Plant Paradox: Dr. Gundry on bad health foods

Dr. Steven R Gundry MD, 4/25/17; Ananda (DBM), Ashley Wells (eds.). Wisdom Quarterly


The Plant Paradox: Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain

Most of us have heard of toxic gluten — a protein found in wheat, pizza, flour, pasta, and bread that causes widespread inflammation and other problems in the body.

Americans spend billions of dollars on gluten-free diets in an effort to protect their health. But what if we’ve been missing the root of the problem?

In The Plant Paradox, renowned California cardiologist Dr. Steven Gundry reveals that gluten is just one variety of a common, highly toxic, plant-based protein called lectin.

Lectins are found in grains like wheat and also in the “gluten-free” foods most of us commonly  think are healthy -- including many fruits, vegetables, nuts (like peanuts, which are actually beans), beans, and conventional dairy products.

These proteins, which are found in the grains, seeds, skins, rinds, and leaves of plants, are designed by nature to protect plants from predators like humans.

Once ingested, they incite a kind of chemical warfare in our bodies, causing inflammatory reactions that can lead to weight gain and serious health conditions, like auto-immune diseases.

• "I read this book...it worked. My auto-immune disease is gone, and I'm 37 pounds lighter in my pleather." - Kelly Clarkson

This fruit is a health food full of good fat.

At his clinics in California, Dr. Gundry has successfully treated tens of thousands of patients suffering from auto-immune disorders, diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases with a protocol that detoxes the cells, repairs the gut, and nourishes the body.

Now, in the book series The Plant Paradox, he shares this clinically-proven program with readers everywhere.

The simple and daunting fact is, lectins are everywhere. Fortunately, Dr. Gundry offers simple hacks to employ to avoid them, including:

• Peel veggies. Most of the lectins are contained in the skin and seeds of plants; simply peeling and de-seeding vegetables (like tomatoes and peppers) reduces their lectin content.
• Eat fruit in season. Fruit contain fewer lectins when ripe, so eating apples, berries, and other lectin-containing fruits at the peak of ripeness helps minimize lectin consumption.
• Swap brown rice for white. Whole grains and seeds with hard outer coatings are designed by nature to cause digestive distress — because they are full of lectins.

With a full list of lectin-containing foods and simple substitutes for each, a step-by-step detox and eating plan, and delicious lectin-free recipes, The Plant Paradox illuminates the hidden dangers lurking in a salad bowl — and shows us how to eat whole foods in a whole new way. More