Rice, Potato, and Tomato May Be As Inflammatory As Wheat
Sayer Ji
Health Nut News
Originally posted on Green Med Info
Sep 4, 2016
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Lectins: Invisible Thorns
In a previous article this author discussed the “invisible thorn” found within all wheat products, including sprouted wheat bread and wheat grass, known as wheat lectin (technical name: Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)). This intrinsically inflammatory and endocrine disruptive substance was thoroughly reviewed (via MEDLINE) and identified to have a broad range of potentially health disruptive effects:
1) WGA may be Pro-inflammatory
2) WGA may be Immunotoxic
3) WGA may be Neurotoxic
4) WGA may be Cytotoxic
5) WGA may interfere with Gene Expression
6) WGA may disrupt Endocrine Function
7) WGA may be Cardiotoxic
8) WGA may adversely effect Gastrointestinal Function
9) WGA exhibits similarities with certain Viruses
Lectin Toxicity May Evade Antibody-Based Blood Tests
While it is clear that wheat lectin has potential to do harm, it must be emphasized that the type of harm it does is harder to diagnose than in classically defined wheat/gluten allergies and celiac disease. In other words, confirmation of intolerance will not be found in antibody, allergy or intestinal biopsy testing because the damage it does is direct, and not necessarily immune-mediated, or only secondarily so.
This diagnostic “invisibility” is why lectin consumption is rarely linked to the ailments that afflict those who consume them. While lectins are not the sole or primary cause of a wide range of disorders, they are a major factor in sustaining or reinforcing injuries or diseases once they are initiated and/or established in the body.
In the case of wheat lectin (WGA) this is due to the fact that it binds to, interacts and disrupts a basic component found within all neural, connective and epithelial tissue, namely, n-acetyl-glucosamine. Once WGA makes it through a compromised mucosa and/or digestive lining, for instance, it can exert systemic effects which easily become overlooked as being caused by consuming wheat.
So Why Do Plants Like Wheat Produce Lectins?
Nature engineers, within all species, a set of defenses against predation, though not all are as obvious as the thorns on a rose or the horns on a rhinoceros. Plants do not have the cell-mediated immunity of higher life forms, like ants, nor do they have the antibody driven, secondary immune systems of vertebrates with jaws.
They must rely on a much simpler, innate immunity. It is for this reason that seeds of the grass family, e.g. rice, wheat, spelt, rye, have exceptionally high levels of defensive glycoproteins known as lectins...
The Omnipresence of Chitin-Binding Lectin in the Western Diet
While eliminating wheat from the diet is an excellent and necessary step for improving health, it may not be alone sufficient, especially in those with serious health challenges. There are other lectins in the Western diet that have properties similar to wheat lectin (WGA), namely, “chitin-binding lectins.” Remember, “chitins” are long polymers of n-acetyl-glucosamine, the primary binding target of wheat lectin. Wheat lectin and “chitin-binding lectin” therefore share functional similarities. These chitin-binding lectin containing foods are:
1) Potato
2) Tomato
3) Barley
4) Rye
5) Rice
Yes, you are seeing correctly: potato and rice, which are two of the most commonly used ingredients in “gluten and wheat free” products, are on the list of foods which contain a lectin structurally and functionally similar to wheat lectin.
While the “nightshade” (potato and tomato) connection with inflammation has been known about for quite some time anecdotally, rice has rarely been considered problematic and has become something of a poster child for the wheat/gluten free industry which often substitutes it for gluten-containing ingredients.
The discovery that chitin-binding lectin is broadly distributed throughout cereal grasses sheds light on how the grain-free diet produces health results superior to that of eliminating wheat and gluten containing grains alone.