweigh the potential harms from lectins.

This argument assumes that grains such as wheat and rice and legumes such as beans and lentils and nuts and seeds are rich in nutrients. For example, in grains, most of the nutrients are present in unprocessed whole grains. Once you remove the hull, husk, and bran and polish them or grind them into flours and add many preservatives, they are no longer nutritious. Nuts and seeds contain a whole lot of anti-nutrients such as phytates in addition to lectins.

But our main concern is that lectins prevent the absorption of vitamins and micro-nutrients in food. So, what is the point of eating nutrition-rich foods if the lectins block nutrient absorption and cause digestive disorders?

Also, this argument erroneously assumes that there are no nutrient-dense foods that are also free of lectins. It is possible to choose a wide variety of nutritious foods without lectins.

• Argument: If you choose only lectin-free foods, it is going to be very restrictive. And it’s challenging to stick to, for most people.

Again, this argument does not hold water. There are a lot of lectin-free foods. Having a disease-free life is probably a great incentive to avoid foods that have harmful lectins. Also, there are so many substitute foods available that can easily replace the foods with lectins.

So, what should you eat to avoid lectins and still get the nutrients that your body needs?

After looking at the pros and cons, here’s what you can do to minimize the harm from lectins.

• Whole grains

  • Wheat
    Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) is the lectin in wheat. Studies show that cooking wheat can get rid of this lectin to some extent. But it is safe to consume millets such as sorghum, pearl millet, and horsetail millet instead of wheat.
  • Rice
    Brown rice and wild rice have a lot of lectins. Since most rice lectins are in the hull, husk, and the bran, polished white rice, soaked and pressure-cooked, can be low in lectins.

• Legumes

  Legumes are high in lectins. But if you soak them and pressure-cook them, most of the lectins are destroyed. Sprouting legumes can remove lectins because the outer coat, which contains most lectins, gets metabolized during germination.

  The following are some of the commonly eaten legumes.

  • Kidney beans
    Raw kidney beans have a pernicious lectin called phytohemagglutinin. And it causes severe gastrointestinal distress. But you can remove most of the lectins by soaking and pressure-cooking the beans.
  • Soybeans
    Fermenting soybeans can get rid of a significant portion of the lectins.
  • Peanuts and cashew nuts
    Peanuts and cashew nuts are not nuts but legumes. And they have a high level of lectins. Soaking, removing the skin, and roasting them can remove some of the lectin content.

• Nuts and seeds

  Nuts such as almonds and walnuts, and seeds such as pumpkin seeds, melon seeds are high in lectins. Soaking them and blanching them will remove some of the lectins.

• Nightshade vegetables

  • Potatoes and eggplants
    These are high lectin foods. Boiling potatoes or pressure-cooking potatoes can help bring down the level of lectins. Eggplants can be pressure-cooked, but the seeds contain many lectins and are difficult to remove.
  • Tomatoes and bell peppers
    Tomatoes and peppers are high in lectins. And the lectins are concentrated in the skin and the seeds. So, if you remove the skin and deseed the tomatoes and peppers and also pressure-cook them (cooking makes lycopene in tomatoes more bio-available too). In that case, you can eat it in moderate quantities.
  • Zucchini and cucumber
    You can remove a significant level of lectins by peeling the skin and removing the seeds. And you can eat them in moderation.

• Dairy

  Avoid Casein A1 milk and switch to A2 milk. Also, consume milk, cheese, and yogurt from buffalo, goats, and sheep because these products don’t have the harmful Casein A1 lectins. You can also substitute regular milk with coconut milk. Coconut cream and coconut yogurt are also relatively healthy.

Conclusion

It’s best to avoid foods that contain harmful lectins that you can remove by cooking or by any other means. Thankfully, there is a wide range of lectin-free foods available for you to enjoy. Also, we can easily substitute lectin-free options such as dairy products from A2 milk, goat, and sheep milk, instead of A1-based dairy. And you can eat a variety of millets instead of whole grains. Several methods such as soaking, peeling, deseeding, fermenting, and pressure-cooking can remove a significant portion of these harmful lectins.