This common protein could be responsible for your digestive issues
Gluten has gotten a bad rap in recent years, with many – including those who haven’t been clinically tested – blaming it for all their digestive issues. However, according to author of The Plant Paradox, heart surgeon and cardiologist Dr Steven R. Gundry, a different protein may be responsible – lectins.
According to Dr Gundry, plants produce lectins as a way of defending themselves – “not all plants want to be eaten,” he tells Well+Good – thus making the consumer sick and in willing to eat that plant again.
Lectins are found in many foods, but particularly legumes and grains, which if consumed frequently and in large amounts can damage the lining of the digestive system. He argues a lectin-rich diet can also cause inflammation, potentially leading to heart disease, dementia, Parkinson’s and arthritis. As a result, Dr Gundry has observed some drastic improvements in his patients’ conditions. “I’ve had a number of patients who were scheduled for a knee or hip operation and after they stopped eating lectins, they cancelled their surgery.”
Strictly speaking, gluten is in fact a type of lectin. However, because lectins are found in more foods than those which contain gluten alone, many people who believe themselves to be sensitive to gluten may be letting trigger foods slip through the cracks.
However, lectins aren’t necessarily the enemy. They’re known to benefit the immune system, namely as a mediator in the first-line defence against invading bacteria. A recent study also found that c-type lectins promote bone growth and may lead to new treatments for those suffering age-related bone disorders.
Plus, most of the lectin-containing foods we eat don’t contain much, and those that do are generally prepared in a way that minimises or neutralises them completely. Boiling, soaking and fermenting grains and legumes will almost entirely eliminate lectin activity, making them perfectly safe to eat.
So, if an exciting new diet tells you to avoid lectins, strongly consider both the positives and negatives of doing so, and always chat to your doctor before taking on any elimination diets.