Lectins in Food

Lectins

what is a lectin, exactly?

Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are highly specific for sugar groups of other molecules with an amino acid binding site, being a protein. Lectins have a role in recognition on the cellular and molecular level and play numerous roles in biological recognition phenomena involving cells, carbohydrates, and proteins. Lectins also mediate attachment and binding of bacteria and viruses to their intended targets.

Lectins are ubiquitous in nature and are found in many foods. Some foods such as beans and grains need to be cooked or fermented to reduce lectin content. Some lectins are beneficial, such as CLEC11A, which promotes bone growth, while others may be powerful toxins such as ricin.

Lectins are ubiquitous in nature and are found in many foods. Some foods such as beans and grains need to be cooked or fermented to reduce lectin content. Some lectins are beneficial, such as CLEC11A, which promotes bone growth, while others may be powerful toxins such as ricin.

Lectins may be disabled by specific mono- and oligosaccharides, which bind to ingested lectins from grains, legumes, nightshade plants, and dairy; binding can prevent their attachment to the carbohydrates within the cell membrane.^[4] The selectivity of lectins means that they are useful for analyzing blood type, and they have been researched for potential use in genetically engineered crops to transfer pest resistance.

Lectins generally are plant proteins. They’re found in all sorts of members of the vegetable kingdom, and they happen to be one of nature’s greatest defenses against any hungry animal and human. Not all lectins are toxic. But many are, and when you’ve got a lectin-intolerance, you don’t want to ingest any one of these plant proteins, because the consequences can be severe.

Plant life supposes; If you eat something that makes you sick, you’ll steer clear of it the next time you’re hungry. By forcing you to ingest harmful lectins, Nature’s protected itself.

A lectin is a type of protein (susceptible to various diseases, bacteria, and viruses) that forces carbs (sugars, starches, and fibers) to clump together and even attach to certain cells in your body when you eat them.

Whenever you eat a seed, a certain kind of grain or even the skin of a fruit or vegetable, the lectins inside it scout out the sugars in your body. Not only that, they look for the ones they can latch onto most easily. They particularly like to grab hold of sialic acid – a type of sugar found in your brain, gut, nervous tissue, and even in human milk. This incredible ability to latch onto sugars and bind carbohydrates earns lectins the name sticky proteins.

Often, lectins can get in the way of important cells communicating with one another. And when that happens, the body’s response is usually inflammation or some other type of reaction to toxicity, like nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting.5 A break in cellular communication can also result in symptoms like fatigue or forgetfulness.

In addition to causing digestive issues, the sticky nature of lectins can allow them to grab onto and fuse together harmful bacteria and viruses. Not only that, but lectins can actually help those bacteria and viruses stick to the cells in the body they’re looking for. So, in some cases, people with lectin sensitivities might also get sick or infected more often than those without sensitivities.

High-Lectin Foods

While wheat and grains are the lectin-rich foods the public seems to be most concerned with, there are several foods you might want to ditch (or at least consume in moderation) if you discover you’re indeed sensitive to lectins.

Here’s a shortlist of potential foods high in lectins:

● Soy
● Barley
● Lentils
● Rice
● Lima Beans
● Red Kidney Beans
● Potatoes
● Split Peas
● Wheat

Table of Major Plant lectins

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectin

Lectins and Bood types

Lectins may interfere in specific way depending on blood type.

Source: www.livebloodonline.com