Else Nutrition - In addition to the FDA/clinical trial requirement, another potential area of concern with Else is their use of buckwheat and almonds, both of which contain lectin proteins, which can potentially cause intestinal problems and leaky gut.
Lectins are proteins found in many plants (usually in the hull), and are one of the plant's evolutionary defense mechanisms against overgrazing. The lectin proteins bind to the lining of the gut and can trigger an immune response and intestinal problems which effectively discourage overgrazing by the consuming animal or human. Gluten is the most well known lectin, but there are many others.
Buckwheat is otherwise extremely nutritious, but is unfortunately loaded with lectins. Almonds are free of lectins if they are blanched (skin removed), or if they are of the Marcona variety.
See Dr. Steve Gundry for or a primer on lectins. He points out that most patients who think they are gluten intolerant are actually reacting to another lectin in wheat (wheat germ agglutinin). Unfortunately for their 'gluten free' products, most food companies replace the offending wheat with other
grains that also contain lectins (oats, soy, corn, barley). That's why so many people who think they are gluten intolerant will continue to have GI symptoms even after dropping wheat from their diet.
The only other problem I'm aware of with buckwheat is the
potential for 'Niacin flushing' due to the high level of Vit B3/Niacin. But lectins are the big potential landmine for buckwheat. The lectin problem with almonds can be avoided by using blanched (skinless) almonds, or Marconas. Some alternatives to almonds that are lectin-free are walnuts, pistachios, macadamias, and pine nuts.
As far as I know, tapioca is fine from a lectin perspective.
Anyway, just a 'heads up' on the lectin topic since many people, including food scientists, are still unaware of the most recent info/research, and much of the food industry is in denial since their product lines are completely based on lectin containing grains.
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