I tend to think of paleo more as a guide for the overall diet and the types of food that make up the majority of it. When you try to make an absolute list of allowed and banned foods it can get rather silly concerning grey area foods like peas.

Peas are a product of agriculture and result from selective breeding to reduce the levels of toxins they contain so they can be eaten raw safely. They do still have some lectin content, perhaps this is a problem.

However is there any evidence at all that eating peas is bad for your health? If not it is all just theory.

Theorising is what got eggs demonised for containing cholesterol.

My typical response to this is that they shouldn't be part of your regular daily diet since they ARE a legume and they are also pretty high glycemic. That said, I don't think they contain the same lectin properties as other legumes. Green beans are also a bit of an exception to that legume rule... as are sugar snaps and snap peas I think. I asked Robb Wolf about green beans at his seminar and he pretty much said they're good to go (green beans that is).

Yes, visualize whirled peas! I love peas, especially in a pea salad with uncured bacon and homemade mayo.

Peanuts are also tasty raw right out of the shell.

Peas contain biogenic amines (e.g., histamines) that can be problematic if you have food sensitivities as a result of leaky gut. The same can be said for salicylates that are contained in many different Paleo-friendly foods. The overarching goal of Paleo is to restore balance by reducing irritation, which is caused, in part, due to leaky gut. Thus, the goal should be to avoid foods that cause irritation via leaky gut, no matter your nutritional philosophy (e.g., GAPS, Paleo). If peas cause problems, leave them out. If you handle them well, keep them in. Given the human body's complexity, dogmatic views have no place in health.

I have a friend who is 100% paleo except for that he eats a lot of peas. He is a little on the thin side, but lean and not skinny fat at all. He uses them as his "safe starch."

ye im allergic to peas...and peanuts/tree nuts.

For adhearance to the paleo diet all those other comments, such as; "can be eaten raw" "taste good" "probably is not" "should be" on and on, should be taken out of the equation. The fact is they are legumes and not to be part of the Paleo diet. 100 grams of peas = 15 grams of carbohydrates, cliflower 3, brocolli 5. That puts peas up there with banannas and grapes which are at the top of the list for fruits. A good source of carbohydrates for balancing your diet to your activity level is yams or potatoes. No grains, no legumes. Paleo or not, you choose.

According to Loren Cordain, Ph.D., author of The Paleo Diet, peas are on the list of foods to avoid. Legumes include peas and snowpeas, chickpeas, sugar snap peas. Sorry. So many other vegetables to chose from.

Anyone who says "pea's are bad for you" should be labeled a quack and ignored.

Jicama is a legume and is beloved by many a paleo-er.

I would say the no-to-very-low lectin "green" varieties (green beans, snow peas, snap peas) as well as the non-seed portion of legume plants (e.g jicama) are "safe legumes."

Plain old green peas would fall into this category, I suppose. Frankly, I don't find them terribly interesting or tasty compared to the alternatives (if I'm going to "go there" anyway).

Did you know that nuts also have chemical deterrents to protect them from predators? This is why almonds are blanched, to remove the skin which contains deterrent acid. Nuts are still very healthy of course, but you must know how to prepare the specific nut, and not eat so many that they constipate you for instance, which would be unhealthy. There are things to know about legumes as well that will make them more healthy, such as removing the scum that foams to the top as they cook, and useful spices such as asafoetida that decrease gas forming effects of beans.