Veggienft, I am puzzled by your post.

RA is an autoimmune disease with a strong inflammatory component - that is why anti-inflammatory agents are often effective in management of it.

Lectins are proteins which bind oligosaccharides with high specificity - each lectin has a different specificity. Exogenous lectins (mainly found in plant foods) can have local effects in the GI tract if the plant food has not been adequately cooked. If the food has been cooked exogenous lectins will not have local effects and (in just the same way as any other protein) will be broken down into their amino acids by digestive enzymes. I don't know of any evidence that intact exogenous lectins can pass across the gut mucosal boundary and enter the blood stream, where they (potentially) might interact with immune system proteins - do you have evidence which suggests that this is the case?

There are also endogenous lectins, naturally made in the human body. Mannan-binding lectin is an example - it, and others, play important roles in the innate immune system.

"The old medical saw which says autoimmune diseases happen when the immune system attacks "self" tissue by mistaking it for "not-self" antigens is simply false."

This statement will come as a considerable surprise to people (like me) whose professional knowledge includes immunology.

Would you like to justify it, ideally with referenced data?

I find the Lectin issue worth thinking about more. Way back about 20 yrs ago I purchased the blood type book by Dr. Peter D'Adamo...I'm a Type B and my type per D'Adamo's work says I should NOT eat chicken as chicken contains a blood Type B agglutinating lectin in its muscle tissue. For a good while after reading this I was staying away from chicken and eating more turkey, beef and lamb which are more beneficial for type B's. But I've fallen off this practice and have been eating more chicken in the last couple yrs. Now, I'm looking at this again, as my joints have been aching so much more in recent years. Could it be the chicken and the lectin?????

Here is more info on Lectin and a lot of comments from readers at the end.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/lectins/#axzz42TlQSH8Q

Now my friend who is now challenged with RA has been and still is a big bread eater...she says she LOVES breads and won't give them up. I've brought this to her attention of the carb RA connection but she does not want to hear it. I've stopped
bringing breads into my house about 7 yrs ago. Now for me I guess I better stop bringing chicken into my house. Gotta read more of the book tomorrow. Thanks.

The ABO blood groups are complicated. There is good evidence that inheriting some combination of them can be a risk factor for some diseases - see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3827391/ for a discussion of this.

"Could it be the chicken and the lectin?????"
I doubt it - chicken is a good source of protein and I don't know of any evidence that alleged chicken lectins can pass across the GI tract and lead to adverse health effects for people with the B blood group or any other for that matter.

"Dr. Peter D'Adamo"
In my opinion D'Adamo is not worth taking seriously - he promotes a fad diet. This link (and links therein) may help NT readers to draw their own conclusions about this; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type_diet.

Kiwi, there are plenty of people who follow the blood type way of life. I'm one who will look at everything that could help me with my health. I'm going to back off chicken for a while now. Going to do more research on lectins. My opinion is that D'Adamo has valid info. I like wiki for a lot of info but don't believe everything from them.

Different lectins have different heat tolerances, "cooking" can mean many things concerning time, temperature, moisture, and the promulgation of heat to all molecules. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) is the lectin in wheat. WGA has a specific affinity for cartilage molecules, the tissue destroyed in rheumatoid arthritis. Glucosamine works to relieve arthritis because glucosamine contains the same molecule-end which cartilage uses to attract WGA. Glucosamine binds WGA which would otherwise be bound by cartilage.

However, a few points.....

1. Degree of specific affinity of any lectin for any tissue can vary with patient genetics, as can the propensity for autoimmune reaction.

2. The propensity of the small intestine to allow lectins such as WGA into the bloodstream, ie defeat of "tight junctions", is itself strongly influenced by lectins like WGA. WGA can act as its own vehicle for entering the bloodstream.

There are symptoms besides cartilage destruction which accompany arthritis. They include skin rash and swelling of the lower legs. These symptoms are less associated with the more-heat-sensitive WGA, but are more associated with less-heat-sensitive lectins like bean concavalin A and potato lectin.

Yes, cartilage destruction is preceded by inflammation. The inflammation is part of the autoimmune process. Inflammation-associated cytokines, usually led by TNF alpha, collect around the lectin attack. Leucocytes follow, and attack the compromised tissue.

I could not fail to notice that you challenged me to prove my case without providing any evidence for your case besides your internet-claimed background. Yes, I'm more than willing to concede that doctors and nurses get trained with the information you are attempting to impart. It's just wrong.

Suppose that the truth is uncertain? Why would you pipe up to say not to try eliminating lectins? "First, do no harm" does not mean, as medical practitioners tend to say "Instead, remove the patient's knee".

http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html

Now this has me wondering since I've been eating more beans and ever and back to the chicken could these be the cause too of the rash on my foot which I can't get rid of...this foot has become quite arthritic and now the rash in the last 3 months or so. ummmmmm

Thanks very much for all this information. I'm familiar with Krispin via Weston Price.

"I could not fail to notice that you challenged me to prove my case without providing any evidence for your case besides your internet-claimed background."

I am a semiretired biomedical scientist. My colleagues and I have published more than 20 papers with an immunological focus, mainly concerned with innate immunity (the complement system).

"It's [the basis of autoimmune diseases] just wrong."

Do you have any evidence (links to PubMed would be nice) to support your opinion that it is "just wrong"?

Hi folks
I am going to have to intervene here.
At NeuroTalk, we allow all views to be represented and we do not require anyone to provide credentials. It's always a help when things are backed up with research articles etc but not a requirement.

In fact, in the posting guidelines, all "professionals" are requested to hang their pro hat up at the door before entering!as this is primarily a community for patients and their caregivers, loved ones etc. and not for professionals.

We do also ask that members please disagree agreeably so I am hoping that is the tone this discussion will continue with.
Here are the posting guidelines http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1293
Thanks.

The plot keeps getting thicker...I found this blog, To Bean or Not To Bean. With pros and cons to eating beans. I've been eating more beans than ever in the last two years or so and more aching joints than ever. Lectins!!!

http://www.jdmoyer.com/2011/02/15/to...-human-health/

So much dietary info out there today to weed thru and to consider for our own health, being aware of how our body feels when we eat certain foods.

Caroline, what kind of beans are you eating?

Some but not all beans are rich in exogenous lectins - while I doubt that they can enter your blood from your GI tract, potentially leading to systemic effects, if they are not denatured before eating the beans this can lead to unpleasant local GI tract symptoms.

It depends on the kind of bean but usually soaking them overnight and then cooking them well is sufficient to get rid of the exogenous lectins.