Lectins and their benefits

[Orangeblossom]

This study http://advances.nutrition.org/content/7/5/889.full mentions legumes and independant positive benefits on cognition as part of the mediterranean diet, and that it may be related to low glycemic index. Of note is that the benefits also applied to those with APOE4.

"whole grains (43, 52), nuts, and legumes (52) were associated independently with better cognitive performance, and legumes, nuts, and seeds were protective against cognitive impairment (32)."

"certain components of the MD, such as legumes and whole-grain foods, may have indirect effects on cognition through their lower glycemic indexes, leading to reductions in blood glucose oscillations compared with those of a typical Western diet (77). As discussed in a previous systematic review, the effect of a long-term low–glycemic index diet on cognitive function in adults needs to be explored further (78)"

This study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3022949/ looked at CRP after following a med style diet, where

"Individuals were assigned a value of 1 for each beneficial component (fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and fish)"

Better CRP was shown from following such a diet. "Compared to the lowest tertile of MeDi, subjects in the highest MeDi tertile tended to have lower level of hsCRP"

While these studies overall look at the diet as a whole it seems to have an overall beneficial anti-inflammatory effect. It doesn't state how much legumes and lectins were consumed overall, but didn't seem to find problems with lectins / legumes for the people following the Med Diet

[Jaque]

Please also see this link and the many specific links in that post as well.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/dr-gun ... -is-wrong/

Peace and Good Health.

[Stavia]

Please also see this link and the many specific links in that post as well.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/dr-gun ... -is-wrong/

Peace and Good Health.

Thank you Jaque. I personally don't avoid lectins as I don't seem to have any ill effects when eating them. Other members do notice ill effects. It's all so very interesting.
I am awaiting more specific evidence with interest, as I am currently on the fence and don't have a strong position either way.

[Searcher]

n-of-1 trials could usefully try:

randomization, washout and crossover periods, as well as placebo controls (wherever blinding to the content is possible).

Otherwise the human mind is amazingly powerful.

In the case of lectins, destroying them by overnight soaking and boiling for 30 minutes should make all the symptoms disappear. That's because the lectins are largely inactivated. If the symptoms persist despite the inactivation of lectins, then it's probably something other than lectins causing the symptoms.

There's an experiment where people were given either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. That's what they were told. The alcohol group started acting drunk. In reality, both groups were given zero alcohol drinks. The human mind is powerful. That's why scientific trials use controls, randomization, washout, crossover and blinding. If a sound scientific process is used, then the conclusions are probably reliable. Even if they are inconvenient. The scientific process carries more reliable weight than the personality or credentials of any individual.

When claims are tied to commercial interests, then a conflict of interest arises. Scientific journals require such conflicts of interest to be declared. Book publishers have no such requirements. Caveat lector. Let the reader beware.

For most people, the demonstrable cardio-metabolic benefits of legumes and whole grains (thanks largely to fiber content and palatability in delicious recipes) are likely to confer important protection against cognitive dysfunction, disease and death. Lectins themselves have a range of properties, including beneficial anti-cancer and anti-infection properties. It takes very water-tight scientific evidence for me to forego such important benefits.

[CarrieS]

There's an experiment where people were given either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. That's what they were told. The alcohol group started acting drunk. In reality, both groups were given zero alcohol drinks. The human mind is powerful. That's why scientific trials use controls, randomization, washout, crossover and blinding. If a sound scientific process is used, then the conclusions are probably reliable. Even if they are inconvenient. The scientific process carries more reliable weight than the personality or credentials of any individual.

When I was in college I decided to try going to parties and just drink water (called it vodka to appear cool) just to see what would happen. I actually felt drunk and got pretty silly. I agree that "human mind is amazingly powerful."

[TheresaB]

I generally agree that certain foods containing lectins can be beneficial as substantiated by my previous posts in this thread, with certain provisos:

• -They are consumed when there’s no presence of leaky gut (unfortunately, leaky gut is common with western diet)
  -Foods containing high lectins are consumed in moderation
  -Consumption is moderated so blood sugar levels are kept low
  -The beans or vegetables are pressure cooked, just soaking is inadequate

However, this comment:

the demonstrable cardio-metabolic benefits of legumes and whole grains (thanks largely to fiber content and palatability in delicious recipes) are likely to confer important protection against cognitive dysfunction, disease and death.

This is concerning to me, especially regarding whole grains, but I'll start with just grains in general

First there's the best selling book that neurologist, Dr David Perlmutter, wrote in 2013: Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brain's Silent Killers. https://www.amazon.com/Grain-Brain-Sur ... n+brain

And there's Dr Bredesen’s book, The End of Alzheimers, where on Kindle page 46 of 308, he says,

See box below for a list of foods with high gluten contents – all of which are to be avoided as much as possible.”

