The contents of this thread on diet piqued my interested and I've spent the last week or so reading papers and blogs on the subject (as recommended by Paul_B!).
As a result, I am convinced that we shouldn't eat wheat. Any of us. In the thread referenced Toddy asserted that lectins are not poisonous, they are instead an allergen for some people. I think this distinction is semantic as 83% of the population have measurable abnormal immune response when exposed to gliadin (one of the proteins in gluten). That's 5 out of 6 people. Unfortunately, for most of them they show no symptoms, but their bloodstream is exposed to the contents of the gut all the same. Once the lectins pass into the bloodstream, they attach to cells and cause the body's immune response to kill the previously working cell. The mechanism is described here for those interested.
To quote one chap (a doctor with an interest in diet and nutrition):
His analysis is informed by this article in the BMJ.
So, 1 in 6 people are immune, the rest not. The problem is that without the very sensitive test for immune response, you cannot tell if you are one of the 1 in 6.
If anyone has any peer reviewed articles that refute this I'd be very interested to read them.
As a result, I am convinced that we shouldn't eat wheat. Any of us. In the thread referenced Toddy asserted that lectins are not poisonous, they are instead an allergen for some people. I think this distinction is semantic as 83% of the population have measurable abnormal immune response when exposed to gliadin (one of the proteins in gluten). That's 5 out of 6 people. Unfortunately, for most of them they show no symptoms, but their bloodstream is exposed to the contents of the gut all the same. Once the lectins pass into the bloodstream, they attach to cells and cause the body's immune response to kill the previously working cell. The mechanism is described here for those interested.
To quote one chap (a doctor with an interest in diet and nutrition):
The biggest circle in the Venn diagram encompasses 83% of the population all the smaller circles plus those who might show evidence of an innate response but in whom testing for antibodies may show nothing, and who therefore would never be known to have been damaged by gluten consumption, even if they had MS, schizophrenia, Hashimotos thyroiditis, Graves disease. Lupus, Type I diabetes, Sjogren disease, etc. or any other of the many diseases that travel with celiac as a consequence of leaky gut and ensuing molecular mimicry that occurs when you damage your gut with wheat.
His analysis is informed by this article in the BMJ.
So, 1 in 6 people are immune, the rest not. The problem is that without the very sensitive test for immune response, you cannot tell if you are one of the 1 in 6.
If anyone has any peer reviewed articles that refute this I'd be very interested to read them.