THE SURPRISING ALL-NATURAL TOXINS IN PLANT FOODS

Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCNWise Traditions 2009

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Beans• Grains• Nuts• Seeds

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Nightshade Vegetables• Onions and Garlic• Beets, Turnips,

Rutabagas• Broccoli, Brussels

Sprouts• Sweet potatoes

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Lettuce• Spinach • Alfalfa and

Clover

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Apples• Strawberries• Grapes

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

SOYBEANS• More Numerous• More Resistant to

Neutralization

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Ivy League Rats at Cornell University

• The Role of Coprophagy in the Prevention of Trypsin Inhibitor Induced Amino Acid Deficiencies

THE EVOLUTION OF PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Defense against microbes, insects and mammals

• Protection from premature sprouting

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Two Main Types

1. Kunitz

2. Bowman-Birk

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Hot, but Not Always Uninhibited

• The Effect of Heat, Cooking and other Processes

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Balancing Act

• Too Much Cooking vs. Not Enough

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• No Rest for the Weary Pancreas

• Hypertrophy • Hyperplasia

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Pancreatic Cancer • #4 Cause of Cancer Deaths

Patrick Swayze

Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

ADDING IT UP

• Soy Formula Fed Infants

• Vegetarians and Vegans

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

• Industry “Tryping”

• Selling Trypsin Inhibitors for Cancer Prevention

PROTEASE INHIBITORS

“Soybean trypsin inhibitors do in fact pose a potential risk to humans when soy protein is incorporated into the

diet.”

– Irvin E. Liener, PhD, Letter to FDA,1998

Phytates

Beans Grains Seeds

PHYTATES

Two Primary Functions:

1. Prevent Premature Germination 2. Storage of Phosphorous

PHYTATES

Main Benefit to Humans• Safe seed storage over the winterRisks to Human• Bind needed minerals such as calcium, zinc

and iron

Phytates – Developing World

Phytates are the leading cause of:

• Poor growth• Rickets• Anemia ("iron poor blood")• Immune system breakdown

Phytates

HEALTH BENEFITS FOR OMNIVORES

• Bind heavy metals such as cadmium • Bind toxic levels of iron

Phytates

• Spring Detoxification• Unleavened bread before Passover

Phytates

PHY FUTURES

• Chelators of excess iron• Antioxidants• Cancer fighting

LECTINS

GLUTENS FOR PUNISHMENTProteins with a Sweet Tooth

• Agglutinate blood -- Glue It Up• Clotting

LECTINS

Beans Grains Other foods

Lectins

React with carbohydrate component of cell membranes

• Cell injuries and deaths• Gastrointestinal distress• Immune System Breakdown

Lectins

IN SOYBEANS

• Symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria

• Fix nitrogen in the roots of soybean plant• Soybeans excellent for fertilization and crop

rotation

Lectins

• Largely deactivated by enzymes and cooking• Negative findings from uncooked soyfoods

and animal feed• Problems with processing

Lectins

Potential problem from:

• High levels "on occasion“• Low levels eaten in large quantities on a

regular basis

Lectins

• Resist breakdown by digestive enzymes 60% remain biologically active and immunologically intact

• Bind to villi and crypt cells of the small intestine

• Interfere with hormone and growth factor signaling

• Contribute to unfavorable gut flora

Lectins

• “Leaky Gut Syndrome“• Digestive Distress• Allergies• Immune system breakdown

Lectins

• Most studies carried out on the highly toxic kidney bean lectin

Lectins

• Lectins and Your Blood Type

• Eat Right 4 Your Type by Peter J. D'Adamo (1996)

• Why the theory is a little "sticky"

• Why many people nonetheless benefit from the blood type diets

Lectins

GMO Foods• The research of Dr. Arpad Pusztai

"Lectins can have serious consequences for growth and health."

