Lectins bind to receptors on the surface of each cell lining the gut, breaking down the tight junctions that normally make an impenetrable barrier between the intestinal contents including bacteria and ourselves.
I'm now convinced that all arthritis, most coronary artery disease, acne, eczema, and the autoimmune diseases are all caused or worsened by lectins.
The amazing thing is when people change nothing except removing major lectins, they start losing weight and they still are eating lots of calories, but we're not storing it as fat anymore.
When we lessen lectin consumption, the gut wall reseals and the stimulus to store fat is removed. Lectins no longer bind to insulin receptors, and we no longer store fat aggressively. Weight loss invariably follows.
The longer I have been at this the more I think that lectins are the cause of leaky gut and all diseases.
Lectins are plant proteins that protect the plant and its seeds from being eaten by basically hacking into the animal's immune system, causing the animal to have inflammation.
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, diarrhoea, or vomiting.
When major lectin-containing foods were introduced to our diet about 10,000 years ago in the form of grains and beans, our health dramatically changed for the worse.
Lectins are like little barnacles that look for specific sugar molecules in our blood, the lining of our gut, and on our nerves. When they find a good spot to land, they cling to those cells, breaking down their ability to communicate with our immune systems.
Lectins enter our our joints, our nerve junctions, the lining of our blood vessels and our brain where they incite inflammation and autoimmune diseases.