Jake (Harrisburg, PA) on 09/26/2022
Replied By Art (California) on 09/26/2022
Not everyone is sensitive to lectins and lectins seem to cause specific gut issues that can also be seen from causes other than lectins. Some symptoms that some people experience from lectins are the following :
- Neurological symptoms
- Skin Rash
- Hormonal changes
- Gas
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Abdominal cramps
- Painful and or swollen joints
- Allergy like symptoms
- Fatigue
So as you can see, these symptoms can occur in many health conditions, so how do you determine if they are being caused by lectins or something else? I think if I had some of these symptoms and asked my doctor if he thought they were being caused by lectins, he might look at me as though I were crazy and say something like it is likely IBS or some other bowel issue along that line.
To me if you avoid high lectin foods as much as is practical, that makes sense. What is more important to me though, is why do some people have problems with lectins while others do not, even if they are eating foods known to be high in lectins?
Which brings me to this article that discusses the SCFA, Butyrate and lectins:
Here is a relevant quote from the article :
' We can conclude that KB have a clear suppressive effect on feed intake and growth that is greater in the grower than in the starter phase. Due to the addition of SB in starter and grower feeds, feed intake and growth could be restored up to the level of the control group if KB were only used in the starter phase. When KB were used in the grower phase fifty percent of growth reduction could be compensated by the use of SB. '
So this study shows that the SCFA, butyrate, improved the weight loss caused by kidney beans which are high in lectins.
In this next study it is shown that lectins cause intestinal damage :
Here is a relevant quote :
' Because of their binding properties, lectins can cause nutrient deficiencies, disrupt digestion, and cause severe intestinal damage when consumed in excess by an individual with dysfunctional enzymes. '
The point being that when you look at the damage that lectins can cause to the gut and compare them to the positive gut health effects of SCFAs, a gut microbiome that is well balanced with sufficient SCFAs, SCFA producing gut bacteria, prebiotics and fiber, the SCFAs plus melatonin may nullify, ameliorate or prevent the damage caused by lectins and this could potentially explain why some people seem to handle lectin rich foods with little or no problem while others may not do so well.
These are fine details of research in this area which is not yet fully elucidated, but this would be my general take on lectins. SCFAs in general have the ability to repair the gut mucosal barrier, tight junctions and the gut endothelium and melatonin seems to add synergy in this endeavor to maintain the gut barrier function and gut homeostasis which should compensate for the negative activity of lectins on the gut barrier function when SCFAs and gut melatonin levels are sufficient. That would be my take on lectins given the available studies. This could potentially mitigate the leaky gut that lectins cause. The following article discusses how lectins can cause leaky gut and the associated gastrointestinal distress :
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/2017-11-29/the-trouble-with-lectins#:~:text=“For those who eat a, syndrome, system-wide inflammation and
Here is a relevant quote from the article :
' For those who eat a lot of raw, lectin-rich foods – vegetarians or those following a plant-rich diet, for example – the higher lectin intake and the resulting gastrointestinal distress like nausea, diarrhea and bloating can weaken the delicate gut lining, triggering leaky gut syndrome, system-wide inflammation and autoimmune or allergic reactions, ” Lipman says. '
That would be my current opinion on lectins based on the studies I have seen.
Art