In The Lectin Report (one of the links that Marsha provided on lectins) it says that there is genetic intolerance and an induced intolerance to lectins. If you are genetically intolerant to a food, like gluten, you will never be able to eat that food again. If it's induced, the sensitization can be reversed by avoidance and restoration of gut function.
After removing the suspect lectin families from your diet for one year, the report suggests reintroducing the lectin families (one at a time) to determine if it's a genetic or an induced intolerance. It says that some symtpoms may resolve quickly but others may take 6-12 months. You can retest the lectin families every six months to see how you respond after removing them from your diet for one year. If you react, wait another six months and try again. If you react again, chances are that it's a genetic intolerance.
It says that rarely does a person have to eliminate more than one or two of the lectin families on a long-term basis, but you must let your body decide.
The groups most likely to cause problems-
-nightshades
-glutens
-legumes (including soy and peanut)
-dairy
-eggs
(Non-gluten grains are mentioned at another point in the article).
The question I am struggling with is this - if you don't have any noticeable reactions, can the lectins still be causing damage? I don't want to have lectin paranoia, but after having been ill it's probably good to be cautious. And I know some of you on the Paleo Diet would never eat these foods. Once I am on the retreat, it would be nice to have some flexibility and to be able to eat non-gluten grains and legumes now and then, but I don't want to make myself sick either. They are going to try their best to accomodate my diet, but I know it's hard for me to get enough calories at home. So I might need to supplement to get more calories.
Before I sold it on Amazon, I had a chance to look through the section on lectins in the Eat Right 4 Your Type book again. I'm a type A and it's interesting as I am definitely reacting to many of the Type A red flags---
Potatoes
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Wheat
Corn
certain beans
There are many more foods they recommend avoiding for each blood type, but these are my type's worst. I know a lot of people don't put much credence in this diet, because they don't think a lectin that agglutinates in the blood carries over to the digestive process. And I don't react to many of the foods on the list (like scallops, shrimp, etc.) But again it comes back to the question of whether damage could be done on a more subtle level before it's experienced as a symptoms.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts you may have on this!
Celia
To eat or not eat lectins!
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
To eat or not eat lectins!
I beleive in magic!
Hi Celia!
Do you remember which link on lectins this came from? Did Marsha put these links in the Info on Diet Forum? If not, she should. This is great info to have. It was only recently that I realized I had a lectin problem.
That is very interesting about the genetic vs induced differences, since it gives me hope that I may be able to tolerate additional foods one of these days. I have not been compulsive about totally eliminating them, and I find that I can tolerate some of them a little bit if I rotate them after so many days. Maybe if I give my gut a complete break for some months, I could again eat tomatoes, for example, or soy.
I'm sure there is some validity to the blood type theory. Certainly the genetic aspects! I read it some time ago and have forgotten most of it, but I remember that much of it rang true for my type O blood.
Good news that you will be having a lot of fresh, wholesome food on your retreat. Do the monks at the monastery eat meat? It must be quite "freeing" to pare down your possessions. The older I get, the more I want to rid myself of THINGS, I find.
Love,
Polly
Do you remember which link on lectins this came from? Did Marsha put these links in the Info on Diet Forum? If not, she should. This is great info to have. It was only recently that I realized I had a lectin problem.
That is very interesting about the genetic vs induced differences, since it gives me hope that I may be able to tolerate additional foods one of these days. I have not been compulsive about totally eliminating them, and I find that I can tolerate some of them a little bit if I rotate them after so many days. Maybe if I give my gut a complete break for some months, I could again eat tomatoes, for example, or soy.
I'm sure there is some validity to the blood type theory. Certainly the genetic aspects! I read it some time ago and have forgotten most of it, but I remember that much of it rang true for my type O blood.
Good news that you will be having a lot of fresh, wholesome food on your retreat. Do the monks at the monastery eat meat? It must be quite "freeing" to pare down your possessions. The older I get, the more I want to rid myself of THINGS, I find.
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Hi Polly,
Here's Marsha's message. The topic was in this thread called: Wayne and Polly Lectin Page
OMG,
http://tinyurl.com/htmz6
You have to read this!! I'm linking the cached version of this page, with the word lectin highlighted. I could not believe how many key phrases that have been mentioned in recent posts are linked in this article.
I love the internet.
Marsha
The link to the Lectin Report is actually in this article. Of the various articles, I found the Lectin Report the most helpful. I will try to find the link to the Lectin Report later and include that one here.
Polly, the diet on the retreat is vegetarian, but they will make an exception and provide meat for those with medical conditions. It is freeing to let go of most of my possessions!
Many thanks to Marsha for this link. It's really interesting. I haven't been able to find much more than this on lectins.
Be well, Celia
Here's Marsha's message. The topic was in this thread called: Wayne and Polly Lectin Page
OMG,
http://tinyurl.com/htmz6
You have to read this!! I'm linking the cached version of this page, with the word lectin highlighted. I could not believe how many key phrases that have been mentioned in recent posts are linked in this article.
I love the internet.
Marsha
The link to the Lectin Report is actually in this article. Of the various articles, I found the Lectin Report the most helpful. I will try to find the link to the Lectin Report later and include that one here.
Polly, the diet on the retreat is vegetarian, but they will make an exception and provide meat for those with medical conditions. It is freeing to let go of most of my possessions!
