KataMac wrote: 140lbs wrote: Shame about the legumes, as eventually I would like to reintroduce them to my diet.
They offer no reason why not to eat legumes, they just say don't. I wouldn't wipe out a category of food I like just because a few "ways" of eating say not to eat it. You can find arguments for and against eating virtually any food - so if you like them, and your body doesn't react negatively to them, eat them.
Hi KataMac
Actually they say this about beans:
"But on a gross level, if you feed the beans (kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, soybeans, you name it) raw to animals, they’ll get extremely sick or die. We list a bunch of examples in the book. Toxins include not only lectins but alpha amylase inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors, cyanogenic glycosides, and others. Cooking somewhat detoxifies them, but not entirely."
Also, legumes are high in phytic acid which apparently is problematic as it interferes with absorption of certain nutrients:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytic_acidPersonally I love legumes, especially traditional Greek bean and lentil soups and fava mash, however, I'm wary of them because I find them:
1. particularly morish
2. fattening
3. bloating
Also, they are not usually edible for mammals without some sort of preparation.
I find that for me at least, these are signs that a food is not as healthy or appropriate for human consumption as it could be.
Having said that, I have many relatives who lived well into their 90s eating legumes at least twice a week. BUT on the other hand, I had an aunt who died early of complications from Crohn's disease and know a couple of other people with irritable bowel syndrome who were/are all particularly affected by eating legumes. And research would seem to indicate that these conditions are caused by gluten sensitivity (from grains of course, not legumes, but still)