Why Do We Need Deflect and its Lectin-Blocking Power!

DEFLECT products provide anti-adhesive therapy to lectin sensitive individuals. These ABO specific formulas block the effects of dietary lectins before they cause problems, by providing a source of free blocking carbohydrate.

What is lectin?

According to an old definition 'lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins or glycoproteins.' William Boyd therefore coined the term lectin in 1954, deriving it from the Latin word legere meaning 'to choose.' Boyd was also the first researcher to identify the blood type specificity of many common dietary lectins.  Typically, lectins can bind to many of the carbohydrate antigens found in the gut and immune system, causing a variety of health problems. These can include intestinal dysbiosis, bowel hyperpermiability, immune dysfunction, food sensitivities and systemic inflammation. This is usually accomplished by direct agglutination of the target cells. Lectins can occur in very common foods in the diet, and the majority are specific for the carbohydrates of the ABO blood typing system. In one study, the edible parts of 29 of 88 foods tested, including common salad ingredients, fresh fruits, roasted nuts, and processed cereals were found to possess significant lectin-like activity as assessed by hemagglutination and bacterial agglutination assays.

Several common lectins, in particular, wheat germ agglutinin, are known to bind to the insulin receptor and mimic the hormonal effects of insulin on adipose tissue, an under-appreciated action that can account for why individuals on high carbohydrate diets often have difficulty controlling their weight. Thus, lectin blocking is a safe and rational method for enhancing weight loss.

What is Deflect?

DEFLECT is a natural product composed of 'blocking sugars' designed to interfere with the adherence of troublesome dietary lectins. Since many lectins are ABO blood type specific, there are 4 different DEFLECT formulas: one for each blood type. The blocking sugars in DEFLECT can be considered 'sacrificial molecules' that attach to carbohydrate receptors on the lectins, rendering them unable to bind to the cells of the body.  The DEFLECT formulas provide a source of free blocking amino sugars which bind and block lectins before they can attach to the cells.  Since each blood type is susceptible to lectins with different carbohydrate specificities, Dr. D'Adamo designed formulas to block lectins by using mono and poly saccharides specific for each blood type.

Do You Know Your ABO Type?

There has been extensive scientific research over the past 30 years that shows evidence that your individual blood type determines your predisposition to  getting certain diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lupus, muscular sclerosis, allergies, etc.  Our blood type also determines what type of biochemistry our digestive systems are made of. "Your blood type is a powerful genetic fingerprint that identifies you as surely as your DNA".  Do you know what your blood type is? If not, you may ask your physician to order a special blood test for you to determine what your blood type is, because in  most cases unless you have been hospitalized, had surgery, or have given blood, this type of blood screening is not ordinarily done as a matter of routine. 

What is on Your Plate?

Most of us know that a chemical reaction occurs between your blood and the foods we eat, it is part of our  genetic inheritance.  But many do not know that protein lectins plays a big role in how our blood agglutinates and reacts to certain food causing this gluing process to take place, in other words if you eat a food containing protein lectins that are incompatible with your blood type and stomach enzymes that food can now target an organ or body system ( kidney, brain, stomach etc.) and begin to agglutinate the blood cells in that area. Food Lectins have characteristics that are close enough to certain blood type antigen to make it an enemy to another, for example milk has Type B like qualities; so if a person with Type A blood drinks it, their system will immediately start this blood gluing process in order to reject it resulting, then in foods that are not broken down or digested properly, and the vitamin and mineral do not get absorbed into your bloodstream to fuel and nourish your body.

What Can Lectins Do To Your Health!

