Picking our poison?
WHITE RICE IS HIGH IS SUGAR. EXCESSIVE SUGAR, A PRIMARY VILLAIN IN THE HEART DISEASE STORY, PROMOTES OBESITY AND HEART DISEASE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, BROWN RICE CONTAINS THE HUSK WHERE DAMAGING LECTINS LURK. LECTINS ARE CARBOHYDRATE-BINDING PROTEINS PRESENT IN MANY PLANTS AND ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID ENTIRELY IN THE DIET. THEY ARE PARTIALLY NEUTRALIZED BY COOKING.
LECTINS ARE HIGHLY INFLAMMATORY. CHECKING OUR hsCRP LEVEL AND KEEPING IT LOW GIVES OF A MEASURE OF HOW WE ARE DOING IN HEART DISEASE PREVENTION.
LESS THAN 1.0 IS GOOD, LESS THAN 0.5 BETTER AND LESS THAN 0.1 BEST.
DON’T CONFUSE LECTIN (AN INFLAMMATORY FOOD COMPONENT) WITH LEPTIN (A HORMONE IN OUR BODY THAT REGULATES OUR APPETITE AND FAT.)
DISCOVERED IN 1994, LEPTIN IS A HORMONE WHICH IS MADE IN OUR FAT CELLS. IT GOES THE HYPOTHALAMUS PART OF OUR BRAIN AND USES VAGUS NERVE PATHWAYS TO TELL US WHEN WE ARE FULL. ONE EFFECT OF LECTIN IN OUR FOOD IS TO MAKE US RESISTANT TO THE HORMONE LEPTIN’S MESSAGE THAT WE’VE EATEN ENOUGH. ULTIMATELY, LEPTIN CONTROLS OUR APPETITE AND OUR FAT.
SIMPLY IT APPEARS BEST TO US TO CONTINUE WITH WHOLE FOODS AND A PLANT BASED MATRIX WHILE BEING AWARE THAT EXCESSIVE LECTIN CAN BE A CULPRIT IN OBESITY AND CHRONIC DISEASE. SOME COOKED BROWN RICE IS NOT A BAD CHOICE AS PART OF WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION WITH LOTS OF FIBER. LIMITING SUGAR, FOODS THAT GO TO SUGAR, AND PROCESSED FOODS ARE GOOD CHOICES.
DRILL DOWN:
Miyake K, Tanaka T, McNeil PL, 2007 Lectin-Based Food Poisoning: A New Mechanism of Protein Toxicity. PLoS ONE 2(8): e687. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000687
“The Plant Paradox” Steven Gundry, MD