On Mon, 6 Aug 2001 23:27:34 +1000, Alison Whitwood <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Hi folks,
>
>Do any of you know what foods contain lectins and how much is in those
>foods? It's the grains, dairy,legumes and nightshade veggies.

Almost all plants and some animals contain lectins.
They are the natural defense against beeing eaten, mainly against
insects.
Therefore basically lectings are natural and paleo.
But there is the interesting question which lectin may be particularly
dangerous or not.
Animals (including humans) are adapted to eat food with lectins by various
anti lectin mechanisms. As are A-class antigens (IGA) and macrosugar
molecules.

From D'Adamo (ER4YT) we have compilations of which food's lectins may
be particularly deleterious for which *blood group* .
Of course this assumes that lectins may enter into the blood stream (which
they don't except for some diseased condition). But gut wall cells are said
to have "some blood group specific properties" as well.
See a lectin list per blood group at:
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sshapiro/ER4YT/Composite_Screen_Caucasian.html
I think it can give hints which food stuff may be more or less problematic.

In my own opinion those plants/fruit/seeds which are the most nutritions
have the best (and more dangerous therefore) lectin protection.
They have more to protect.
Some, like nightshades, are particularly successfull because of their good
protection from beeing eaten (lectins and other stuff).

Many lectins are degraded by heat (and other processing like germination).
I think the ability to cook food enabled humans to eat a much broader range
of more nutritious food items (plants and meat too) by degrading lectins and
other dangerous ingredients (for meat parasites).
That should have been a big evolutionary advantage.
Most neolithic staples are not edible unprocessed, in amounts.

>Are quinoa and millet allowed on the paleo diet (they do contain lectins)

Depends on the definition. Most purists would cry no-no.
Quinoa is biologically a fruit (less protection to expect) as Todd noted and
millet is gluten free (no lectin, but allergy-prone) and free of the famous
WGA (wheat germ agglutin, the wheat lectin).
Millet may be the first domesticated grass (in africa) and is the only
basic (non-acid) yielding high protein food I'm aware of, besindes almonds.

Note that when "gene-engineers" "make" plants  fit against "pests" they
usually insert a gene which makes the plant produce a foreign type of
lectin normally not found in these.
Fights the pests and may cause additional health problems never thought of.

Amadeus S.