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What You Should Know About Lectins And Lectin-Free Diet

Lectins are macromolecules that can be found in the diet of an average person. They have come under increasing focus in recent times on possible risks they can constitute to health.

Are these proteins bad as some people paint them? Will a lectin-free diet be a good one to consider? We are here to arm you with all you need to decide how to approach lectins in diet.

What are Lectins?

Lectins are a class of proteins that are mainly obtained from foods of plant origin. They are known to bind to sugar, causing agglutination of cells. The "glyco" part of glycoconjugates on cell membranes originates from these macromolecules.

The discovery of lectin was made more than 100 years ago. Initially, researchers didn't have much information on the purposes they served. But the scientists did observe that a plant lectin had high specificity for foreign glycoconjugates.

Today, many people view lectins as anti-nutrients (ANCs). This is due to their ability to interfere with the absorption of certain vital nutrients by the body.

What Purposes do Lectins Serve?

In humans, these proteins are known to enhance interaction between cells in the body. They bind to cells on the intestinal wall. Lectins may help to bind soluble glycoproteins in the body and promote removal of certain types from the circulatory system.

The roles of the substances in the immune system are also notable. Their presence causes your body to produce more antibodies. However, there are specific types that can boost immunity. One of these is the mannose binding lectin (MBL), which aids in ensuring critical defense against pathogens.

Presence of lectins in right quantity in the digestive system may promote health. They can be beneficial to the so-called "good" bacteria in your gut.

There is less understanding of how lectins benefit plants. But it is thought that they also use lectins for defense. Plants appear to make use of it to ward off microorganisms, insects and pests.

The proteins also help provide nitrogen to plants. This is an essential component of chlorophyll that enables plants make sugars from carbon dioxide and water using energy from the sun.

There are other purposes lectins serve as well. They are used for identifying certain glycoproteins and glycolipids on the red blood cells. Researchers have observed that they may be beneficial for identification of cancer cells. There is ongoing investigation into potential benefits for cancer treatment.

Some lectins, such as concanavalin A, have found utility in purification of glycoproteins.

Lectins in Foods

These carbohydrate binding proteins are described as ubiquitous. In other words, you can easily get them from your diet. They are present in many foods - of course, those with high protein content. Some say all foods have some form of protein.

You may not need to worry much about lectins, though, depending on what you currently have in your diet. Researchers have observed that not all foods containing the molecules have them in significant amount - just about 30 percent do.

As it turns out, some of the foods that you may have seen recommended as good are actually lectin rich. These include:

Soybeans
Red kidney beans
Peanuts
Wheat
Nightshade vegetables, such as tomatoes and potatoes

Grains, especially the unrefined variety, are known to be rich in nutrients. But this also means that they contain greater amounts of lectins. Yet, the diets of many people these days feature foods like pasta, oat meal, rice, and bread made from grains.

Problems with Lectins

Lectins are beginning to get similar treatment as gluten and the like. As we noted previously earlier, they are seen as anti-nutrients that make it harder for your body to extract nutrients from foods. Humans lack the ability to digest lectins. They move through the intestines and come out unchanged.

What this means is that this group of proteins can cause digestive issues. High amounts can make the wall of the gut become damaged. They may contribute to "leaky" gut, causing undigested food particles and other harmful substances to find their way into the blood.

Irritation caused by lectins can also lead to other symptoms, such as:

Nausea (more severe in the case of red kidney beans)
Vomiting
Diarrhea

High amount of lectins increases chronic disease risk. Damage to gut wall can have adverse effects on your immune system. Symptoms of disorder in this case include general inflammation, skin rashes, and joint paint.

It has been observed that conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's diseases make you more sensitive to lectins. Amounts that would ordinarily be tolerable for healthy individuals become problematic.

But as you can see, some of the foods with high amounts of lectins are healthy choices. So, does it then mean you should stop avoiding them? Continue reading.

How to Reduce Lectin Content in Food

It may not be practicable for people to avoid foods with high amounts of lectins. Many of these are obviously healthy choices that nutrition experts often advise people to consume. Children and bodybuilders, for instance, can hardly do without these foods. Lectins themselves are beneficial in small quantities.

