Plant Defense Chemicals: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers in Vegetables, Grains, Seeds, Nuts, and More
An article focused on dethroning plant foods as the so-called “ruler” of healthy food.
1/18/2024 Edit: While the article may look as though I am completely bashing on vegetables, that is not the case. Instead, I am sharing my opinion on why I think vegetables should stop receiving the award for being the “healthiest food.” I, myself, consume vegetables, grains, etc. that have proven to not be inflammatory in my body. Nonetheless, I am still going to prioritize meat, eggs, fish, fruit, and honey over vegetables.
Imagine a vast jungle with moss growing on trees and insects crawling across the wilderness floor. A sharp-toothed, muscular tiger is attempting to ambush a deer. While the tiger is agile and quick, the deer has keen eyesight and spots the tiger. Quickly accelerating, the deer dashes away. After reaching a considerable distance away from the tiger, the deer uses their natural camouflage to attempt to hide. With their coat coloration and patterns, the deer blends in with its surroundings, successfully hiding from the fierce tiger.
Animals have evolved to defend themselves against predators through fighting, fleeing, and using genetic advantages. While most of society understands the evolution of animals, few recognize the evolution of plants. Similar to any other living species, plants defend themselves against threats; however, vegetation is unable to fight or flee. Instead, plants utilize defense chemicals:
“Have you ever brushed up against poison ivy and suddenly your skin swells up and gets all itchy? Poison ivy produces a chemical called urushiol that is present on the external portions of poison ivy. When humans come in contact with urushiol it rapidly absorbs into our skin, and causes the immune system to release inflammatory molecules to exonerate the urushiol.”
Poison ivy is an excellent example of a plant utilizing their form of defense against a threat.
According to a 1990 study, researchers found that 99.99% of pesticides consumed by humans are naturally occurring. Among the naturally occurring pesticides, numerous are classified as carcinogenic.
The presence of the various pesticides is not by coincidence but is rather a purposeful mechanism to ward over threats.
Plants often utilize toxins and anti-nutrients to defend themselves. Below lists some of the most common defense chemicals (but there are many more) and the danger they pose on humans.
Lectins
A protein that binds to carbohydrates on the surface of cells, lectins damage the lining of the gut. The lining of the gut refers to the epithelial cells that make up the surface of the gastrointestinal tract, which runs from the mouth to the anus.
Two functions make up the purpose of the gut lining: absorption of nutrients and protection against harmful toxins.
When a person consumes a food with a high lectin concentration, the harmful protein can create lesions in the gastrointestinal tract — better known as “leaky gut.” The development of leaky gut is a significant process as it can contract a variety of diseases and conditions ranging from irritable bowel syndrome to multiple sclerosis.
One of the more interesting side effects of leaky gut is the connection to brain disorders and the damage of neural connections. As more research is released relating to the gut-brain axis (the idea that the gut plays a key role in maintaining a healthy brain), the notion that leaky gut damages brain health becomes more relevant. In one study, researchers found a cause of Parkinson’s disease to be leaky gut syndrome. Moreover, other mental disorders such as depression and anxiety are induced by leaky gut.
As explained, lectins have the ability to bind to certain sugars or carbohydrates on the surface of cells lining the digestive tract. The binding to sugars and carbohydrates can interfere with the absorption of nutrients, such as iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D. By binding to these nutrients, lectins can hinder their uptake into the body, potentially leading to reduced bioavailability and nutrient deficiencies over time.
Example:
A harmful yet prevalent lectin in today’s culture is the wheat germ agglutinin or WGA. Often mistaken for gluten, WGA sensitivity affects thousands of people. When an individual is tested for gluten sensitivity and the results come back negative, many will continue eating grains with gluten. Nonetheless, most people are never tested for WGA sensitivity. Foods high in WGA include pastas, breads, rye, malt, barley, and beer.
Oxalates
An anti-nutrient and overall toxin, oxalates put the human body at risk of kidney stones, organ inflammation, and structural damage. The dangers of oxalates arise primarily from their ability to combine with various minerals — which also depletes the body of nutrients.
For example, oxalates combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate crystals. With a sharp structure resembling a shard of glass, the crystals create deposits in the body.
The formation of oxalate crystals can occur in various tissues and organs. When these crystals form, they can cause a range of not only short-term health problems, but long-term health problems.
When oxalates travel through the human body, the glass-like structure irritates tissue and organs. Imagine a person rubbing their hand against broken glass; oxalates mimic that scenario within the body.
A few examples of the dangers of oxalates:
- Kidney stones are hard mineral and salt deposits that form in the kidneys. Mainly made up of calcium oxalate, kidney stones cause severe pain when they move from the kidneys to the urinary tract. According to research, kidney stones are not an acute condition but rather a chronic condition. Other conditions, such as hyperoxaluric syndrome, may arise with kidney stones.
- Arthritis is a condition characterized by inflammation and stiffness in the joints. When the body begins to become saturated with oxalates, the crystals may deposit within synovial fluid causing arthritis.
- Calcium-oxalate crystals decrease cell viability while inducing mitochondrial dysfunction and redox imbalance.
