Gluten, Gliadins and Lectins – Truth about Pet Food
From Dr. Michael Fox:
Some people, like some individual dogs and cats and particular breeds, have adverse reactions to the gliadins from the gluten in wheat, barley, rice, corn (maize) and oats; also to the lectins in pulses like lentils and various beans.
According to one informing source ( https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/lectins/) “Lectins are found in all plants, but raw legumes (beans, lentils, peas, soybeans, peanuts) and whole grains like wheat contain the highest amounts of lectins. Cooking, especially with wet high-heat methods like boiling or stewing, or soaking in water for several hours, can inactivate most lectins. Lectins are water-soluble and typically found on the outer surface of a food, so exposure to water removes them. Animal and cell studies have found that active lectins can interfere with the absorption of minerals, especially calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. Legumes and cereals often contain these minerals, so the concurrent presence of lectins may prevent the absorption and use of these minerals in the body. Lectins can also bind to cells lining the digestive tract. This may disrupt the breakdown and absorption of nutrients, and affect the growth and action of intestinal flora. Because lectin proteins bind to cells for long periods of time, they can potentially cause an autoimmune response and are theorized to play a role in inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes”.
Lectins may also play a role in coronary artery disease in humans. (See Steven R. Grundy, Abstract 412: Dietary Lectins Cause Coronary Artery Disease via an Autoimmune Endothelial Attack Mediated by Interleukin 16 Originally published12 Mar 2019 https://doi.org/10.1161/atvb.38.suppl_1.412 Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2018;38:A412).. An autoimmune cause of coronary artery disease at the endothelial level via T cell activation and attraction in patients with gluten and lectin sensitivity or known autoimmune disease is proposed in this report.
“Grain free” cat and dog foods and vegan dog foods include high protein pulses as do most manufactured kibble dry dog and cat foods that also have a high corn and cereal content, notably “Brewer’s grains”. This means that these pet foods have high levels of lectins and gliadins, putting animals at risk from developing inflammatory conditions and contributing to the increasing incidence of various bowel disorders and cardiomyopathy in companion animals, as well as arthritis and diabetes.
Dr. Michael W. Fox
From Michael W. Fox BVetMed, PhD, DSc, MRCVS Veterinarian, bioethicist, syndicated columnist (Animal Doctor with Universal-U Click). Website: www.drfoxvet.net Latest books: “HEALING ANIMALS & THE VISION OF ONE HEALTH” and “ANIMALS & NATURE FIRST: CREATING NEW COVENANTS WITH ANIMALS & NATURE” with CreateSpace/Amazon.com.