-----Arpad Pusztai, PhD

Saponins

• Soap in Your Mouth • Compounds in plant foods that foam up like

soap suds in water and break down red blood cells

Saponins

New uses:

• Alfalfa saponins to decrease root rot • Soy saponins as natural herbicides

Saponins

In mammals linked to: • Poor growth• Bloat• Damage to lining of intestines

But findings are not consistent

Saponins

• Bind w/ cholesterol • Injuries result in "leaky gut" • Break down red blood cells – hemolysis• Damage digestive enzymes trypsin and

chymotrypsin • May be goitrogenic

Saponins

The Marketing of Saponins

• A Squeaky Clean New Image and a Promising Pharmaceutical Future

• Saponins "prevent" heart disease by lowering cholesterol

• Saponins "prevent" cancer by binding bile acids

OXALATES  -- CASTING STONES

• Indigestible compounds in foods that prevent the proper absorption of calcium.

FOODS HIGH IN OXALATES

• Best known foods are Spinach and Rhubarb

OTHER FOODS HIGH IN OXALATES

• Chocolate• Peanuts • Soy

Oxalates

Not significantly neutralized by cooking

Linked to: • kidney stones • vulvodynia

OLIGOSACCHARIDES

THE FLATULENCE FACTOR

OLIGOSACCHARIDES

The pesky twins • Raffinose• Stachyose

Require the enzyme alpha-galactosidase for proper digestion

"Beans, beans, the musical fruit"

Gas producing veggies

FOR MANY YEARS A BOOMING RESEARCH INDUSTRY

Some Typical Research Study Titles

"Flavor and flatulence factors in soybean protein products."

"Effects of various soybean products on flatulence in the adult man"

"Development of a technique for the in vivo assessment of flatulence in dogs."

TEST SUBJECTS

Test Subjects

Test Subjects

CONTAINMENT DEVICES

Gas-tight pantaloonsSealed to the skin at the waist and thighs using duct tapeEquipped with two ports

Other Devices

OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS 

• Number of incidences per hour and day• Quantities of gas ejected per incident• Proportions of hydrogen, methane, carbon

dioxide, hydrogen sulfide• Propulsion force• Noise levels

SUBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS

Odor -- As judged by professional "Odor Judges"

SOLUTIONS

• Proper Preparation• Soaking• Changes of water• Cooking with carrot, herbs and/or seaweed • Beano • Carminative Herbs

allspice, caraway, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, sage, thyme and basil

SOLUTIONS

Solutions

Solutions

• New Improved Low Gas Beans • Hybrids and GMOs • Marketing the Health Benefits of

Oligosaccharides

NOT TRUSTING THE PROCESS

Food Manufacturing Processes:

High temperatureHigh pressureChemical solventsAcids and alkalisExtruders and other harsh tools

TOXIC AND CARCINOGENIC RESIDUES

Not just modern soy foods

All highly processed, industrial food products Grains Vegetables Oils Milk Eggs Meat

NITROSAMINES

• Nitrates• Nitrites• Nitrosamines

SMOKING GRAS

• How soy protein isolate -- despite its nitrosamines -- achieved GRAS statusand an FDA health claim

CROSS LINKED AMINO ACIDS

• Unnatural amino acids found in heavily treated proteins

• Lysine to Lysinoalanine• Arginine to Ornithine to Ornithinoalanine

Adverse effects from Lysinoalanine

Protein digestion• Protein quality• Mineral bioavailability and utilization• Iron levels drop, copper levels increase

Ghulam Sarwar, PhD, Nutrition Research Division, Health Canada, Ottawa

EXCITOTOXINS• Glutamate• Aspartate

Excitotoxins exist naturally in the body and are normally used by the brain in small, carefully controlled concentrations.

Problems arise when people eat excessive amounts of highly processed foods

Double whammy from soybeans •Glutamate is formed as a byproduct of processing •Soy protein isolate, hydrolyzed plant protein, textured vegetable protein, vegetable protein etc.

•MSG and other "natural flavorings" are often added to improve taste and smell

Dangers from excitotoxins increase when 2 or more are present in the same food or when nitrosamines or other toxins are also present

HETEROCYCLIC AMINESMutagenic and carcinogenic compounds

Not just fried and grilled beef and fish

Formed in any protein industrially treated, protein rich foods

More HCAs formed at the processing plant than in the home kitchen or barbecue grill.

