On Wed, 20 Sep 2000 21:40:42 +1000, Ben Balzer <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Lectins can do the following:
>-cross the intact intestinal epithelium and appear in the bloodstream and
>thence distant organs.
>...long list ...

Lectins are very active biological molecules and when appearing in the
bloodstream will cause many nasty effects. Such which are commonly
found
today, like automimune diseases. All easy to agree.

The deciding point is: You say "lectins *can* do... and *can* appear
in the
bloodstream".
But when *will* they do this?
That's the question.

Not everybody who one ate wheat, peas or beans has antibodies against
them in the blood. But they would be there, if the lectins/proteins
would
have passed.

When and how can lectins enter and such a "leaky gut" emerge?

>
>See why I don't eat peas?

Browsing through D'Adamos lists (once compiled by Stephe Shapiro) i
see
that almost any plant (and some animals too) have various lectins in
them.
Not only peas.
Legumes just have a potent and early studied lectin.

Now, should humans stop eating plants?
What leaves this to us? Meat only?

Evolutionary, before Stephansson's 1 year meat only experiment, plant
free
times represent about one zillionth of all evolutionary time.
The ice age winters and arctic winters. Probably most out of our
anchestorship.

Lentils and peas have been eaten in middle europe and mediterraneum
for at
least 6000 years. Why didn't they get sick? Why don't generally people
get
sick from peas?

Why the quick rise of all this autoimune diseases only in the last few
decades, when legume consumption drastically *de*-creased?

What I forgot to mention in my last posting.
All those spicy "hard" items (like lemon kernels) have a role
in th organism. For treating against parasites and for maintaining the
gut
symbionts. This kind of usage suggests, that over the yearmillions of
evolution the body has been used to the occurance of lectins (and
other
"toxins"). Starting to rely on them. Like relying on external input of
ascorbate and folate.

>...interlibrary loan type book.. well written... ... but nearly as
>exhausting as climbing a small Himalayan mountain.

Do you have some less expensive and less Himalayan sources available?
Preferably net-available and Bavarian-Alps-style?

cheers

Amadeus