Lectin might be a new word for you, or perhaps not.  Science has known about lectins for a long time, but it wasn’t until Dr. D’Adamo began his research with food lectins and how we react to them that their significance really gained momentum.  A lectin is just a small protein and these proteins are naturally occurring in several species of plants and sometimes animals.  Plant lectins are used as a defense system to kill fungus and small insects.  Some lectins are bad for everybody, like the ones in castor beans.  If you extract castor bean lectins, you end up with a well known biological poison called Ricin.  Other lectins are blood type specific, meaning they only affect one or two blood types, but not the others.  This works because lectins are like Velcro to your blood cells.  If you eat a protein, fruit or seed with a lectin that likes your blood type, it will cause your blood cells to stick together.  Lectins can clot your blood cells together, cause acute and chronic inflammation, destroy intestinal microvilli, attach to insulin receptors and cause cells to become insulin resistant and store fat, and it can also slow the absorption of protein and other nutrients.  You can learn more about lectin pros and cons in Dr. D’Adamo Live Right 4 Your Type Book.

 

The Lectins Dirty Secrets!

While dietary lectins are known in the scientific and nutritional communities, most lay people and even many medical professionals don’t know about them.  Lectins are involved in food allergies/sensitivities, inflammation and autoimmune disease, just to name a few.  For instance, lectins are linked to celiac disease.  Even weight gain and low energy can be linked to lectins.  Lectins are problematic because they are sticky molecules that can bind to the linings of human tissue, especially intestinal cells.   In so doing, they disable cells in the GI tract  keeping them from repairing and rebuilding. Therefore lectins can contribute to eroding your intestinal barrier and result in (leaky gut or diverticulitis).   Because the lectins also circulate throughout the bloodstream they can bind to any tissue in the body in the thyroid, pancreas, collagen, joints, etc.  This binding can disrupt the function of that tissue and cause white blood cells to attack the lectin-bound tissue, destroying it.  This is an autoimmune response.  The lectins in wheat for example, are specifically known to be involved in rheumatoid arthritis.....

Individualized Plan To Prevent Or Manage Diabetes!

The Blood Type diet may offer the most effective approach yet in controlling the epidemic of diabetes.  Although the numbers of those afflicted have been on the rise in recent years, 90 percent of all diabetes is preventable by eating the right diet and exercising appropriately.  We have the power to virtually eliminate the damaging effects of diabetes by making simple changes in the way we eat and live.  The progression to full-fledged diabetes usually occurs over time, so the Blood Type Diet can have a dramatic preventative influence.  That’s where the Blood Type Diet comes in......

You Should Eat What Your Are!

Certain foods and food groups act like poisons to certain blood types. What can be a medicine for one person; can be a poison for another this is possibly due to genetics.  We were born with a basic blood type O, A, B, or AB.  Do you know your blood type?  We are what we eat, but we should "Eat What we Are" if we truly want to enjoy better health and weight management this simply means that each of us should eat the diet that is compatible with our blood type.   In the animal kingdom instinct is what drives animals to eat, Lions are meat eaters and that is what they eat, while other animals are vegetarian and by instinct will not eat meat......

How Can Your Type Determine Your Health!

Many folks are not aware that the “key” and practical application of the blood type diet is that it enables you to make informed choices about your diet, exercise, supplement, and even medical treatment plans.  With the blood type road map, these plans can now correspond to your exact biological profile and the dynamic natural forces within your own body......

What We Should Know About Our Doughtnut Type!

This video summarizes it well.

Is Your Diet Compatible With Your Blood Type?

Most of us know to be skeptical when we see a weight loss program that promotes a ‘one size fits all’ approach.  With such a generalized view of health, these programs lose sight of the individual - you! It is no wonder so many diets don’t seem to work.  Other weight loss programs promise success by looking at only one factor, like calorie reduction or counting carbohydrates. Following the narrow guidelines of these programs shifts our focus from what really matters - our overall health......

What Should I Eat For My Type?

Are you aware that your blood influences every area of your physiology on a cellular level? Well you should also know that your blood type has everything to do with how you digest your food, your response to stress, your mental state, and the effectiveness of your metabolism and the strength of your immune system. Therefore, your blood type is unique. A single drop of your blood contains a biochemical makeup as unique to you as your fingerprint. No two people are alike in terms of physical, emotional and the food they take. Whenever you eat, a chemical reaction occurs between your blood and the foods or supplements you take. Food contains protein called lectins......