 Dr. G, what's a lectin anyway? If you're new to my diet, this is probably the first question you've got, and it's the most important question you'll ask. First, the simple answer. Lectins are proteins found in a lot of plants, and the protein helps plants ward off attacks from would-be predators like you. They're how a mother plant makes sure you don't eat her babies, because when you eat something rich in lectins, they bind to the sugar residue on the outside of your cell membranes, like barnacles cling to a boat. Specifically, these barnacles attach themselves to your red blood cells and leave you feeling lousy. How lousy? Well, a lot of the food poisoning cases reported right here in the United States, especially with regards to beans, are actually lectin poisonings. As you guessed it, beans are a huge source of lectins. Other sources include the nightshades, like eggplant, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes, squash including zucchini, butternut squash and pumpkin, and grains like brown rice, barley oats and everyone's favorite, wheat. In fact, if you've ever met someone with a wheat sensitivity, they could be reacting to gluten, one of the best known lectins out there. So whenever possible, it's best to cut these foods from your diet entirely. Eating them is a great way to destroy your gut wall and kill off your good gut bugs. And trust me, that's not what you want to do. You can also try peeling, de-seeding foods like nightshades, beans and squash. Most of the lectins in these foods are found in the peels and seeds, so make sure to throw them away. And pressure cooking is another great way to kill off some of the lectins in certain foods, but not all of them. It's especially beneficial to beans, because pressure cooking knocks down levels of phytohemagglutin. That's a lectin that's actually incredibly toxic to humans. Just remember, pressure cooking does not kill the lectins in wheat and grains the same way that it does in beans. So that pressure cooker lasagna is still a no-go if it's made with regular noodles.