What Is the Lectin-Free Diet?

Some food experts say lectins are making you fat and sick. But here's what you should know before you try a lectin-free diet.


As the gluten debate rages on, there's a new food protein people are eliminating from their diets: Lectins.

Lectins are naturally occurring proteins found in beans, whole grains, and some vegetables. They were dubbed 'the next gluten' in 2017 when cardiologist Dr Steven R Gundry released his latest book, The Plant Paradox. In his book, Dr Gundry says eliminating lectins from the diet is the key to losing weight and achieving optimal health.

"One of the claims is that they incite 'biological warfare' in the body to cause weight gain, digestive problems, acne, arthritis, and brain fog," explains Christine Palumbo, RD, to Prevention.com.

So, should you go lectin-free?

Probably not. Palumbo says there's no good evidence to suggest a lectin-free diet will actually solve your health woes. Megan Meyer, PhD, agrees. "[Studies have] looked at purified, isolated lectins, not lectins in the context of food. And they've been done in test tubes or on animals," Meyer tells Prevention.com. "I haven't seen anything with human studies, or even in clinically relevant situations that look at lectins in the diet."

Plus, a lectin-free diet is very difficult to follow. It eliminates beans, grains, cow's milk, eggs, and nightshade vegetables like tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers. Many of those foods are ingredients in packaged foods, which means you would need to carefully read labels of every single food you buy. And, Meyer notes, whole grains, beans, and vegetables are all high in fiber and other important nutrients that protect the body against weight gain, heart disease, and other conditions. Eliminating them from your diet could mean missing out on those benefits.