On Wed, 20 Sep 2000, Hans Kylberg wrote:

> And there are lectins in most plant, if not all?!
> May I guess that the lectins in those plants that our ancestors *relied*
> on during the hard times that resulted in population bottlenecks, are
> "safe" lectins, as our ancestor where those who managed to procreate
> and thus had the best health because, among else, they happened to not
> be affected by those lectins. And we have inherited that immunity.
> The question is what plants that where, or rather what plants available
> today contain only those lectins? That is the big Paleo Question.

But, as my biologist colleagues are fond of reminding me, it is a
mistake to suppose that the result of this exposure to lectins
would be immunity to them.  Evolution doesn't guarantee perfect
adaptation.  It's quite possible that some paleo lectins still
have deleterious effects but, all things considered, our
ancestors were better off eating them than eating something else
that they might have eaten instead.

I think the recent discussion of oxalates is a good example of
this.  Oxalate, like phytate, acts as an antinutrient.  It
interferes with absorption of minerals.  Oxalate is nevertheless
present in any number of paleo foods, such as spinach and
sardines and rhubarb.  This antinutrient effect was apparently
not enough to make these foods completely unacceptable.  So we
eat them today, but we shouldn't think of them as totally benign.

Todd Moody
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