Cultivated foods have all developed mechanisms to protect themselves. Yes, they are “evolved organisms” and prefer to not be eaten. Mostly these toxic substances (called lectins) in almost all cultivated foods work to prevent bugs and birds eating away at the plants. But lectins can disrupt human gastric-intestinal health, and negatively impact brain function as well — including instigating food cravings.

The main ways lectins disrupt human physiology include:
1) massive damage to the digestive tract, including abrasions in the mucosal lining, creating “leaky gut”, in which undigested food “leaks” into the blood stream and causes all sorts of inflammation and unnecessary immune response.
2) lectins increase appetite and are directly correlated with weight gain.
3) lectins damage blood vessels
4) lectins cause brain fog.

Here are a few of the foods that are high in lectins:

Rice, potatoes, corn, cheese, peppers, tomatoes, pastries, nuts

ALL grains: wheat, rice, corn, oats, rye

ALL nightshade plants: potatoe, tomatoes, eggplant, and every kind of pepper

Almost all tree nuts and most seeds

Fruist and vegetables with lots of seeds: squash, zucchini, cucumber, melons, string beans

Milk and dairy products.  Also eggs!

Yikes! What is left to eat? Fish, meat, some low-seed fruits and leafy greens… Clearly, our enjoyment of life, and food, would be severely diminished if we attempted a full-time no-lectin diet. The solution? Natural substances that BIND UP LECTINS. Here are some of the best ones:

N Acetyl D-Glucosamine, which binds and blocks the potent lectins in wheat (gliadins).

D-mannose, the naturally occurring sugar in cranberries, books the toxic lectins in legumes, including peas.  Also binds E.coli and thus prevents and treats most urinary tract infections without antibiotics.

Sialic Acid (mucin) which binds and blocks lectins in grains and beans.

Bladderwrack (a seaweed often found on beaches in SE Alaska) blocks inflammatory lectins in a wide variety of foods.

Okra, rich in polysaccharides which are super-nutrients and repair agents for mucous membranes (like the lining of your digestive tract.)

Larch arabinogalactans, from the inner bark of the white larch tree, which boosts immune function (particularly for blood type Os who do not benefit as much as other blood types from well-known immune boosters like Echinacea and Goldenseal).  Larch also helps heal leaky gut

MSM, a sulfur compound that is a powerful anti-inflammatory substance which renders fat-soluble toxins more water soluble, and thus helps the body with excretion.

I recently learned of a high quality product that contains all these ingredients, carefully sourced and formulated by world-reknown cardiologist Dr. Gundry. “Lectin Shield” is a unique and enormously helpful supplement for anyone who suffers from less-than-perfect digestion, food cravings, brain fog and weight gain. 2 caps, twice a day at the beginning of your main meals. Please contact me to get a doctor’s discount price of $65 for a month supply.