Food Lectins in Health and Disease: An Introduction

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

In recent years it appears there is a rising epidemic of people suffering from chronic digestive and autoimmune conditions. Food intolerance or sensitivities may lie at the root of the problem. Most people, including doctors, have little clue how foods they eat may be contributing to their chronic illness, fatigue and digestive symptoms.

Food Lectins in Health and Disease: An Introduction

There are, however, a lot of clues in the medical literature and the lay public's experience about how foods are causing and/or contributing to the current epidemic of chronic illness and autoimmune disease. There are several diets being used by many people with varying success to improve their health despite a general lack of iron clad scientific proof for their effectiveness. One of the clues to the cause and relief of food induced illness may lie in proteins known as lectins that are present in all foods.

Animal and plant sources of food both contain complex proteins known as lectins. These proteins typically have the ability to attach to sugars or carbohydrates on the surface of human cells. Some of these proteins can cause clumping of human red blood cells, a process that is called agglutination. The process of agglutination occurs when someone receives the wrong blood type during a blood transfusion. In fact, red blood cell agglutination specific to each person or groups of people is the basis for testing for blood types. There is some data that blood types may influence how people respond to certain foods though a blood type specific diet appears to have been disproven. The attachment or binding of certain food lectins can initiate a variety of cell specific effects. These reactions may mimic hormones or cause changes in cells. This is termed molecular mimicry.

Most plants contain lectins, some of which are toxic, inflammatory, or both. Many of these plant and dairy lectin are resistant to cooking and digestive enzymes. Grain lectins, for example, are quite resistant to human digestion but well suited for ruminants like cattle who have multi-chambered stomachs. Therefore, lectins are present in our food and are often resistant to our digestion and some have been scientifically shown to have significant GI toxicity in humans. Others have been shown to be beneficial and maybe even cancer protecting. Either way plant and animal proteins are foreign proteins to the body and are dealt with by digestion and our immune system in a positive or negative manner.

The human digestive system was created to handle a variety of plant and animal proteins through the process of digestion and elimination. Some plant and animal proteins or lectins are severely toxic to humans and cannot be eaten without causing death like those in Castor beans and some mushrooms. Other foods must be prepared before they are safe to be eaten. Preparations may include pealing, prolonged soaking and cooking like kidney beans. Other foods may be poorly tolerated because of a genetic predisposition or underlying pre-existing food allergy or intolerance. Others are tolerated to some degree or quantity but not in large amounts or on a frequent basis. People who are intolerant to the milk sugar lactose, because of inherited or acquired deficiency in lactase enzyme, may tolerate small amounts but may have severe bloating, gas, abdominal pain and cramps with explosive diarrhea when a large amount of lactose containing foods are eaten. Foods can become intolerable to some people after their immune system changes or gut is injured from another cause.

Of the food lectins, grain/cereal lectins; dairy lectins; and legume lectins (especially peanut lectin and soybean lectin) are the most common ones associated with reports of aggravation of inflammatory and digestive diseases in the body and improvement of those diseases and/or symptoms when avoided. Recent research by Loren Cordain PhD., has suggested that these lectins may effectively serve as a "Trojan horse" allowing intact or nearly intact foreign proteins to invade our natural gut defenses and enter behind the lines to cause damage well beyond the gut, commonly in joints, brain, and skin of affected individuals. Once damage occurs to the gut and the defense system is breached the result is what some refer to as a "leaky gut". Moreover, many people who develop a "leaky gut" not only have gut symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, and abdominal pain but also other symptoms beyond the gut, or extra-intestinal symptoms. Commonly affected areas are the brain or peripheral nerves, skin, joints, and various body glands. With continued exposure of the gut by these toxic food lectins a persistent stimulation of the body's defense mechanism in a dysfunctional manner, occurs, i.e. autoimmune disease.

Wrong types or levels of good and bad bacteria in the gut, or intestinal dysbiosis, may contribute to this process of abnormal stimulation of the immune system. Research supports the strong possibility that such stimulation may be accentuated by interaction of the bacteria with food lectins. It is believed by some that this may further worsen gut injury and autoimmune disease. This latter concept is gaining acceptance and recognition by doctors in one form as the hygiene theory. It is speculated that our gut bacteria have become altered by increased hygiene and over use of antibiotics and that this phenomenon may be playing a significant role in the rising incidence of autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, and chronic intestinal diseases like Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Lectins as a cause however are largely being ignored in the U.S. though the field of lectinology and lectins role in disease is more accepted internationally. Avoidance of certain food lectins may be helpful in achieving health and healing of chronic gut injury. Healing of a "leaky gut" and avoidance of ongoing abnormal stimulation of the immune system by toxic food lectins and bacteria in the gut is the basis for ongoing research and probable success of several popular diets such as the paleo diet, carbohydrate specific diet and gluten-free/casein-free diet. More research is needed in this exciting but often neglected area. The Food Doc, LLC features a website http://www.thefooddoc.com that will provide physician authored information on food intolerance, sensitivity and allergy such as lectin, gluten, casein, and lactose intolerance with dietary guidance that will feature in the near future an online symptom assessment and diet-diary.

