On Sat, 24 Apr 1999, Susan Prosser wrote:

> Hi - I'm a lurker on low carb lists mostly following Atkins but moving toward
> Goldberg OMara also interested in learning more about Paleo. Could one of you
> let me know what lectins are. TIA Susan

Sorry about the delay.  Lectins are are type of protein (actually
a glycoprotein) found in various foods.  They have the property
of attaching to certain cells and causing them to agglutinate, or
clump together.  When this happens, the immune system is
activated and macrophages are sent to the agglutinated cells to
engulf and destroy them.

To put it in different terms, lectins are immune system
activating proteins.  They are found in just about all foods, but
in highest concentrations in plants.  Legumes have the highest
concentrations of lectins, but they are also present in fruits,
nuts, meats, and seafood.

It is known that blood cells of a given ABO type will be
agglutinated by some lectins and not others, and this is
not the same for each blood type.  Naturopathic physician Peter
D'Adamo has made this the basis (or part of the basis) of his
book _Eat Right for Your Type_, in which he recommends eating
only foods that contain lectins that don't agglutinate one's
blood type.  His book also contains other dietary recommendations
not related to lectins.

The only reason for mentioning it here is that there is a strong
overlap between his theory and Neanderthin on the idea that
"foreign proteins" in the diet are the source of health problems.
There is considerable difference, however, between the two books
on the question of what counts as a foreign protein.  In
Neanderthin, a foreign protein is a protein in a food that our
paleolithic ancestors could not have eaten.  In ER4YT a foreign
protein is a lectin that agglutinates one's blood type.

Todd Moody
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