What are lectins?

Lectins are proteins in plants that are nature’s natural defense mechanism to deter animals from eating these plants. Lectins are considered anti-nutrients. Therefore when we consume these lectins, we humans are unable to digest these lectins and it disrupts our ability to absorb nutrients.

Lectins are a type of protein that bind to sugars, they will damage the lining of the digestive tract, making it challenging for us to absorb the nutrients from the foods we are eating.

Lectins can be found in a number of different plants including grains, beans, legumes, seeds, nightshade vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. One tactic to decrease the lectin load in these foods is to cook, ferment or sprout them. These are tactics to decrease the lectin load in these foods so that we are able to consume these foods.

Everyone’s tolerance of lectins seems to be different from my experience. It depends on how much lectins one is consuming in their diet, the composition of their microbiome. I suggest that most of us would benefit from decreasing the lectins in our diet and for some people, who are sensitive to lectins, they need to completely avoid all lectins in their diet.