My shopping cart
Your cart is currently empty.
Continue ShoppingWhat Foods Contain Lectins: A Complete Guide for Newbies
Lectin-free diets are becoming quite a popular trend as of late, and for good reason. Lectins can cause harm to your health if enough of it is consumed, so partaking in a diet that avoids lectins makes perfect sense.
If you are considering starting a lectin-free diet, you need to know what foods contain them. In our complete guide for newbies, we’re breaking down lectins and what they mean to you so that you have a better understanding of their effects.
As always, we want to make sure that you are well-educated in your quest for better health. Diets that are free of lectins are said to be incredibly beneficial to your body and health. It is therefore important to get all the information you can before starting your diet.
What Are Lectins?
To better understand your diet, it’s important to know just what lectins are and the effects they have on your body.
Lectins are an anti-nutrient that is found in all animals and plant-life. In animals, lectins are known to play a role in normal bodily function. Plants, however, are a rather different story altogether.
Since plants are incapable of eluding predators, they use lectins as a toxic defense to drive threats away and keep them safe. If the lectin-rich plant is consumed, it could make the animal sick or even potentially kill them.
This toxic plant protein is found in anything from grains to fruits and vegetables. While cooking is believed to remove this toxin, some people would rather not take the risk, choosing to avoid it altogether.
The Dangers of Lectins
There has been considerable research on lectins and the effects they have on the body. It is known that lectins can cause diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
But it’s important to understand what lectins actually do to cause such symptoms to occur. When consumed, lectins search for a special molecule that’s found in your blood, nerves, and gut lining. Once located, the lectins get to work.
And by work, we mean tearing small holes in your gut lining and intestines. If this wasn’t bad enough, the tears caused by lectins are believed to affect your autoimmune function, resulting in symptoms that closely resemble food poisoning.
While your initial reaction might be to simply eliminate all plants from your diet, this isn’t necessary. In fact, certain plant-based foods can actually help to improve your body’s immune system.
If you’re concerned about immune health, we recommend starting on a daily regimen of our GoBiotix Immunity Frizz Wellness Booster. This tasty blend is made up of immune-boosting compounds that will ensure your immune system is functioning at its best.
By taking the Immunity Frizz Wellness Booster, you can look forward to faster recovery times and increased energy levels. These two features alone play a big role in helping you to feel your best. And with improved immune function, you are more likely to avoid getting sick.
In addition to starting a daily supplement, you want to be well-educated on which foods to avoid in your lectin-free diet. So with that, let’s dive into the world of lectin foods. By cutting these out of your diet, you will be well on your way to leading a healthier lifestyle.
Foods With Lectin
Corn
First up is corn, one of the biggest offenders in lectin content. Due to the effects of lectin in corn, you could potentially see a lot of unhealthy weight gain by consuming large amounts of corn. In fact, this is why farmers feed corn to their livestock.
It fattens them up for slaughter, making them produce more meat when the time comes. In humans, corn and its lectin content result in higher amounts of fatty deposits to your muscles. If you’re looking to lose weight anyway, a lectin-free diet can serve to have a two-fold effect.
Additionally, you might be wise to eliminate certain meats from your diet, too. Free-range cattle, for example, are routinely fed corn. Instead, opt for pasture-raised beef. These cows are fed a diet that excludes corn, ensuring that you will avoid any product that contains lectin.
The same goes for certain milk products. If you want to be completely sure that you are avoiding milk with lectin, buffalo or goat milk makes a reasonable substitute.
The reason that certain kinds of milk and cheeses are avoided in lectin-free diets is due to a protein found in them that closely mimics lectin. In certain people, this protein can cause damage to the pancreas.
Known as A1, this milk is commonly found in grocers across the nation. If you can find A2 milk, you are less likely to find this lectin-like protein.
Beans and Legumes
Beans and legumes are other plant-based foods that are known to have high lectin content. As a matter of fact, both are best avoided altogether due to the incredibly high amount of lectin found in them.
If you like to consume foods like black beans, lentils, peas, and kidney beans, you should most definitely put them in a pressure cooker before eating them. Pressure cookers are good for reducing the amount of lectin found in these food items.
It’s important to note that it won’t get rid of all the lectin. But it should cook them enough to where they are safe to consume. Still, if you’re serious about your lectin-free diet, it’s best to cut these items out altogether.
Nightshade
The nightshade family consists of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that you regularly eat. Some of the most common include:
- Cayenne pepper
- White potatoes
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Paprika
If your diet currently consists of any of these items, they will need to be replaced with something else. Sweet potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, and yams make great substitutions. The problem with the above food items is that their skin and seeds are very high in lectin content.
While it’s true that you could peel them and remove all of their seeds, you’re still putting yourself at risk for consuming lectin. If you’re finding that you’re having a hard time saying goodbye to certain lectin-rich foods, you can combat any remaining lectin by adding our GoBiotix Lectin Defense formula to your diet.
This special blend works to reduce the effects of certain food allergies, like bloating, constipation, and cramping. Our supplement features powerful lectin-blocking agents that keep you safe from potential threats found in your favorite foods.
Grains
This will likely be a big blow to many of you, but grains are just as ripe with lectin. But if your ultimate goal is to lose weight, you should have no problem with kicking grains to the curb.
If you need a healthy substitute, try millet, sorghum, coconut flour, almond flour, or sweet potato flour. You might be surprised at how quickly your taste buds acclimate to their flavor.
If you love eating fruits but are finding it difficult to give them up, consider the avocado. This nearly sugarless fruit is a versatile substitution that is completely free of lectin. Furthermore, it contains healthy fats that assist in losing weight.
While it may seem dire at first, the lectin-free diet can benefit your body in many ways. By finding suitable substitutes and supplements, you can enjoy good foods without the fear of consuming lectin.
For more ways to improve your diet and health, head on over to our supplement section. You will find a wealth of beneficial nutrients to help you jump-start your diet.
Sources
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/lectins/