Thankfully, there are ways by which you can reduce the amount of these sugar-binding proteins in foods.

Soaking and Fermentation

One of the most effective means to cut down on lectin content in foods is soaking. And this is something that humans have been doing with beans and grains for many years. Soak lectin-rich foods for a while, probably overnight. It is said that you can get better results by adding baking soda to the water.

Fermentation promotes the growth of good bacteria while reducing the amount of harmful agents. It helps to destroy or weaken lectins. However, some of these proteins still survive fermentation, regardless of how long it last.

Cooking

Raw or semi-cooked foods tend to have significant amounts of lectins. But you can reduce their numbers when you cook your foods well before eating them. Cooking previously soaked grains and beans significantly reduces lectin risks.

By cooking, you are also able to break carbohydrates in plants into simpler forms. This makes it easier to get rid of the proteins from the body, considering their tendency to bind to sugars.

Sprouting

You can also decrease the amount of lectins in beans, grains and seeds by allowing them to sprout. When these germinate, the sugar-binding proteins that may be in their seed coat are done away with.

Other means of reducing lectin content in foods include peeling and de-seeding.

The Lectin-Free Diet

Owing to the problems associated with lectins, there are people advocating avoiding foods that contain them. Notable among such individuals is Dr. Steven Gundry.

This cardiac surgeon noted in his book titled "The Plant Paradox" that lectin was one of the major risk factors in the average American diet. He therefore proposed elimination of lectins, but he admitted this cannot be done 100%. The lectin-free diet is a reduced-lectin diet in reality.

Gundry suggests foods such as the following for the diet:

Asparagus
Leafy, green vegetables
Avocado
Garlic
Celery
Onions
Extra virgin olive oil (or olives)
Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables

Also, a lectin-free diet requires you to avoid certain foods - usually those containing high amounts of lectins. They include:

Nightshade vegetables, such as tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers
Grains
Legumes, such as beans, peanuts, and lentils

Certain fruits thought beneficial for amazing health are even excluded from this diet, in its strictest form. This partly explains why it is not entirely practical to go lectin-free.

Potential Benefits of a Lectin-Free Diet

Obviously, this type of diet helps to prevent issues that are associated with lectins. For example, it can help to guard against inflammation, which contributes to numerous medical conditions. These include diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, heart disease, and cancer.

A reduced-lectin diet may also promote digestive health. It can help to prevent damage to intestinal wall. This way, it guarantees proper nutrient absorption, thereby enhancing your overall health.

Some people also report being able to shed body fat with this diet. Several other health improvements have also been reported to support it.

Issues with a Lectin-Free Diet

Although it is suggested to solve problems, a lectin-free diet can also bring its own issues. It can give rise to certain health concerns while solving some. Besides, many people may find it rather costly to maintain, considering the types of foods that are typically advised.

Talking about adverse health implications, a reduced-lectin diet increases your risk of constipation. It restricts a good number of foods that can provide you with necessary dietary fiber.

Many may find it a bit shocking looking at the foods that this diet requires you to stay away from. It is no secret, for instance, that fruits are very great for promoting awesome health outcomes. Yet, the lectin-free diet advises against them in its strictest form. This alone can increase your risk of having a variety of serious medical conditions.

In addition, this diet doesn't seem to have vegetarians and vegans in mind. These people depend mainly on fruits, seeds, vegetables, and other plant-based foods for sustenance.

Lectins can be beneficial to your health in small amounts. You only need to worry about them when consuming foods that have them in abundance. Interestingly, experts say less than a third of foods having them contain significant amounts.

A strictly lectin-free diet may not be needed. If you wish to try such, it should ideally be on a temporary basis. You may do better aiming at reducing lectin content in your foods through cooking and other methods.

REFERENCES

Lectin - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectin)

All about lectins: Here's what you need to know | Precision Nutrition (https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-lectins)

Lectin-free diet: Is it good or bad? (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319593.php)

6 Foods That Are High in Lectins (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-lectins)

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