Plant Toxins

Plant based foods have for as long as I remember had a halo effect. We were always told that it is the healthiest type of food. To which I asked early on “why?” Eventually it was beaten into me enough times that I just believed it at face value. As I got older, I learned it was because we “needed” fiber and that vegetables and fruits had vital nutrients. Imagine the surprise I felt upon discovering that fiber was not indeed “essential”, rather it only made GI symptoms worse and that the vitamins found in plants are not readily bioavailable, meaning we are hardly able to absorb them. But, beyond that, plants have even more noxious tricks up their sleeves that actively harm us.

Lectins

Lectins are compounds that plants use as a defense mechanism being as they immobile organisms vulnerable to whichever herbivore or pests that set its sights on them. Since plants can’t just run away or fight back, they have to result to using chemical warfare. These proteins bind to sugars, primarily to deter growth fungi and insects. However, our own cells also have sugars that lectins bind to which can then result in a myriad of symptoms.

For starters, recall that insulin is an energy storing signal that we want to avoid activating. Lectins can actually trigger a persistent insulin signal independent of insulin or sugar, making it very difficult to lose fat.

Moreover, lectins also persistently activate leptin signaling. Leptin is the satiety hormone. Its levels rise after meals to signal that we have eaten enough. But in the case with lectins, it produces leptin resistance, reducing the effectiveness of the satiety signal, causing the affected individual to consume more than they actually need, again leading to increased weight gain. Of further note, lectins also induce histamine release in the stomach, consequently leading to heartburn symptoms. Most surprisingly of all, lectins have even been found to be able to travel up nerves leading back up to the brain increasing risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Watch to 13:12

One specific lectin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) inhibits fungi growth and binds to bacterial cell walls. It can damage the gut lining leading to leaky gut and enter systemic circulation causing widespread inflammation.

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Leaky gut opens the doors for a whole host of other autoimmune diseases due to compromised barrier between our bodies to the external environment in the gut.

Protease inhibitors

These plant compounds interfere with the function of proteases. Proteases break down protein in the gut so that it can be absorbed. With this function compromised, an affected organism won’t be able to absorb the proper amount of protein.

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Photosensitizers

When these compounds are struck by light, they cause a reaction that leads to skin sloughing off as if it was burned from the inside.

Watch 28:26

Hormone Disrupters

There are compounds found in plants that closely resemble hormone signaling molecules. If consumed on a consistent basis or without proper treatment, hormone balance can be thrown off leading to negative health consequences.

Phytoestrogens in soy

Genistein found in soy is structurally similar the estrogen hormone
Watch to 36:07

Oxalates

These are molecules commonly found in plants that easily form crystals. These crystal formations in plants are normal, but when found in human cells it is pathologic. Oxalate kidney stones make up 80% of the cases today, 70 years ago only 30% were. Even though kidney stones are the most prominent example of this problematic compound, oxalates accumulate in body tissues and will interfere with normal cell activities in an insidious fashion.

Can you get rid of oxalates by cooking? Unfortunately, oxalates are heat stable and will persist through cooking processes.

If you must eat greens, then consider these. Otherwise, with oxalate containing vegetables, do not eat them year round, instead eat them in a “season”.

TL;DR

Phytotoxins are plant compounds made for chemical defense. When ingested, negative health effects can manifest in nutrient deficiencies or autoimmune diseases. Some peoples’ bodies are well equipped to handle these plant toxins, so they are able to tolerate them and are relatively unaffected. However, even if you might not notice any acute toxic effects, a chronic low level exposure to these toxins can hinder your health in subtle ways or eventually produce symptoms. If you are experiencing some unexplained health symptoms, you might want to reconsider some plant foods and remove them from your diet at least temporarily to see if that might resolve the issue.

Other resources:

The Shocking Facts of Plant Foods – Dr Georgia Ede

Paul Saladino, MD on Everything You Thought You Knew About Food Might Be Wrong

https://sallyknorton.com/

https://thekidneydietitian.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Oxalates-in-Food-Summer-2020.pdf

Sally Norton, MPH on Oxalates, Plants Hurting Your Health, and Never Eating Spinach Again

Toxic Minerals and Plants

Papers:

Shechter Y. (1983). Bound lectins that mimic insulin produce persistent insulin-like activities. Endocrinology113(6), 1921–1926. https://doi.org/10.1210/endo-113-6-1921

Kamikubo, Y., Dellas, C., Loskutoff, D. J., Quigley, J. P., & Ruggeri, Z. M. (2008). Contribution of leptin receptor N-linked glycans to leptin binding. The Biochemical journal410(3), 595–604. https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20071137

