What is the best way to flush out the lectins. (2024)

Lectins are sticky, glue-like proteins found in all foods, especially plant foods. These proteins bind to carbohydrates. In the plant kingdom, it seems that many lectins have an insecticidal and antifungal role, helping to protect the plant. (1)The five food groups containing the most lectins are:Grains: Especially those containing gluten, such as wheat. This includes oils made from grain, like corn oil, and also condiments made from grains.Legumes: Beans, including soy and peanuts. Again, this includes oil, such as soy and peanut oil.Dairy: If a dairy animal is fed grain rather than grass fed.Nightshades: Common ones are tomato, potato, eggplant, and pepper.The best ways to mitigate the toxic effects of lectins are traditional food preparation methods, which include soaking, sprouting, and fermenting grains and legumes.You can ferment flour before cooking with it.Sourdough bread and a traditional flatbread from India called dosa are both made from fermented flours.Fermenting dairy, and even nightshades before using them in a meal, will also reduce the harmful effects of lectins in the body.How to ferment your nightshades: Next time you want salsa, spend a little extra time making you own and fermenting it with the Body Ecology Veggie Starter Culture.Unfortunately, the time-consuming step of soaking and sprouting is generally skipped in modern food processing. Fermentation is reserved only for popularly fermented foods, like yogurt, and even then the culture in sweetened, chemically-produced yogurt may be very weak and inactive.Also known as anti nutrients; lectins are found most abundantly in nuts, grains, and legumes (beans). The trick is to limit or remove these foods, not all lectins. If you absolutely must consume these foods then reduce the overall lectin load by soaking and sprouting your nuts/seeds, grains, and legumes, and be sure to slow-cook them for longer durations on low heat. Both sprouting and heating reduce the lectin load.

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