Plant Paradox Diet
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lectin-free diet (also known as the Plant Paradox diet) is a
fad diet A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; ...
promoted with the false claim that avoiding all foods that contain high amounts of
lectin Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are highly specific for sugar Moiety (chemistry), groups that are part of other molecules, so cause agglutination (biology), agglutination of particular cells or precipitation of glycoconjugates an ...
s will prevent and cure disease. There is no clinical evidence the lectin-free diet is effective to treat any disease and its claims have been criticized as
pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
.


Overview

The lectin-free diet forbids all foods that are high in lectins including
legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...
s (beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas),
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
s,
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
, nightshade vegetables (
tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
es and
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es), nuts, seeds and many others. The first writer to advocate a lectin-free diet was Peter J. D'Adamo, a naturopathic physician best known for promoting the
blood type diet The blood type diets are fad diets advocated by several authors, the most prominent of whom is Peter J. D'Adamo. These diets are based on the notion that blood type, according to the ABO blood group system, is the most important factor in determin ...
. D'Adamo has argued that lectins may damage people's blood type by interfering with digestion, food metabolism, hormones and insulin production so should be avoided. The lectin-free diet has been popularized by cardiologist and former professor of surgery and pediatrics6-30-2003 2001 - 2003 Bulletin Loma Linda University. https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=sm_bulletin
Steven Gundry Steven Robert Gundry (born July 11, 1950) is an American physician, low-carbohydrate diet author and former cardiothoracic surgeon. Gundry is the author of ''The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight ...
, who wrote the book called ''The Plant Paradox''. Gundry claims he has discovered that lectins cause most human diseases, and erroneously claims that his diet will prevent and cure them. His book argues that eating tomatoes incites "a kind of chemical warfare in our bodies, causing inflammatory reactions that can lead to weight gain and serious health conditions." When questioned about the high consumption of beans and grains amongst long-lived people in the blue zones, Gundry says that such lectin foods are countered by their large intake of
olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...
polyphenols, fish and red wine. Gundry has stated that his lectin-free diet consists of a "cornucopia of vegetables, like kale, spinach, broccoli and sprouts, avocados, limited amounts of high-quality protein sources, and some dairy products and olive oil." He says that "arthritis, most coronary artery disease, acne, eczema, and the autoimmune diseases are all caused or worsened by lectins." Gundry has a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
, because he sells supplements that purportedly protect against effects of lectins. In one infomercial that lasted almost an hour, he pronounced that supplies are running low, and told viewers to act immediately and order as much as they could store. The necessity of supplements is similarly the crucial argument of his book, in which he writes "getting all of the nutrients you need simply cannot be done without supplements." Gundry sells a "lectin shield" that is "designed to neutralize the effects of lectins" for $79.99.


Reception

For
Science-Based Medicine ''Science-Based Medicine'' is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society, and run by Steve ...
,
Harriet Hall Harriet A. Hall (July 2, 1945 – January 11, 2023) was an American family medicine, family physician, U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, author, Science communication, science communicator, and scientific skepticism, skeptic. She wrote about alterna ...
said that Gundry's diet was not science-based and that following it risked dietary deficiencies. Preliminary studies have revealed health benefits from lectin consumption and minute evidence of harm. Foods high in lectins such as beans and grains are soaked and boiled to significantly reduce their lectin content.
Megan Rossi Megan Rossi (born 10 October 1988) is a dietitian, nutritionist and author specialising in the microbiome. Her PhD in gut health received the Dean's Award top 5% for Outstanding Research Higher Degree. Rossi founded the website The Gut Health D ...
, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the
British Dietetic Association The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is a trade union for dietitians in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1936 and became a certified union in 1982. It is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. H ...
has commented that lectins are relatively easy to remove by cooking and preparing in the right way so are not a concern for most people. She also noted that studies have shown that lectins possess "potential anti-cancerous effects". A 2019 article in the ''
World Journal of Gastroenterology ''World Journal of Gastroenterology'' is a weekly peer-reviewed open access medical journal that covers research in gastroenterology. It was established in 1995 and is published by Baishideng Publishing Group. The editor-in-chief is Andrzej S. Tarn ...
'' suggested that lectin-restricted dieting could become a "big food fad".


See also

*
Antinutrient Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Nutrition studies focus on antinutrients commonly found in food sources and beverages. Antinutrients may take the form of drugs, chemicals that natur ...
*
Quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...


References


External links


New Food Fad: Lectin-Free Diet
{{Fad diets Fad diets Gluten-free diet Lectins Pseudoscience