Unripe cooked beans and rice can make you tired

We complain when the chicken is not cooked, but what about red beans and rice? Scientists have discovered how lectins, a family of proteins believed to be natural pesticides that are abundant in undercooked beans and five grains, can make you feel temporarily miserable.

' It could be poison, ' said Dr. Paul L. McNeil, a cell biologist who talks about lectin proteins, proteins commonly found in vegetables.

Researchers have long known that eating too many uncooked lectins can cause nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. What they did not know was how lectin caused food poisoning.

This study shows that lectin damages intestinal cells, cells that work continuously while digesting food and heal scrapes in cell walls. This healing usually happens very quickly: the inner membrane moves up to cover the scratch, the cell recovers and the inner lining of the intestine remains intact.

'If those cells cannot heal the scratch, they will die,' said Dr. McNeil. 'This means you have holes in the surface of the epithelium and you let the inner world of the intestine come into contact with the blood supply.'

(Photo: Funini.com) Epithelial lining is a continuous and natural barrier between the digested food in the intestine and the blood supply. When not affected, it only allows food as good as nutrients to pass through.

'The body senses a lack of barrier function and tells you to eliminate everything in the intestinal tract,' said Dr. McNeil, noting the obvious role of lectin as a natural insecticide and a source of food poisoning is related to each other.

The scientist, who first identified how the damaged cells could heal them, said: lectins prevent this healing mechanism more powerful than anything he knows. He and his colleagues demonstrated in PloS Biology in 2006 how fiber - including beans - helps people stay healthy by creating more cellular scratches - and this makes mucus secretes more from cells, essential for lubricating the intestinal tract.

The same team has now demonstrated that lectin is also very powerful in preventing the release of mucus from cells.

In fact, they discovered the role of lectin in preventing cells from healing the wounds and secretions of viscous substances while studying fiber. They found that if using too many lectins, there would be no healing, nor the secretion of mucus, but only dead cells.

In addition to the immediate discomfort that undercooked rice and beans can cause, long-term lectin digestion is also linked to colon and rectal cancer and celiac intestinal disease , a disease Common in people who are sensitive to gluten, a protein mixture of wheat flour that contains lectin. The small intestine of people with celiac disease cannot absorb nutrients normally after consuming gluten.

He noted that lectin is one of the top 10 causes of food poisoning but does not kill because the body is very good at sensing the breakage of the intestinal barrier and eliminating this problem.

Thanh Van