Your unfortunate answer is that lectins are not chains of 33 amino acids and that these tiny, antibody-sized proteins/glycoproteins are the thngs doing direct harm to individual cells. Of course, some long-chain polypeptides do make it through the intestinal wall (e.g. casomorphons and gliadomorphins), helped by the intial damage done to the intestinal wall. This is part of the whole "Trojan Horse" concept that is recognized as an aspect of the leaky gut syndrome.

So, you are certainly correct in questioning this post because I should have said that poultry is loaded with the "lectins of gluten", not simply "gluten". I'm glad you asked because that helps to stress the point.

The awareness of lectins is still pretty much in its infancy...in this country. But they have been studying and discussing them for years on the other side of the pond. I would encourage every to put "lectins" in their search and learn all that you can about them. Here is a good primer: http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html. This is what Dr. D'Adamo bases his Eating for Your Bloodtype concept on, a nice piece of the puzzle. One of the best illustration of the power of lectins is peanut allergy.

How the lectin can induce such a wide variety of changes in the cell (from death to cancer) is the interesting question to me. I believe that is where the viruses embedded in our DNA come into play. By recent estimates, up to 45% of the amino acid sequences in our double-stranded DNA are VIRAL sequences (e.g. retroviruses), some of which are active and others being thought of as extinct. Man, does that explain a lot and put a new spin on what we love to call "genetics".

Remember: One of the main functions of the virus in nature...and in our bodies...is adaptation.

(Is the villous atrophy seen in celiac disease an adaptation of a virus? Was the atrophy meant to be a temporary reaction to limit the entry of offending things but one that got completely out of control when we ignored the warning signs and continued to eat gluten anyway??? Man created wheat with this level of gluten, not "Nature".)