> >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