Most of our foods contain particular compounds that, by nature, strain our digestive systems. While that doesn’t mean we can’t tolerate them, research is discovering why some foods are so tough to digest, and the implications of consuming them anyways. And in the case of beans and legumes (to name but a few), the leading culprit we’ve found is lectins.

Lectins are a protein found in various plant and animal-based foods. In fact, almost all plant and animal substances contain them in small quantities.

We know that proteins are the building blocks of muscles and are critical to our health, so the question for most of us is: if lectins are just proteins, how could they be bad for us?

Simply put, lectins bind cells together. Specifically: sugars. They’re also in a category known as “antinutrients” because of their ability to impair the body’s ability to absorb nutrients properly. Because we can’t digest lectins, they tend to pass unnoticed through our systems.

For most people, this means that antinutrients like lectins pose no problems. In small amounts, lectins have numerous health. They’ve been shown to have an essential role in immune function, cell growth, and may even be helpful in cancer therapy.

This does not mean we should include them in every meal. A diet rich in lectins can demolish your gut lining and tight junctions (tight junctions are the areas where the membranes of two adjacent cells join together to form a barrier). This is especially true for those who suffer from GI disorders or immune dysfunctions.

Nature never intended for us to digest lectins, they were meant for the protection of their host organism. They act as a natural insecticide, protecting plants, grains, and legumes from natural predators. When predatory insects come in contact with them, the lectins disrupt insect metabolism entirely, preventing invasions and attacks on the plants.

So, let’s revisit our childhood and rewrite that schoolyard rhyme: the more lectins you consume, the more discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, and most importantly, malabsorption of nutrients you might experience.

If these symptoms sound familiar, it’s because foods with high lectin content are everyday staples in our diet. Foods such as dairy, nightshades (tomatoes and peppers), whole grains, seeds, GMO’s, and yes, legumes are in the top 30% of lectin-containing foods concerning content per portion.

Some experts may suggest that removing lectins from your diet altogether can nourish the gut back from antinutrient-caused distress, making the change critical to GI and immunity disorders treatments. However, we would caution against removing entire categories of foods from your diet unless it is absolutely necessary. Especially because high-lectin foods do have some benefits, like fibre and minerals.

An alternative to eliminating lectins from your diet is to prepare them properly. There are techniques from around the globe that weaken and eliminate lectin proteins, making these staple foods much more comfortable to digest and enjoy.

Below are our four favourite ways of preparing legumes, grains, and seeds so you can keep them in your diet without worrying about the adverse effects of lectin protein: