Jeuxles wrote:
>> Lectins are powerful critters. Their agglutinin effect on  bloods and 
>> their nutrient inhibiting properties in the lining of the stomach is 
>> but the tip of the iceberg!
>>
>
> What might this suggest about eating vegetables, many of which also 
> contain lectins?  (chard, zucchini, cucumber, onions, turnips, etc)
>
>
Apparently lectins are widespread in the plant kingdom but not all are 
harmful to man.  I guess nature saw it fit to allow us to adapt to 
lectins in apples, cabbage, celery etc.. I found an interesting paper 
"*ABO Blood Type Specific Lectins in Edible Foods"  ** 
*http://www.owendot.com/Health_Science/Lectins_in_Foods.html. 
<http://www.owendot.com/Health_Science/Lectins_in_Foods.html> The paper 
has a table showing lectins in common foods and their blood type affect 
on agglutination (clumping}. Now I don't have specifics on the health 
ramifications of "clumping," but it doesn't sound like something I would 
encourage for my blood cells. Most of the lectins in paleo approved 
vegetables don't cause clumping. So, in that respect, I guess we 
pro-magnon  wannabees  can still munch away at will on celery sticks 
etc... I was somewhat disappointed to find that the lectins in tomatoes 
were blacklisted as blood cell clumpers. Hmm.... I once read that 
tomatoes are toxic to dogs?  Ray Audette in "NEADERTHIN" states that 
domestic dogs and man have very similar digestive systems....Knowing 
what *my* dogs will eat convinces me that we sure don't have the same 
'taste!" But aside from that, it is interesting that dogs have a low 
tolerance to tomatoes and lectins in tomatoes cause clumpting?

Another interesting article  titled *"A LOAD OF CROP*" 
http://dragon.zoo.utoronto.ca/~jlm-gmf/T5301/Lectins.html 
<http://dragon.zoo.utoronto.ca/%7Ejlm-gmf/T5301/Lectins.html> discusses 
research on  lectins as transgenic insecticides. "I/n conclusion, the 
research on the effects of GNA lectin show that it is an effective 
insecticide against a wide variety of insects, including non-target 
insects. Thus, more research must be conducted to reveal the full 
potential effects of GNA lectin, if it is to be used as a transgenic 
insecticide. In addition, since very little is research has been 
conducted to understand the interaction between GNA lectin and human 
glycoproteins, more investigation must be done before it is used in 
transgenic crops grown for human consumption./"

Insects and humans both belong to the Fauna kingdom. whereas  plants are 
in the Flora kingdom. So, I'm out on a limb here, but insects and humans 
probably have more in common then humans and plants, so therefore 
anything that is acutely toxic to insects are probably chronicly  toxic 
to humans. It's bad enough that nature saw fit to inhibit us from eating 
its grains and beans but for us to find the baddest lectin on the block 
and then GM (transgenic) into crops for human consumption hmmm

Don