Polly, about lentil lectins

[artteacher]

Hi Polly,

I just wanted to share my experiment with neutralizing the lectin content of lentils. If it is the lectins in them that give me problems, by following instructions to eliminate them, I should be able to eat lentils, right?

So I soaked 1 cup lentils in 3 cups water plus 1 T. vinegar (the instructions said to make them more "digestible" soak in yogurt water, or acidophilus water, or vinegar) for 24 hours. I drained the water, rinsed them, and made lentil soup, simmering for 4 hours. (the instructions said to simmer 2-8 hours).

My digestive turnaround time is 30 hours. Normally I would have explosive D in 30 hours, and a lot of bloating and gas during the 30 hours.

What happened this time is that I had no bloating, no gas, no stomach aches or rumbling at all - I thought there might be something to this method. My stomach felt completely normal. But I woke up every hour on the hour the first night, same thing the second night. So I knew something was up. And at the 30 hour mark I had the greasy pasty BM's that accompany a forbidden food, AND some previously unseen hemmeroids.

These instructions were given to make lentils more digestible - not to specifically kill lectins. So if you ever run across information on the subject, let me know. I thought it was interesting that I didn't get AS sick as I might have, so it did help to a significant degree. For someone who just gets gas from beans, this would definitely work. In retrospect, acidophilus/vinegar probably just breaks complex carbs into simple carbs. (Although sprouting/rinsing/long simmering might address the lectin content). Hmmmmm.

I could try acidophilus water - I'm torn: the soup was REALLY good. The consequences weren't so good, though.

Love,
Marshathelabrat

P.S. Since I wrote this I did more research, and apparently soaking like I did, and discarding the water, gets rid of 80% of the sugars that cause gas. (from the Wholefoods website) Vinegar keeps the hull from turning to a soluble fiber and getting mushy when you boil them. It's actually really interesting stuff) Soaking should have killed all the lectins according to some, but I don't know if that's reliable.

See ya!

[celia]

Marsha,

That's really interesting! Thanks for telling us about the experiment.

Hugs, Celia

[Polly]

Marsha,

Verrrrry interesting! I have tried soaking peas/beans extra time in the past before cooking them because "they" say it makes them more digestible. I think I did notice a difference at least once when I made pea soup. But I didn't know about the vinegar.

I guess no one really knows how to dismantle the lectins. Maybe we will find out how in our surfing travels. Let's be sure to let each other know, OK? I found your P.S. to be especially interesting about the sugars. Sugars really do have a lot to do with MC, don't they? Did you see Roni's latest post?

I remember Dr. Fine telling me that it makes sense that legumes would not be healthy for us with MC - since they are difficult for "normal" people to digest. Makes sense, huh?

Thanks for sharing your lab experiments!

Love,

Polly

[artteacher]

Dear Polly,

Ditto! If anyone comes across lectin related information, I'd be interested. And I'll try to find the Whole Foods article again - it was fascinating. Cooking is actually chemistry . .

Love, Marsha

[starfire]

Very Interesting!!

I have always soaked my beans (when I was eating them) in water overnight but never heard of the vinegar.

Love, Shirley