lectins

Some people with Celiac I've talked to have reported a life-altering boost of energy when they went gluten-free. I felt much better in many ways, but had no such elevation. In fact, my anemia is still here and I'm signed up for iron transfusions every two weeks until I get into the normal range. Which tells me that even though I have celiac and I live a strict GF lifestyle, my anemia has got a different cause. And I'd really like to get that boost in energy that other people have gotten.

On a hunch, I've started researching lectin intolerance. My sister-in-law texted me last week about a runner she had heard about who was anemic because of a bean allergy. I little research later, and I discovered lectin. From the descriptions I read, it sounds like lectin intolerance can set off all the same antibody tests and causes blunting of villi in the small intestine, just as gluten does. Lectin is in just about everything, but especially grains (from what I can tell, gluten is a type of lectin), legumes, nuts, seeds and veggies in the nightshade family -- tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes. If lectin is part of my issue, I'm not sure how I would get enough protein and remain vegetarian. No one's got a book or a suggested diet plan for lectin intolerance, though one paper I read on it suggested borrowing heavily from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The SCD is used primarily by people with Crohn's Disease, and it's apparently VERY helpful for that crowd.  Another book to get and read in my quest for health and happiness.