Many thanks to Marsha for this link. It's really interesting. I haven't been able to find much more than this on lectins.
Be well, Celia
I beleive in magic!
Celia,
I hope you don't mind, but I modified that URL, so that it doesn't distort the viewing window for this topic, and require horizontal scrolling to read it. (I often do that, to make viewing much easier--I probably did that with the original post also, if I noticed it).
Anyway, since you asked, here are my thoughts on lectins:
In my opinion, lectins in legumes are somewhat analogous to a couple of unique gliadins in gluten. They are toxins that some immune systems recognize, and some do not. When these gliadins are ingested, a "normal" immune system does not recognize them, so they pass through the digestive system without creating any apparent symptoms. The reason I used the quotes on the word "normal", is because that is an arbitrary definition that the medical profession uses.
My opinion is that their definition is bassackwards. If those gliadins are toxic, then an immune system that does no detect them is not normal--it has been modified, (by the process of evolution), to accept those toxins. Of course, I will concede their point from the viewpoint that if the majority of immune systems today do not detect the toxins, then that it the current norm--but that's another story).
Anyway, for those of us with alert immune systems, the gladins are correctly detected as toxins, and an immune system response is launched whenever they are ingested. Thus the basis of gluten sensitivity.
Do these gliadins harm the body even if they are not detected by the immune system? I would have to say that they do, based on this one single fact:
As a group, celiacs who avoid all gluten in their diet, live longer, healthier lives than the general population. It's pretty tough to argue with a cold, hard fact such as that. Clearly, avoiding those toxic gliadins is beneficial to everyone, whether they are symptomatic, or not.
I would suggest that lectins behave similarly, though I'm not aware that this has ever been researched and documented. Without doubt, they are toxins. Without clinical symptoms, the effect may be slight, (so slight as to be negligible in some individuals), but I would expect that some effect exists, in varying degrees for various individuals, (since no two immune systems are exactly alike).
That said, unless you're hoping to live forever, I doubt that eating lectins will significantely shorten anyone's life, (assuming that no clinical symptoms of intolerance are noted).
That's the way I see it.
Tex
I hope you don't mind, but I modified that URL, so that it doesn't distort the viewing window for this topic, and require horizontal scrolling to read it. (I often do that, to make viewing much easier--I probably did that with the original post also, if I noticed it).
Anyway, since you asked, here are my thoughts on lectins:
In my opinion, lectins in legumes are somewhat analogous to a couple of unique gliadins in gluten. They are toxins that some immune systems recognize, and some do not. When these gliadins are ingested, a "normal" immune system does not recognize them, so they pass through the digestive system without creating any apparent symptoms. The reason I used the quotes on the word "normal", is because that is an arbitrary definition that the medical profession uses.
My opinion is that their definition is bassackwards. If those gliadins are toxic, then an immune system that does no detect them is not normal--it has been modified, (by the process of evolution), to accept those toxins. Of course, I will concede their point from the viewpoint that if the majority of immune systems today do not detect the toxins, then that it the current norm--but that's another story).
Anyway, for those of us with alert immune systems, the gladins are correctly detected as toxins, and an immune system response is launched whenever they are ingested. Thus the basis of gluten sensitivity.
Do these gliadins harm the body even if they are not detected by the immune system? I would have to say that they do, based on this one single fact:
As a group, celiacs who avoid all gluten in their diet, live longer, healthier lives than the general population. It's pretty tough to argue with a cold, hard fact such as that. Clearly, avoiding those toxic gliadins is beneficial to everyone, whether they are symptomatic, or not.
I would suggest that lectins behave similarly, though I'm not aware that this has ever been researched and documented. Without doubt, they are toxins. Without clinical symptoms, the effect may be slight, (so slight as to be negligible in some individuals), but I would expect that some effect exists, in varying degrees for various individuals, (since no two immune systems are exactly alike).
That said, unless you're hoping to live forever, I doubt that eating lectins will significantely shorten anyone's life, (assuming that no clinical symptoms of intolerance are noted).
That's the way I see it.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex, Thanks for modifying that url, it was humungous! I think we all agree that we would never knowingly eat gluten. Now, if I understand you correctly, you would eat grains, legumes, dairy, and nightshades if you had no discernable reaction to them. Did I get that right?
Polly, Here's the url for the lectin report from which I extracted the information above.
www.krispin.com/lectin.html
All the best, Celia
Polly, Here's the url for the lectin report from which I extracted the information above.
www.krispin.com/lectin.html
All the best, Celia
I beleive in magic!
Hmmmmmmm. Well, yes, I never stopped eating rice, and now I'm back to eating corn again, in the grains department. I do eat dairy now, though not nearly as much as before, and I've always eaten potatoes, (but not potatoes with solanine, of course), and a few peppers.
I rarely eat any legumes, though, and when I do, they are a very minor ingredient. For example, I occasionally eat Van's Frozen Waffles, (which contain a small amount of soy flour), for breakfast, but I haven't eaten a serving of beans, in many, many years, and don't have any plans to change that.
Tex
I rarely eat any legumes, though, and when I do, they are a very minor ingredient. For example, I occasionally eat Van's Frozen Waffles, (which contain a small amount of soy flour), for breakfast, but I haven't eaten a serving of beans, in many, many years, and don't have any plans to change that.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.