While only three examples were provided, oxalates lead to a wide variety of conditions, including breast cancer, fibromyalgia syndrome, and inflammation.
Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens serve as natural defense mechanisms to deter or inhibit the feeding and growth of insects.
Similar to other metabolites in plants, phytoestrogens play an important role in plant defense against herbivory. When insects consume plant tissues containing phytoestrogens, these compounds interfere with the insects’ hormonal systems and disrupt their normal development and reproduction. The result of phytoestrogens is reduced feeding, growth inhibition, or even interference with the insect’s ability to reproduce.
While phytoestrogens are found in many plant foods, soy products and flaxseeds have the highest concentration of the hormone-disrupting chemical.
In one study, researchers found soy-based infant formula leads to severe menstrual pain later in life:
“Women ever fed soy formula as infants were more likely than unexposed women to report ever use of hormonal contraception for menstrual pain… and moderate/severe menstrual discomfort/pain with ‘most periods’, but not ‘every period’, during early adulthood…”
Another study observed that sperm count is inversely related to soy consumption:
“In the multivariate-adjusted analyses, men in the highest category of soy food intake had 41 million sperm/ml less than men who did not consume soy foods (95% confidence interval = -74, -8; P, trend = 0.02).”
Glycoalkaloids
Glycoalkaloid is a class of neurotoxin enzyme inhibitors. In low quantities, glycoalkaloids lead to diarrhea and vomiting; however, larger quantities lead to a multitude of horrific issues: hallucinations, destruction of cell membranes, and sometimes even death.
Another gut irritant, glycoalkaloids have even been governmentally regulated.
Induced by sun exposure, foods high in glycoalkaloids — potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants — must be kept in cool, dark areas.
Glucosinolates and Sulforaphane
From Plant Toxins and Antinutrients,
Glucosinolates are chemicals found in cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and many more. They tend to produce a telltale sulfur-like smell as part of their defense system. Glucosinolates prevent the body from absorbing iodine, flavonoids, and minerals such as iron and zinc. Studies show that a higher intake of glucosinolates is associated with a greater risk of Type 2 diabetes. [18]
Cruciferous vegetables also contain the chemical sulforaphane. Most of the sulforaphane you eat gets absorbed into your bloodstream where it can damage intracellular structures like mitochondria and enzymes. Our bodies respond with powerful antioxidants to minimize the damage. But this response depletes our antioxidants leaving other cells vulnerable to damage. Sulforaphane is another antioxidant that contributes to leaky gut. [19]
What About Fruit?
Fruits, being reproductive structures of plants, have evolved to be appealing to animals, including humans, for seed dispersal. To make them more attractive, fruits often have high sugar content, pleasant aromas, and vibrant colors. These characteristics are a result of the plant’s investment in attracting animals to consume the fruit and spread its seeds. As a result, fruits typically contain lower levels of defense chemicals compared to other plant parts.
A good example is a cherry. Three main parts make up each cherry: the fruit, the protective coating around the seed, and the actual seed. While the composition of a cherry may seem trivial, the evolutionary makeup of fruits is tremendously significant to understanding the human body’s preferred diet.
In an applicable scenario, a human may be eating cherries outside in the forest. Naturally, the person throws the cherry inside their mouth and begins to eat. Noticing a hard seed, said person will spit the seed out. In the scenario, an important process is occurring. The person is enjoying the part of the fruit that the plant intends for the human to eat and then disperses the seed (protected by a coating, as the plant naturally does not want the seed to be destroyed) to a fertile environment.
Looking through an ancestral lens, humans have furthered this exact process over thousands of years.
Sometimes humans will consume fruit with the seed — either by purpose or accident. In most cases, the seed will not be digested and end up in the toilet alongside everything else. The seed will then hope to be in a fertile-enough environment for reproduction.
Understanding the chemistry of plants, humans can confidently say that fruits are less toxic and more ancestrally-appropriate for consumption than plants.
Elimination Diets
An elimination diet is a dietary approach where the individual removes all potentially “trigger foods” and overtime, reintroduces the foods to analyze which foods are causing issues.
The Lion Diet is a perfect example of an elimination diet:
- Remove all foods except for high-quality ruminant meat, salt, and water.
- Allow the carnivore diet to heal the body and closely track all illnesses, diseases, and conditions.
- Reintroduce food, making sure to closely monitor the body’s reaction to the reintroduced food.
The reasoning behind including a section on elimination diets within the discussion of plant defense chemicals is to better clarify the overall purpose of the article. Instead of arguing against total exclusion of vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and everything else, the article is proposing that all humans interested in health and wellbeing look at plants in a different light. Instead of shoving cups after cups of vegetables down one’s throat in hopes of achieving “dietary nirvana,” realize there are other foods with more significant benefits. If one desires some vegetables one day, maybe grant some; however, never fall victim to the plant propaganda in today’s mainstream media.
A Simple Guide to Maximize Health:
- Eliminate all vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, and everything else from your diet.
- Slowly reintroduce certain plant foods and analyze your body’s reaction.
- Try to stay away from the more toxic plant foods and the high-oxalate foods.
- Build the perfect diet catered to your lifestyle, goals, and genetics.
