The Lowdown on Lectins—Dr. Steven Gundry Explains the Plant Paradox

Today we’re getting the lowdown on lectins from Dr. Steven Gundry, a surgeon who’s penned several cookbooks including the Plant Paradox Family Cookbook, The Plant Paradox, and The Longevity Paradox.

Lectins, as defined by the Harvard School of Public Health, are proteins that bind to carbohydrates, and “the same features that lectins use to defend plants in nature may cause problems during human digestion.”

According to Dr. Gundry, when native North and South American plants were brought back to Europe, these new compounds were introduced into the diets of our ancestors. “Getting to know new plant compounds in 500 years is like speed-dating in evolution. One of the things I propose is that you really can’t become tolerant to something that quickly.”

Foods he recommends limiting include plants in the nightshade family like potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers, but Dr. Gundry isn’t suggesting we live completely lectin-free. Instead, he promotes removing the “major mischievous lectins out of people’s diets.” Watch the video to learn more about his approach.