What are LECTINS? All foods have lectins, which can do major damage to your health

This is from cardiologist Dr. Gundry:

Lectin Shield

Lectins are a protein present in many plant-based foods we eat. They can interfere with your digestion, energy, and overall health. Lectin Shield is a unique blend of potent compounds designed to bind to the lectins in your diet.

  • Promotes regularity and pleasant bathroom visits
  • Blocks dietary lectins
  • Helps reduce feelings of gas and bloating
  • Aids against out-of-control food cravings
  • Made in USA
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This groundbreaking new formula was created to offset the discomforting effects of lectins (proteins commonly found in plants that make them harder to digest). Lectin foods pervade the typical American diet and it can be difficult to maintain a completely lectin free diet. This is where Lectin Shield comes in. Lectin Shield works to protect your body from a pile-up of lectins and to promote full-body comfort.

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SHIELDING YOUR BODY FROM LECTINS

The 9 potent ingredients in Lectin Shield bind to and block the plant-proteins, acting together to give your body full anti-lectin support making it easier for you every time you eat lectin foods.

Several of the components found in Lectin Shield do double-duty: Not only do they bind to lectins before they can attach to your body, they also counteract the distressing effects of lectins. Some of the ingredients even have useful antioxidant, anti-fatigue, and antifungal properties.

AND NOW YOU CAN ACCESS THE POWER OF THESE INGREDIENTS IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN KITCHEN.

Simply take two capsules, twice a day, with two of your largest meals. That’s all you have to do to start easing the discomfort of digestion.

GUNDRY MD LECTIN SHIELD: 9 LECTIN-BLOCKING INGREDIENTS

Now, let’s look a little closer at each of the 9 ingredients in Lectin Shield and how they work on certain foods containing lectins…

N Acetyl D-Glucosamine

N Acetyl D-Glucosamine binds to harmful lectins from wheat.1 Since wheat lectins have been associated with joint problems, this wheat lectin blocker is also a popular ingredient in joint health supplements.2

Bladderwrack

Bladderwrack, a powerful seaweed, has been shown in studies to bind to dangerous, inflammatory lectins.3 Studies also suggest Bladderwrack has antifungal properties against Candida yeasts.4

D-Mannose

D-Mannose is a potent natural compound that binds to specific lectins in legumes, a lectin rich food.5 Research indicates it can also help your body protect itself from infectious bacteria.6

Okra Extract

Okra extract is your source for raw polysaccharide (RPS), a powerful compound that binds to multiple toxic lectins.7 As a concentrated source of polyphenols, okra extract has been shown to have powerful antioxidant and anti-fatigue properties.8

Mucin (Sialic Acid)

Mucin helps to form a slippery protective barrier inside your digestive tract.9 Not to mention, the sialic acid in mucin binds to multiple sources of foods containing lectins, including those found in wheat and several types of berries.10

Sodium Alginate

When you’re dealing with lectin-based digestive problems, sodium alginate can be your best friend. It also acts as a “fecal bulking agent,” which can help make bathroom visits much more pleasant and less frantic.11

Vegetable Peptase

When you eat lectins they inhibit peptidase, an important enzyme your body uses to break down proteins in your food, spelling trouble for your digestive tract.12 So, I’ve included vegetable peptase in Lectin Shield to assist your protein digestion and counteract the digestive effects of lectins.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)

I mentioned earlier that foods containing lectins, particularly wheat lectins, have been tied to joint pain.13 MSM has been shown to be a powerful agent for helping to reduce joint pain — especially if you use it in combination with N-Acetyl D Glucosamine above.14

Larch Arabinogalactans

Arabinogalactans have been shown to increase butyrate production in gut bacteria.15 Butyrate nourishes your gut lining, which is your first line of defense against lectins and other harmful substances you unknowingly eat.16

A Note from Dr. Gundry…

I formulated Gundry MD Lectin Shield with these 9 cutting-edge ingredients specifically to…

  • nourish your gut lining (helps prevent “Leaky Gut”)
  • form a protective barrier in your GI tract
  • help make bathroom habits more “regular”
  • help protect against infectious bacteria
  • help your body process protein for energy
  • reduce your overall appetite
  • have anti-fungal properties
  • help relieve joint pain

…and help you get the body you want, the energy you deserve, and the vitality you know is inside – just waiting to break free.

For many years now, understanding the effects of lectin toxicity has been a passion project of mine. I’ve seen the damage lectins have done to my patients firsthand – and I know what’s at stake.

But since I developed this product and began encouraging a lectin free diet, I’ve seen so many patients at my clinic experience incredible breakthroughs in weight loss, heart health, and immune function.

I’d like to let you hear from just a few real Lectin Shield users…

“I have been suffering from…the down spiral of the lack of exercise due to extreme fatigue and chronic pain. Within 2 weeks of using Lectin Shield I have been able to walk 3-4 miles and I have noticed the increase in energy. I almost feel like my overall attitude has changed as well. I can tackle more house chores and don’t have to nap for hours at a time. If this is just cutting the surface to better health down the line, these products will be staples in my home like toilet paper and toothpaste, a necessity not a want.” *
— Christy V.

I haven’t felt this good in maybe 10 years. I wake up feeling refreshed and full of energy, sleep so much better, I have lost 5 lbs (with) no dieting… The past 5 weeks have me feeling incredible. Thank you Dr. Gundry for this super product.” *
— Brian B.

I can tell the difference, if I forget to take (Lectin Shield), my digestive tract is very upset. When I do take it, I feel satisfied and full, no digestive issues. Thank you Dr. Gundry for helping those of us who thought our days of sharing a meal in public was over.” *
— Julie Anne M.