Copyright 2006, The Food Doc, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.thefooddoc.com

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Paleo Cookbook Review

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

Maybe you are someone that enjoys cooking or perhaps you are just learning how. It is even possible that you are just looking for a few new recipes that you can throw into the mix for something different one night for dinner. Regardless of your reasons, you are also going to want to be able to cook healthy for yourself and for your family. With the collection of Paleo Cookbook not only are you going to be able to cook delicious and healthy meals for your family but you may find that you want to cook in your kitchen more often.

Paleo Cookbook Review

1. Bring The Family Together.

Mealtime should be a time that the family gets together to share their day and maybe even have a few laughs. It can be hard to do that when you are eating foods that are unhealthy for you since you may start to feel over full or even tired. Believe it or not, you can actually make meals that are healthy, nutritious and wonderful tasting that will keep everyone on your home happy and full of energy. Even if you are used to cooking with pasta and bread, the Paleo Cookbook are going to show you a whole new way of creating meals that are without these items that are healthy and better for you. Just think of the weight that you could lose, if this is your goal, just by cutting these out of your diet as well as dairy.

2. All That You Need.

Everything that you need to create and design wonderful meals will be found here. You are going to have recipes that will give you a three course meal in no time flat. There are even wonderful recipes for breakfast such as omelets. Stop eating what you know is bad for you and start eating the right way. When you get the Paleo Cookbook, you are going to have three months to give them a try and see for yourself. The time is now to get fit, trim and healthy so you can have a more active lifestyle than you ever thought possible.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Achieve the Body You Have Always Dreamed Of By Losing Weight Through The Paleolithic Diet

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

There's always that special occasion we hope to get in shape for before attending. It could be a social gathering, the summer season or just for personal pleasure. Unfortunately, many individuals are so desperate to lose weight that they allow themselves to suffer from extreme hunger, putting their bodies at risk. Others resort to following the food pyramid, sometimes obsessing about eating the precise amount of food servings it recommends for daily intake, such as two to three servings of meat, fish, and poultry, or six to eleven portions of wheat and grains. Sticking to such a tough diet makes it difficult when trying to lose weight, but did you know there is a diet plan that makes it so easy that you don't even have to partake in intense exercise? this simple diet is known as the Paleolithic diet, and it is the weight solution for anyone!

Achieve the Body You Have Always Dreamed Of By Losing Weight Through The Paleolithic Diet

This diet was used not by health care professionals, but by cavemen, more than 2.5 million years ago. In today's modern society, lots of individuals still don't know about this diet, which is unfortunate indeed because it is the food plan that our forefathers ate, and thus one that has genetically fabricated our genetic makeup today. The reason nutritionists point out that you need to feed yourself particular foods like fruits and vegetables is because those were the foods our ancestors and forefathers ate. The Paleolithic diet is crafted to make certain that you eat less food but meet the very important nourishing requirements that your body system needs each day. Due to the fact that you eat less than normal, you end up losing a lot of weight on the Palaeolithic diet, without needing much exercise too.

How is the diet the ultimate resolution for lazy people struggling to decrease body weight?

Well, hundreds to thousand of years ago, cavemen gobbled only what was accessible to them. They were huntsman and gatherers who gathered their foods from hunting meats, natural fruits and veggies, in addition to acquiring nuts and berries in smaller quantity. There were no dairy products available to them like they are to us now. Due to the fact the cavemen were hunter gatherer's they traveled from one place to another, occasionally dwelling in one spot until they ran out of food reserves.

The cavemen were idle people, they didn't engage in intensive exercise routines. As a matter of fact, the times cavemen acquired high bursts of strength and energy was when they were searching for meats and fruits or running away from becoming prey themselves. Usually, they were dozing and resting except for the hours they were gathering food. The cavemen were somewhat healthy and fit, they weren't starving or ill and unhealthy like we imagine because they attained sufficient nutrients from their meals.

By using the Palaeolithic diet to lose weight, you won't be pressured to engage in extensive exercise. It is actually advocated to get involved in as minimum exercise as possible. The foods you eat will be lean meats, fruits, berries and green vegetables as well as a certain amount of nuts and seeds.

