​The 5 Main Categories Of Lectin Foods

​We consider there to be 5 main categories of lectin foods.

1. Seeds2. Grains ​& Pseudo-grains3. Legumes4. Nightshades5. Dairy

Which ones should you cut out? That depends. We recommend doing an elimination diet to help you determine which foods are working for/against you.

If you’d like some help with that, click here.

​We created a free training for you, to help you feel even better and avoid some of the biggest problems we’ve seen people have on a low lectin diet:

Seeds

Seeds are one of the most protected types of plant foods that people eat.

When you put a seed down, it doesn’t automatically start growing. Only when the conditions are just right, does the seed start to grow. Once it’s exposed to water, it can begin to sprout, and many nutrients become more available.

You can think of it like the seed is holding onto things, and protecting itself with plant toxins. Once the conditions for growth are available, it begins to sprout, and plant toxins are reduced and nutrients become more available.

Seeds are in one sense, more important to protect than other parts of the plant, because from the seed stems the rest of the growth. As such, you can think of the seeds as being more protected and generally as having more lectins and other plant toxins than other foods.

Lectins and other plant toxins can deter consumption of eating such as by bugs and animals. And even when animals eat seeds, they often poop them out whole again, completely resisting digestion!

Some examples of seeds include cashews (commonly thought of as nuts), flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.

​It can be very daunting trying to navigate which foods to eat, and how to eat to feel great and achieve your goals. If you’d like any help with that, click here​​​​.

Grains & Pseudo-Grains

Grains are another one of the main categories of lectin that we consider. And along with that, pseudo-grains. Pseudo-grains look like grains but are technically not considered grains.

Perhaps the most commonly known grain is wheat, such as in bread. Pseudo-grains include things like rice and oats.

Grains and pseudo-grains also seem to contain higher amounts of plant toxins and lectins than other foods typically do.

Legumes

Legumes are fairly well-known as foods that typically cause people problems, probably third most in common knowledge to grains and dairy.

Legumes include things like peas, beans, and peanuts.

The amount of lectins in beans for example is typically much higher than with most foods, so much so that eating beans raw can cause lectin poisoning. This amount is reduced with cooking, but still some amount of lectins remains leftover.

​Nightshades

Nightshades are a lesser known category of food that are becoming more well-known. They also seem to be higher in lectins than most foods.

They include things like tomatoes, potatoes (not including sweet potatoes), and peppers.

​Dairy

​Dairy is perhaps the second most known category of foods that seem to cause people problems, just behind or perhaps even more well-known than grains.

​Dairy includes things like cheese, milk, and butter. It seems that some dairy foods may be fine with people, whereas others are not. (The amount consumed can also play a role, whether it’s a slice of cheese or ​a gallon of milk.)

This is not unlike other lectin foods though, where some foods may cause people problems, whereas others don’t.

We recommend that you ​perform an elimination diet, to help you find out which foods are working for/against you. It can feel daunting understanding how to eat to feel great and achieve your goals. If you’d like some help with that, click here.