I added the bold font for emphasis, but the box he's referencing contains a long list of foods containing gluten.

Beyond just gluten, however, I would be cautious of whole grains in particular as they contain the lectin Wheat Germ Agglutinin perhaps the most insidious of all lectins because of its size, it's so small it can go anywhere in the body and wreak havoc.

This comprehensive article "Dangers of Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)" h[url]ttp://towncenterwellness.com/announcements/dangers-of-wheat-germ-agglutinin-wga/[/url] Discusses a litany of issues, supported by studies in the form of 23 footnotes. The article cites that WGA contributes to disease, ill health, and likely cognitive dysfunction. Specific to ApoE4 health concerns (there are more) the article cites WGA:

• -Can easily cross the blood brain barrier with a binding affinity for N-Acetylneuraminic acid, a crucial component of neuronal membranes found in the brain, and to the protective coating on the nerves known as the myelin sheath[14] and is capable of inhibiting nerve growth factor [15] which is important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of certain target neurons.
  -May be cytotoxic (induce programmed cell death)
  -May be immunotoxic
  -Maybe neurotoxic
  -May be cardiotoxic

The article also says,

Indeed, WGA lectin is so powerful as an insecticide that biotech firms have used recombinant DNA technology to create genetically modified WGA-enhanced plants.

In other words, the “healthy” food that Grandma ate was "lectin-light" i.e. not the same foods we eat today, the WGA has been purposefully increased in crops to resist pests.

Dr Joe Mercola also addressed the health concerns of the lectin Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) in this article which is a little easier to read: "The Critical Role of Wheat in Human Disease" https://articles.mercola.com/sites/arti ... sease.aspx

In this article he wrote:

WGA is largely responsible for many of wheat's pervasive ill effects.
What’s more, WGA is found in highest concentrations in "whole wheat," including its supposedly superior sprouted form.
What is unique about the WGA glycoprotein is that it can do direct damage to the majority of tissues in your body without requiring a specific set of genetic susceptibilities or immune-mediated articulations.
This may explain why chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions are endemic to wheat-consuming populations.

In the article, Dr Mercola also explained:

lectins are extremely small, resistant to breakdown by living systems, and tend to accumulate and become incorporated into tissues where they interfere with normal biological processes.”

Lastly, dovetailing off that last comment, Dr Gundry, in his book The Plant Paradox explains that Wheat Germ Agglutinin is an especially small protein in comparison to other lectins, therefore it easily passes through the intestinal walls even if the mucosal barrier has not been compromised and it behaves like insulin resulting in weight gain and insulin resistance. As most of us know, insulin resistance is a significant health concern that ApoE4s should avoid.

[Searcher]

Thanks, Carrie and Theresa, for your contributions. Your evocative story made me laugh, Carrie.

Theresa, this meta-analysis (previously cited above) provides reliable scientific evidence:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4908315/

"There were reductions of 21%, 16%, 11%, and 18%, respectively, in the relative risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all cause mortality for the highest versus lowest category of whole grain intake."

The dose-response relationship and the prospective cohort design make these findings fairly robust. No "may be" or speculation or opinions involved.

The brain's functioning relies on the heart (and obviously on survival of the person).

If there are harmful constituents in the whole grain, their alleged harmful effect appears to be outweighed by the benefits of the remaining constituents. Reliable scientific evidence seems particularly useful when life and death are involved, as in this study.

[rrmolo]

Are canned beans ie black beans, garbanzo beans etc considered pressure cooked?

[TheresaB]

Are canned beans ie black beans, garbanzo beans etc considered pressure cooked?

Not all canned beans are pressure cooked. I know of one brand that is - Eden Foods. https://www.edenfoods.com/faqs/view.php?categories_id=5

[TheresaB]

Theresa, this meta-analysis (previously cited above) provides reliable scientific evidence:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4908315/

I did find the study interesting. However, I found the cohort design might actually water down the findings since the spread of studies were mostly taken from outside the US and because the spread of time was so large. As stated above, the lectin content in grain products have increased as a result of genetically modifying them for pest resistance. But most countries, including those in Europe, do not allow GMO products to be grown, (although many allow import). Also, the studies that were collected spanned a very long period of time and grain products have changed considerably in recent years with the industrialization of farming practices and the resultant greater use of genetic modification, roundup (glyphosate), fertilizers, etc.