Based on extensive user group data – as well as reviews from hundreds of verified customers – the results are clear…

Lectin Shield helps suppress your appetite,  maintain a lectin free diet, wipe out chronic digestive problems, reduce the feeling of arthritic pain in your joints, and help protect your cardiovascular system from a meltdown.

More on Deactivating Lectins

Now, in case you feel you just can’t (or don’t want to) eat a lectin-free diet, there are supplements like Lectin Shield that can help you reduce or eliminate the harmful effects of lectins.

And there are some types of carbohydrates that can actually help you deactivate toxic lectins when they bind together. For instance, because of their precise carbohydrate specificities lectins can actually be blocked by oligosaccharides (a type of carbohydrate whose molecules are composed of a relatively small number of monosaccharide units). This may seem like a contradiction because in other cases when carbs interact with lectins they may cause or increase health issues.17

However, some carbs can bind to toxic lectins without affecting your health negatively. Instead, they can help neutralize the troublesome effects of lectins, rendering them somewhat inactive.18 Then, these carbohydrates bind to the protein, helping prevent it from causing harm or attaching to the cell membrane.

The thing is … as useful as it is to know about these lectin-neutralizing food components, it’s not a truly effective strategy on its own. While some foods and supplements can neutralize some toxic lectins, they can’t completely protect your body from all lectin damage. That’s why a smart diet, in addition to supplements like Lectin Shield, is really the way to go when it comes to trying to deal with lectins head-on.

CITATIONS

1 Cederberg BM, Gray GR. N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine binding lectins. A model system for the study of binding specificity. Anal Biochem. Oct 15, 1979; 99 (1): 221-30. DOI:10.1016/0003-2697(79)90067-8.

2 Freed DLJ. Do dietary lectins cause disease? BMJ. Apr 17, 1999; 318 (7190): 1023-4. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.318.7190.1023.

3 Houser J, Komarek J, Kostlanova N, et. al. A soluble fucose-specific lectin from Aspergillus fumigatus conidia–structure, specificity and possible role in fungal pathogenicity. PLoS One. Dec 10, 2013; 8 (12): e83077. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083077.

4 Criado MT, Ferreiros CM. Selective interaction of a Fucus vesiculosus lectin-like mucopolysaccharide with several Candida species. Ann Microbiol (Paris). Mar-Apr 1983; 134A (2): 149-54. DOI: 10.1016/S0769-2609(83)80074-X.

5 Hankins CN, Kindinger JI, Shannon LM. Legume Lectins: I. Immunological Cross-Reactions between the Enzymic Lectin from Mung Beans and other Well Characterized Legume Lectins. Plant Physiol. Jul 1979; 64 (1): 104-7. DOI: 10.1104/pp.64.1.104.

6 Ofek I, Beachey EH. Mannose binding and epithelial cell adherence of Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. Oct 1978; 22 (1): 247-54. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC422142/. Accessed July 29, 2016.

7 Wu AM, Jiang YJ, Hwang PY, Shen FS. Characterization of the okra mucilage by interaction with Gal, GalNAc and GlcNAc specific lectins. Biochim Biophys Acta. Feb 23, 1995; 1243 (2): 157-60. DOI: 10.1016/0304-4165(94)00130-P.

8 Xia F, Zhong Y, Li M, et. al. Antioxidant and Anti-Fatigue Constituents of Okra. Nutrients. Oct 26, 2015; 7 (10): 8846-58. DOI: 10.3390/nu7105435.

9 McGuckin MA, Lindén SK, Sutton P, Florin TH. Mucin dynamics and enteric pathogens. Nat Rev Microbiol. Apr 2011; 9 (4): 265-78. DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro2538.

10 Lehmann F, Tiralongo E, Tiralongo J. Sialic acid-specific lectins: occurrence, specificity and function. Cell Mol Life Sci. Jun 2006; 63 (12): 1331-54. DOI: 10.1007/s00018-005-5589-y.

11 Anderson DM, Brydon WG, Eastwood MA, Sedgwick DM. Dietary effects of sodium alginate in humans. Food Addit Contam. May-Jun 1991; 8 (3): 237-48. DOI: 10.1080/02652039109373974.

12 Liener I , ed., Sharon N , ed., Goldstein IJ, ed. The Lectins: Properties, Functions, and Applications in Biology and Medicine. New York, NY. Academic Press; 1986: 541.
13 Freed DLJ at 1023-4.

14 Usha PR, Naidu MU. Randomised, Double-Blind, Parallel, Placebo-Controlled Study of Oral Glucosamine, Methylsulfonylmethane and their Combination in Osteoarthritis. Clin Drug Investig. Jun 2004; 24 (6): 353-63. DOI: 10.2165/00044011-200424060-00005.

15 Polysaccharide breakdown by mixed populations of human faecal bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Lett. May 1987; 45 (3): 163-171. DOI: 10.1016/0378-1097(87)90013-9.

16 VanHook AM. Butyrate benefits the intestinal barrier. Sci Signal. May 26, 2015; 8 (378): ec135. DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aac619.

17 Freed D. Do dietary lectins cause disease?: The evidence is suggestive—and raises interesting possibilities for treatment. PubMed Central (PMC). 2018. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1115436/. Accessed April 13, 2018.

18Berg J, Tymoczko J, Stryer L. Lectins Are Specific Carbohydrate-Binding Proteins. Ncbinlmnihgov. 2018. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22545/. Accessed April 14, 2018.