The Lectin-free diet (also known as the Plant Paradox diet) is a fad diet promoted with the false claim that avoiding all foods that contain high amounts of lectins will prevent and cure disease. [1] There is no clinical evidence the lectin-free diet is effective to treat any disease and its claims have been criticized as pseudoscientific. [2] [3] [4]
The lectin-free diet forbids all foods that are high in lectins including legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas), grains, fruit, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes and potatoes), nuts, seeds and many others. [2] [5] 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. 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. [6]
The lectin-free diet has been popularized by cardiologist and former professor of surgery and pediatrics [7] Steven Gundry, who wrote the book called The Plant Paradox. [5] Gundry claims he has discovered that lectins cause most human diseases, and erroneously claims that his diet will prevent and cure them. [1] 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." [8] 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 polyphenols, fish and red wine. [8] 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." [9] He says that "arthritis, most coronary artery disease, acne, eczema, and the autoimmune diseases are all caused or worsened by lectins." [9]
Gundry has a conflict of interest, 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." [8] Gundry sells a "lectin shield" that is "designed to neutralize the effects of lectins" for $79.99. [8]
For Science-Based Medicine, Harriet Hall said that Gundry's diet was not science-based and that following it risked dietary deficiencies. [1]
Preliminary studies have revealed health benefits from lectin consumption and minute evidence of harm. [5] Foods high in lectins such as beans and grains are soaked and boiled to significantly reduce their lectin content. Megan Rossi, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association 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". [9]
A 2019 article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology suggested that lectin-restricted dieting could become a "big food fad". [10]
Joel Fuhrman is an American celebrity doctor who advocates a plant-based diet termed the "nutritarian" diet which emphasizes nutrient-dense foods. His practice is based on his nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, as well as promoting his products and books. He has written books promoting his dietary approaches including the bestsellers Eat to Live, Super Immunity, The Eat to Live Cookbook, The End of Dieting (2016) and The End of Heart Disease (2016). He sells a related line of nutrition-related products.
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; as such it is often considered a type of pseudoscientific diet. Fad diets are usually not supported by clinical research and their health recommendations are not peer-reviewed, thus they often make unsubstantiated statements about health and disease.
Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are highly specific for sugar groups that are part of other molecules, so cause agglutination of particular cells or precipitation of glycoconjugates and polysaccharides. Lectins have a role in recognition at the cellular and molecular level and play numerous roles in biological recognition phenomena involving cells, carbohydrates, and proteins. Lectins also mediate attachment and binding of bacteria, viruses, and fungi to their intended targets.
The Mediterranean diet is a concept first invented in 1975 by the American biologist Ancel Keys and chemist Margaret Keys. The diet took inspiration from the eating habits and traditional food typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy, and formulated in the early 1960s. It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries, and from the Atlantic diet of northwestern Spain and Portugal. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.
A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of prolamin proteins found in wheat, as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclusion of oats in a gluten-free diet remains controversial, and may depend on the oat cultivar and the frequent cross-contamination with other gluten-containing cereals.
Vegetarian nutrition is the set of health-related challenges and advantages of vegetarian diets.
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
Wheatgrass is the freshly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant, used as a food, drink, or dietary supplement. Wheatgrass is served freeze dried or fresh, and so it differs from wheat malt, which is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is allowed to grow longer and taller than wheat malt.
A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm.
Leaky gut syndrome is a hypothetical and medically unrecognized condition that is distinct from the scientific phenomenon of increased intestinal permeability commonly known as "leaky gut". Claims for the existence of "leaky gut syndrome" as a distinct medical condition come mostly from nutritionists and practitioners of alternative medicine. Proponents claim that a "leaky gut" causes chronic inflammation throughout the body that results in a wide range of conditions, including myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, migraines, multiple sclerosis, and autism. There is little evidence to support this hypothesis.
Alkaline diet describes a group of loosely related diets based on the misconception that different types of food can have an effect on the pH balance of the body. It originated from the acid ash hypothesis, which primarily related to osteoporosis research. Proponents of the diet believe that certain foods can affect the acidity (pH) of the body and that the change in pH can therefore be used to treat or prevent disease. However, their claims are false, and there is no evidence supporting the claimed mechanisms of this diet, which is not recommended by dietitians or other health professionals.
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 determining a healthy diet, and each author recommends a distinct diet for each blood type.
FODMAPs or fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols are short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and ferment in the colon. They include short-chain oligosaccharide polymers of fructose (fructans) and galactooligosaccharides, disaccharides (lactose), monosaccharides (fructose), and sugar alcohols (polyols), such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol. Most FODMAPs are naturally present in food and the human diet, but the polyols may be added artificially in commercially prepared foods and beverages.
Mark Adam Hyman is an American physician and author. He is the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center. Hyman was a regular contributor to the Katie Couric Show until the show's cancellation in 2013. He writes a blog called The Doctor’s Farmacy, which examines many topics related to human health and welfare, and also offers a podcast by the same name. He is the author of several books on nutrition and longevity, including Food Fix, Eat Fat, Get Thin, and Young Forever.
David Perlmutter is an American celebrity doctor, author, low-carbohydrate diet advocate and promoter of functional medicine.
Steven R. Gundry 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 Gain, which promotes the controversial lectin-free diet. He runs an experimental clinic investigating the impact of a lectin-free diet on health.
Clean eating is a fad diet based on the belief that consuming whole foods and avoiding convenience food and other processed foods offers certain health benefits. Variations of the diet may also exclude gluten, grains, and/or dairy products and advocate the consumption of raw food. Extreme versions of the diet have been criticized for lacking scientific evidence and potentially posing health risks.
The carnivore diet is a high-protein fad diet in which only animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy are consumed. The carnivore diet is associated with pseudoscientific health claims. The diet lacks dietary fiber, can lead to deficiencies of vitamins, and can increase the risk of chronic diseases. The lion diet is a highly restrictive form of the carnivore diet in which only beef is eaten.
Protein Power is a high-protein, low carbohydrate fad diet developed by physician Michael R. Eades and his wife Mary Dan Eades.
