>
>Peas are NOT paleo, neither are Snow peas (which I presume are the same as
>snap peas- flat peas with tiny peas inside. Very tasty, but not paleo.
Maybe
>the shells are palo but the seeds are not as most seeds are inedible raw,
>the only exception being the edible shell nuts. ALL LEGUMES ARE NON-PALEO.
>This is referenced from Loren Cordain, and also from my lectin research.
All
>peas contain lectins that affect humans, ie they are toxic to us and
>therefore not paleo. Edible nuts have lectins too, but there is no data
>available that those partiucular lectins affect us, although I would like
to
>see more data. Like many things, if they don't cause problems, you won't
see
>much research on them. Peas also contain other toxins. OVerall peas are
less
>toxic than potatoes, beans (esp soybeans aka death on a stick) and cereals.
>That's why I sometimes call myself Ben the seed hater.
>Ref: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7190/1023


Extracted from this website:
<<that many lectins are (a) toxic, inflammatory, or both; (b)
resistant to
cooking and digestive enzymes; and (c) present in much of our food.2
It is
thus no surprise that they sometimes cause "food poisoning." But the
really
disturbing finding came with the discovery in 1989 that some food
lectins
get past the gut wall and deposit themselves in distant organs. 3 4 So
do
they cause real life diseases?

This is no academic question because diet is one part of the
environment
that is manipulable and because lectins have excellent antidotes, at
least
in vitro. Because of their precise carbohydrate specificities, lectins
can
be blocked by simple sugars and oligosaccharides. Wheat lectin, for
example,
is blocked by the sugar N-acetyl glucosamine and its polymers.5 These
natural compounds are potentially exploitable as drugs should lectin
induced
diseases be identified. >>

in that text i notice interesting things.
1 -resistant to cooking and digestive enzymes
2 -some pass the gut - ( so some don't )
3 -blocked by simples  sugars

It makes me suggest that because many plants contains toxins of some
sort
and that animals eat them any way ,it must exist a regulatory system
determining how much is enough.
My experience of eating instinctively,  non processed foods had show
me over
and over that thoses toxines becomes a problem when ingested beyond
the
"instinctive stop" ( change of taste when eaten in the raw
unprocessed
state). When the body need the nutrients that goes with thoses toxins
,it
have means to render them harmless .

The most visual experience can be made with pineapple . this fruit
contain
an enzyme capable of breaking down proteins , when eaten in excess (
that
can be very variable from time to time with the same person and from
person
to person) the enzyme start to digest the indide of the mouth and end
up
making you bleed ,before that the enzyme is inactivated ( by
substances in
saliva? ).

This regulatory system must operate at different levels ,mouth , gut ,
and
blood or cells
 cooking able somebody to eat beyond the "instinctive stop " very
easely. so
bypassing the mouth barrier,(1)

A gut,  bombarded with substances of differentes  origines  not
necessarely
wanted by the organism in the first place,  mixed together thru the
"cuisine
"process,  could become confused in what could be absorbed or not. (
gut
leaking sydrome ).(2)

I will not be surprise that the substances capable of inhibiting the
toxin
can be present in the food itself or in the digestive juices and
saliva
 when the body is expecting that food )

Quickly suggested but there is something there.

It make me also extend the foods  restriction proposed by Ray Audette
:< If
edible raw >

to:  If edible ( meaning pleasant to the taste at that moment ) and
eaten in
its raw undenatured  state.
I Can eat a fair amount of peas,  chickpeas, lentils ,fava beans  or
many
other different seeds ( flax or grains ...) fresh from the garden  or
sprouted in a smaller amount ( after being stored dry) with great
sensory
pleasure and no apparent problems .
It was not the case when i was eating them cooked ( first i was eating
huge
quantity of them  and the digestion was very heavy )


>>all legumes with the possible exception of garden
>>peas and sugar snap peas should be avoided on paleo.
>
>Why should those be exceptions ?

because in that state and eaten raw your sense of taste will simply
tell you
if those toxins can be handled by your organism. A garden pea have a
strong
stop , i am unable to enjoy the shell of  the snow pea myself  ( too
disgustingly sweet ), the seeds are okay but not as good  either as an
old
variety of english peas. ( snow peas are a recent invention), my son
don't
like them either but love the seeds .

Ps : i love the medical solution about selling simple sugars (
certainly
widely available in a diverse diet ) to "cure "the lectin problem.

jean-claude