Pramod, S. N., Venkatesh, Y. P., & Mahesh, P. A. (2007). Potato lectin activates basophils and mast cells of atopic subjects by its interaction with core chitobiose of cell-bound non-specific immunoglobulin E. Clinical and experimental immunology148(3), 391–401. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2249.2007.03368.x

Haas, H., Falcone, F. H., Schramm, G., Haisch, K., Gibbs, B. F., Klaucke, J., Pöppelmann, M., Becker, W. M., Gabius, H. J., & Schlaak, M. (1999). Dietary lectins can induce in vitro release of IL-4 and IL-13 from human basophils. European journal of immunology29(3), 918–927. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1521-4141(199903)29:03<918::AID-IMMU918>3.0.CO;2-T

Austin, G. L., Thiny, M. T., Westman, E. C., Yancy, W. S., Jr, & Shaheen, N. J. (2006). A very low-carbohydrate diet improves gastroesophageal reflux and its symptoms. Digestive diseases and sciences51(8), 1307–1312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-005-9027-7

Svensson, E., Horváth-Puhó, E., Thomsen, R.W., Djurhuus, J.C., Pedersen, L., Borghammer, P. and Sørensen, H.T. (2015), Vagotomy and subsequent risk of Parkinson’s disease. Ann Neurol., 78: 522-529. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.24448

Zheng, J., Wang, M., Wei, W., Keller, J. N., Adhikari, B., King, J. F., King, M. L., Peng, N., & Laine, R. A. (2016). Dietary Plant Lectins Appear to Be Transported from the Gut to Gain Access to and Alter Dopaminergic Neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans, a Potential Etiology of Parkinson’s Disease. Frontiers in nutrition3, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2016.00007

Junker, Y., Zeissig, S., Kim, S. J., Barisani, D., Wieser, H., Leffler, D. A., Zevallos, V., Libermann, T. A., Dillon, S., Freitag, T. L., Kelly, C. P., & Schuppan, D. (2012). Wheat amylase trypsin inhibitors drive intestinal inflammation via activation of toll-like receptor 4. The Journal of experimental medicine209(13), 2395–2408. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20102660

Drago, S., El Asmar, R., Di Pierro, M., Grazia Clemente, M., Tripathi, A., Sapone, A., Thakar, M., Iacono, G., Carroccio, A., D’Agate, C., Not, T., Zampini, L., Catassi, C., & Fasano, A. (2006). Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeability: Effects on celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines. Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology41(4), 408–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/00365520500235334

Dalla Pellegrina, C., Perbellini, O., Scupoli, M. T., Tomelleri, C., Zanetti, C., Zoccatelli, G., Fusi, M., Peruffo, A., Rizzi, C., & Chignola, R. (2009). Effects of wheat germ agglutinin on human gastrointestinal epithelium: insights from an experimental model of immune/epithelial cell interaction. Toxicology and applied pharmacology237(2), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2009.03.012

de Punder, K., & Pruimboom, L. (2013). The dietary intake of wheat and other cereal grains and their role in inflammation. Nutrients5(3), 771–787. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu5030771

Doerge, D. R., & Sheehan, D. M. (2002). Goitrogenic and estrogenic activity of soy isoflavones. Environmental health perspectives110 Suppl 3(Suppl 3), 349–353. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.02110s3349

Chavarro, J. E., Toth, T. L., Sadio, S. M., & Hauser, R. (2008). Soy food and isoflavone intake in relation to semen quality parameters among men from an infertility clinic. Human reproduction (Oxford, England)23(11), 2584–2590. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/den243

Habito, R. C., Montalto, J., Leslie, E., & Ball, M. J. (2000). Effects of replacing meat with soyabean in the diet on sex hormone concentrations in healthy adult males. The British journal of nutrition84(4), 557–563. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007114500001872

Dinsdale, E. C., & Ward, W. E. (2010). Early exposure to soy isoflavones and effects on reproductive health: a review of human and animal studies. Nutrients2(11), 1156–1187. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu2111156

Cao, Y., Calafat, A. M., Doerge, D. R., Umbach, D. M., Bernbaum, J. C., Twaddle, N. C., Ye, X., & Rogan, W. J. (2009). Isoflavones in urine, saliva, and blood of infants: data from a pilot study on the estrogenic activity of soy formula. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology19(2), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2008.44

Marengo, S. R., Zeise, B. S., Wilson, C. G., MacLennan, G. T., & Romani, A. M. (2013). The trigger-maintenance model of persistent mild to moderate hyperoxaluria induces oxalate accumulation in non-renal tissues. Urolithiasis41(6), 455–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00240-013-0584-5

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