Curriculum
Module 05 · 40 min
Plant Defenses, Honestly
Oxalates, lectins, phytates, goitrogens — what's real, what's overblown.
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Newcomer summary
Read this first
Plants can't run from being eaten, so they evolved chemicals to make eating them costly — for insects, fungi, and sometimes us. Most are tolerable. Some aren't. Carnivore removes the question entirely.
Topics
What this module covers
- 01Why plants can't run, so they poison
- 02Oxalates and dumping syndromes
- 03Lectins, phytates, and absorption
- 04Goitrogens, cyanogenic glycosides, alkaloids
- 05Dose, individual susceptibility, and the 'healthy plant' trope
Learning objectives
By the end you'll be able to
- L01Name the major plant defense families and what they do.
- L02Distinguish 'toxic for everyone' from 'toxic for some.'
- L03Understand oxalate dumping when reintroducing low-oxalate diets.
Expected takeaways
What you should walk away believing
- →Plants have chemical defenses. This is uncontroversial biology.
- →Dose, processing, and individual susceptibility decide the outcome.
- →'Superfood' marketing routinely ignores the antinutrient ledger.
Graded claims
What the evidence supports
A
Spinach is high in bioavailable oxalate
Well documented; relevant for kidney-stone formers.
E
All plants are toxic and humans should avoid them
Overreach. Tolerance is individual; 'all toxic' isn't useful.
Flashcards
Spaced recall, the lazy way
Front · card 1 / 1
Oxalate dumping?
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Progress
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