Originally Posted by
Robert Santana
Thanks for the interesting post!
The first thing I want to point out is the obvious: most Americans aren’t consuming foods high in lectins. Think about it, are Americans overconsuming fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes?
I pulled this guys publications and none of them have made it through peer review. They are all poster abstracts in JAMA journals. While this is good, it is still not the same as a rigorous peer review and leaves out many details of the study design.
Aside from that the limited information on the study design has many glaring holes. In one abstract the trial followed a large sample of adults post MI for ~4.5 years while “on” a “physician coached” lectin restricted diet high in olive oil and polyphenols. Aside from the use of self reported dietary intake to assess nutrient intake, the researchers “manipulated” multiple variables. I use quotes because it’s difficult to really know what was done when we rely on self reported data. That aside, they instructed them to eat more olive oil and less lectin containing foods. So how do we know what their baseline lectin consumption was? Is it possible that these folks just went from eating empty calories and junk food to get eating reasonably better because they just had a heart attack? No mention of exercise was mentioned and post mi patients undergo cardiac rehab and are typically instructed to continue exercising independently.
In short, the claim is an over reach and not something I’d base dietary recommendations on.