The small sum of calories you receive while on this diet will help you to start losing unwanted fat. But rest assured you will still receive the expected amount of amino acids from meats, carbohydrates from fruits/vegetables, and healthy fats and oil from nuts and seeds.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Bucking the Trend: Why Athletes Are Switching to the Caveman Diet

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

Why are Athletes switching to the caveman diet in droves? There was a time when the majority of professional, elite, and Olympic-level athletes swore by a diet that included a high intake of carbohydrates. For those involved in endurance sports, the practice of carbohydrate loading during the days leading up to competition was believed to be a necessary element to achieve optimal performance. With that being said, many athletes, particularly those at the Olympic and professional levels are ditching their traditional carbohydrate-heavy eating habits for the Caveman Diet.

Bucking the Trend: Why Athletes Are Switching to the Caveman Diet

Before you dismiss the Caveman Diet, which is also known as the Paleo Diet, as being another fad eating plan that will fade away in a few years, you may just want to consider the reasoning behind the dietary change for many of these athletes. In fact, scientific and nutritionist research has found that the Paleo Diet is actually far healthier than what some consider a traditional diet. Studies have shown that the Paleo Diet may significantly decrease the risk of diet-based conditions and diseases, such as Diabetes and Heart Disease. Furthermore, many athletes are finding that, by following this diet, they are recovering faster, and demonstrating greater endurance and strength during both training and competition.

How Does the Caveman Diet Benefits Athletes?

It is often asked how this Paleo Diet, which essentially mimics the diet of those that lived as far back as 2.5 million years ago, can possibly be beneficial to modern-day athletes. While there is certainly justification in debating that question, the truth is that the Paleo Diet not only benefits athletes throughout the training and competition process, but it also improves their health in the long term. The benefits have been highlighted through the research of Dr. Loren Cordain, and elite trainer Joe Friel. According to Cordain and Friel, the Caveman Diet increases muscle development, reduces soreness, and speeds up the healing process following workouts. Because the diet is very high in nutrients, it also provides for an optimal long-term recovery from both traditional workouts, and also injury.

Is The Caveman Diet Recommended for All Athletes?

With Olympic-level athletes such as swimmer Amanda Beard making the switch to the Caveman Diet, some have questioned if the diet is also recommended for athletes at far lower levels of competition. The answer is that the Caveman Diet is absolutely recommended for all athletes, though it may vary depending on the type of sport in which the athlete competes. Regardless of the level of competition, athletes that wish to follow the Caveman Diet should remove processed foods from their diet. This is because the body finds natural foods to be much easier to digest than processed foods. The intake of grains, such as wheat and rice, should also be moderately reduced in favor of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Finally, lean meats and fish should be included in every meal in order to increase the body's intake of lean proteins, omega-3s, and healthy fats. By making such dietary changes, athletes at all levels and abilities will see an improvement in their performance, and more importantly, will feel an improvement in their overall health and well-being. The basis of the Cave man Diet may go back millions of years, but more and more of today's top athletes are now following its recommended eating habits, as they've come to realize just how much it can improve their performance.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Paleo Foods - The Diet Which Will Make One Strong and Lean

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

There are a number of people who go on different diet plans to stay in good shape and look good. However, most of these diet plans do more harm to the body than doing good and hence they end up causing more health issues. Nowadays a lot of people are following the Paleo diet which is known to show effect without harming the body.

Paleo Foods - The Diet Which Will Make One Strong and Lean

The word Paleo is derived from the word Paleolithic and this paleo diet is also known as the ancestor diet. The reason for this is that this diet uses the recipes used during that era which is roughly about 2.5 million years ago. It is a well known fact that our ancestors were extremely healthy and strong and at the same time lean as well. This is mainly because of their diet and their way of life.

Shifting to a Paleo diet will make significant changes in the way one eats and also make a significant change in the metabolism. These foods will mainly include raw foods and hence boost the metabolism which will result in weight loss. At the same time following a regular exercise regime will help tone the muscles and help one become leaner as well as stronger.

The Paleo diet is healthy because it is packed with healthy natural ingredients and hence very healthy. Most often than not people end up snacking on high fat foods and sugary foods which end up getting stored as fat and this makes one overweight. With the paleo diet and the raw foods one get the necessary nutrients and the fresh veggies and fruits show their benefits well. But yes all this has to be coupled up with proper exercise only then will diet show proper effect. The best thing about this diet plan is that it does not devoid the body of any nutrients and provides a complete balanced nutrition.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Do You Have a Gluten Or Wheat Intolerance?

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

If you suffer from Gluten or Wheat intolerance and you are looking for recipes that are GF as well as want to eat a healthy diet whereby you can lose weight at the same time and become more energetic. You can start cooking tasty and healthy Paleo meals which are simple and easy to prepare. There are hundreds of different recipes available in the Paleolithic recipe book which are available online. In addition there are also sets of these cookbooks available which are being snapped up fast.

Do You Have a Gluten Or Wheat Intolerance?

The modern Paleo diet is gluten, dairy and soy free. This diet consists of lean meat, fish, poultry, fresh fruit and vegetables as well as nuts. This diet excludes legumes, dairy, grains, refined sugar, salt, preservatives and processed foods. You can still enjoy a hearty meal although the food is prepared slightly differently and at the same time will reduce your gluten and wheat intolerance.

Many people around the world suffer from celiac disease which is an auto immune disease that is triggered by gluten. Gluten is a protein which is found in grains such as barley, wheat and rye and other such grains. The lining of the small intestines become inflamed when gluten is ingested and will cause the person to suffer from diarrhea, bloating, abdominal gas, stomach cramps and weight loss. Once gluten is removed from your diet, the intestinal lining heals automatically.

Those that suffer from gluten intolerance should adhere to a gluten free diet for the rest of their lives. Due to grains being used in most foods a gluten free diet is not that easy to maintain. This is a hereditary condition and the disease is common in those with a Celtic and Scandinavian background. Here are some of the foods which are safe to eat and that are Gluten free such as arrowroot, buckwheat, corn, flax, flour which is made from seeds, nuts and beans, lean meat, fish and poultry. Fresh fruit and vegetables, potato, potato flour, rice, sago, rice bran, sorghum, distilled liquor and wine as well as ciders.

This diet is commonly referred to as a hunter gather diet as for thousands of years people ate fish, poultry and meat, vegetables, roots, seeds, and fruit and these foods were usually eaten raw. No dairy products were eaten during these times either. However, the modern Paleo diet the food is now cooked which eliminates any toxins and of course cooking makes the food edible.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more

Your 'New' Old Fashioned Diet - Paleo Recipies

Is The Paleo Diet Healthy :

Living the 'Old Fashioned' Way

Your 'New' Old Fashioned Diet - Paleo Recipies

Great grandma baked her own bread and grew her own vegetables. She canned what she grew for winter's consumption and when there was chicken for dinner, it came from the shed in the back yard. She didn't have a huge grocery bill because she made all the food from things she raised and grew. She raised chickens for their meat and eggs. The family cow provided her with milk, cream and butter. The children were sent to the woods for blueberries for pies. An apple tree and maybe a peach or pear tree also provided the ingredients for pies and jam. If she needed pocket money, she sold some of the eggs or vegetables she didn't need.

Grandma never dieted a day in her life. She had no 'labor-saving' devices and had to prepare all the meals from scratch. She also maintained a slim figure well into old age. By her standards, we have it soooo easy.

And because we have it easy, we eat too much, we don't get enough exercise, and we complain all the time.

When I was in my 20's and 30's I could eat several thousand calories a day and still lose weight. Today I have to watch every mouthful and I still have trouble with my weight. This isn't only because I exercise less, but most of the food I purchase has been processed in one or more ways.

Cattle and chickens are fed processed feeds; plants are chemically fertilized and fruit and vegetables picked long before they are ripe, and then exposed to gasses to ripen them.

When was the last time you had a peach or an apple as large as a softball... juicy and flavorful; or an orange picked from the tree in the evening and refrigerated, squeezed in the morning for breakfast. Salad picked fresh from the garden, tomatoes still warm from the sun. Sweet corn should be eaten within 12 hours of being picked, preferably it should be picked and eaten within 6 hours. How long before you bought your corn do you imagine it was picked? Out of season it could have been 2 or more days... all the nutrients are gone.

Farm stands offer an alternative to the supermarket. The vegetables are naturally grown and you can purchase as much or as little as you need. For the shopper who wants the best quality early morning is the best time to buy. There's no substitute for fresh sweet corn on the cob.

Today you can also find plans for a 'pocket garden' on your patio or porch. Hanging planters and window boxes offer a way to provide some fresh vegetables for the city dweller. Gardens can provide not only beauty but health as well.

I have found some ideas that you could use to improve your diet and health. For those of you that have never tried growing vegetables, a new experience awaits you. And if you don't succeed at first... try again. It's worth it... trust me.

“ How to pack a delicious day's lunch and snacks in minutes 100% Guaranteed ”

Read more