Legumes: Legumes (also known as pulses) include beans (black, kidney, pinto, soybeans and derivative products such as tofu, etc.), lentils, peas, alfalfa, and peanuts and peanut butter. While legumes are seen as less offensive than grains, because they have a higher nutritional value and lower levels of anti-nutrients, paleo deems legumes unnecessary to consume. Legumes are simply not something humans have evolved to eat. Not only should legumes be soaked, sprouted, denatured, and cooked before their nutrients can be fully utilized, but in many cases they are also non-digestible and even toxic if not extensively pre-treated. In fact, one of the most deadly poisons known to man is ricin, a highly toxic poison extracted from the seeds of the castor bean plant. Ricin has been used in military attacks for decades. While cooking does neutralize the toxic effects of a lectin known as PHA (phytohemagglutinin), it does not completely eliminate it. Hence, especially in sensitive people, legume consumption can promote leaky gut syndrome.
Legumes are generally not the great source of protein they are sometimes reputed to be, but, like grains, are an abundant source of cheap carbohydrates that easily convert to glucose. Ironically, one of the main features of legumes touted by some dietitians is that they contain lots of fiber and may assist in bowel health. However, the fiber in beans and most other legumes is not only unnecessary, but can also possibly be counterproductive. As has been the case throughout evolution, optimal fiber intake can occur simply by consuming abundant vegetables. A diet heavy in grains and legumes can easily deliver excess fiber and lead to constipation, inhibited nutrient absorption, and other digestive problems. The fact that legumes commonly cause flatulence (due to the fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates in the intestinal tract) offers a practical indication that they cause digestive distress when ingested.
A sampling of legumes; less offensive than grains, but still not a necessary component of a healthy diet
Saponins: Legumes also contain anti-nutrients called saponins, so named because they foam up like soap when shaken in water. Saponins also provide a chemical defense for plants against microbes and fungi. The detergent-like chemical structure of saponins enable them to easily bind on one end with water molecules and to cholesterol and fat molecules on the other end. Their unique amphiphilic (water soluble paired with water insoluble) structure is what enables saponins to easily create pores on the surface of cells they interact with. Saponins permeate not only gut cell membranes, but also membranes of all other cells. For example, when saponins enter the bloodstream via a leaky gut, they can compromise the ability of red blood cells to process oxygen in a process called hemolysis.
Cooking does not destroy saponins, so beans and legumes will provide you with a full dose, even when cooked. However, fermenting does destroy saponins, making fermented products such as tempeh more attractive to eat. Athletes should take note that soy protein isolate, commonly used in inexpensive protein supplement powders, is extremely high in saponins. Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, notes that, "saponins are so irritating to the immune system that they are used in vaccine research to help the body mount a powerful immune response. Those suffering acutely from the effects of leaky gut and requiring a strict exclusionary diet often eliminate saponin-containing foods such as all legumes (alfalfa, beans, peas, lentils, soy products), amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa, chia and flax seeds, and even root beer.
Saponins have also been found to have some anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, but in general can be problematic, especially in sensitive people, due to their ability to permeate cellular linings and mucous linings in the body. Tara Grant, author of The Hidden Plague, says about numerous saponin studies: “It’s evident that consuming saponins can increase your risk for developing bacterial diseases, allergies, and autoimmunity, since bacteria, proteins, and antigens that would normally stay locked up tight within the intestine are free to join up with the saponins and vacation somewhere fun and new, like inside your internal organs.”
Soy dangers: Soy, which has become one of the largest crops in the world and is used in countless processed foods, is not only high in lectins, but has also been shown to have phyto-estrogenic properties (estrogen-like effects when ingested, in both men and women, that can disrupt normal sex hormone cycles). This is due to the presence of agents called “isoflavones” in soy products. Isoflavones are also believed to cause goiters (an enlargement of the thyroid gland), interfere with normal menstrual cycles, and harm the healthy development of infants who drink soy formula13.
Furthermore, the USDA confirms that 94 percent of all soy grown in the USA is genetically modified, one major purpose being to make it resistant to the powerful pesticide product called Roundup. This Roundup Ready genetically modified soy has elevated levels of pesticide residue in the form of glycophosphate and its principal breakdown product, Aminomethylphosponic acid (AMPA). Genetically modified soy also shows an inferior nutritional profile to organically grown soybeans. I have to go with Adam on this one.