Modern soy products such as TVP, SPI, SPC and HVP may undergo 3 or more heat treatments before they reach the supermarket

Thus they can carry high levels of HCAs

EAT HERE, GET GAS!

Soy Protein Isolate contains residues of 38 petroleum

compounds, including:

Butyl, methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids Phenols, diphenyls and phenyl esters Abietic acid derivatives, diehydroabietinal, hexanal and 2-butyl-2-octenal alcdehydes Dehudroabietic acid methyl esterDehydroabietene and Abietatriene

HEXANE

• Organic solvents used by the vegetable industry to extract oil from beans and seeds

• Hexane the most widely used solvent by 1941. Irritates the lungs Depresses the central nervous system

• The oil industry claims that "desolventizing" processes remove hexane residues.The truth is some traces always remain.

AgeChildren

Boys Girls Men WomenPregnant

1-3 19 g          

4-8 25 g          

9-13   31 g 26 g      

14-18   38 g 26 g      

19-30       38 g 25 g 28 g

31-50       38 g 25 g 28 g

51-70       30 g 21 g  

Over 70       21 g 21 g  

Average recommended fiber intake  (grams per day)

These are the standing recommendations from the Food and Nutrition Board, a division of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, which is the body that establishes the nutritional policy guidelines of the U.S. Government

"I didn’t set out to write it because I was a healthy and vibrant vegetarian, but because a high-fiber, high-carb diet almost killed me." –Konstantin Monastyrsky

.

 To control lust, Graham prescribed a high-fiber vegetarian diet

Sylvester Graham (1794–1851) 

In 2004 alone, the Kellogg Company spent over $3.5 billion on “promotional expenditures.” No wonder fiber is still on everyone’s mind and in everyone’s stools

TYPICAL ADVICE ON INCREASING FIBER

• Eat a high fiber cereal or add a few spoonfuls of wheat bran to your cereal

• Add bran when making meatloaf, breads, muffins, cakes & cookies

• Choose whole grain bread • Use whole wheat flour• Experiment with whole grains• Add canned bans to soups and salads • Eat high fiber snacks such as fruits, vegetables,

popcorn and whole grain crackers

Just one cup of Kellogg's All Bran with extra fiber meets the 30 grams per day

recommendationfor adults and exceeds the

recommendations for children.

HIDDEN FIBER IN PACKAGED AND PROCESSED FOODS

• InulinLigninOligofructoseFructooligosaccharidesPolydextrosePolylosPsylliumResistant dextrinResistant starch

• CelluloseB-glucansPectinGuar gumCellulose gumCarrageenAgar-agarHemicellulose

FIBER ADDITIVES

• Wood pulpCottonSeaweedHusksSkinsSeedsTubersPlants not suitable for human consumption

Detoxification and Bowel Cleansing Programs

A high fiber diet is a high carbohydrate diet. 

A high fiber diet is a high carbohydrate diet.

• "Paradoxically if your goal is to add bulk to your diet, you are better off taking a supplemental fiber, then consuming a high-fiber natural diet, because supplements don't add any digestible carbohydrates to an already bad mix." -- Konstantin Monastrysky

WHAT'S WRONG WITH FIBER?

• Human digestive organs can handle a limited amount of indigestible fiber.

• Mother Nature did not design us to consume massive amounts of fiber.

• Bloating, • Gas• Dysbiosis• Stomach Cramps• Nausea and Vomiting• Rectal Bleeding• Unrelieved Constipation

FIBER'S LINK TO EPIDEMIC GUT PROBLEMS

• Acid reflux• Ulcers• Constipation• Irritable Bowel Syndrome• Colitis , • Crohn's• Colon Cancer

Excitotoxins exist naturally in the body and are normally used by the brain in small, carefully controlled concentrations.

Excitotoxins

HEXANE

• Organic solvents used by the vegetable industry to extract oil from beans and seeds

• Hexane the most widely used solvent by 1941. Irritates the lungs Depresses the central nervous system

• The oil industry claims that "desolventizing" processes remove hexane residues.The truth is some traces always remain.

I would like to thank Martha Pickard MSfor research assistance and for help with

this PowerPoint presentation.

The End