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

by Steven R Gundry M.D.

Overview

"I read this book... it worked. My autoimmune disease is gone and I'm 37 pounds lighter in my pleather." —Kelly Clarkson

Most of us have heard of gluten—a protein found in wheat that causes widespread inflammation 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 cardiologist Dr. Steven Gundry reveals that gluten is just one variety of a common, and highly toxic, plant-based protein called lectin. Lectins are found not only in grains like wheat but also in the “gluten-free” foods most of us commonly regard as healthy, including many fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and conventional dairy products. These proteins, which are found in the seeds, grains, skins, rinds, and leaves of plants, are designed by nature to protect them from predators (including 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.

At his waitlist-only clinics in California, Dr. Gundry has successfully treated tens of thousands of patients suffering from autoimmune 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 Plant Paradox, he shares this clinically proven program with readers around the world.

The simple (and daunting) fact is, lectins are everywhere. Thankfully, Dr. Gundry offers simple hacks we easily can employ to avoid them, including:

• Peel your 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.
• Shop for 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 your lectin consumption.
• Swap your brown rice for white. Whole grains and seeds with hard outer coatings are designed by nature to cause digestive distress—and 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 your salad bowl—and shows you how to eat whole foods in a whole new way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062427137
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	108
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Steven R. Gundry, MD, FACS, FACC, is the director of the International Heart and Lung Institute in Palm Springs, California, and the founder/director of The Center for Restorative Medicine in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara.

Table of Contents

Introduction: It's Not Your Fault ix

Part I The Dietary Dilemma

Chapter 1 The War Between Plants and Animals 3

Chapter 2 Lectins on the Loose 27

Chapter 3 Your Gut Under Attack 71

Chapter 4 Know Thy Enemy: The Seven Deadly Disruptors 93

Chapter 5 How the Modern Diet Makes You Fat (and Sick) 131

Part II Introducing the Plant Paradox Program

Chapter 6 Revamp Your Habits 167

Chapter 7 Phase 1: Kick-Start with a Three-Day Cleanse 189

Chapter 8 Phase 2: Repair and Restore 199

Chapter 9 Phase 3: Reap the Rewards 229

Chapter 10 The Keto Plant Paradox Intensive Care Program 249

Chapter 11 Plant Paradox Supplement Recommendations 273

Part III Meal Plans and Recipes

Sample Meal Plans 289

The Plant Paradox Program Recipes 301

Acknowledgments 365

Notes 369

Index 383

Editorial Reviews

The Plant Paradox elegantly explains how plants defend themselves from being consumed by humans, and how eating the wrong ones at the wrong times immeasurably hurts our health. An eye-opening read.

Mehmet Oz

Once in a generation a doctor and a book comes along that completely changes the way we think about food and our health. Dr. Gundry is that physician and The Plant Paradox is that book. Following his advice, like I do personally, is life changing.

Tony Robbins

He famously helped Gwyneth Paltrow rethink her eating habits, so it was no surprise to see heart surgeon Steven Gundry, MD, onstage at the Goop conferenceover the weekend. And along with admitting that he usually skips breakfast—which is crazy when you think there are coffee-avocado smoothies to be had—the renowned doctor also talked gut health. (We’re listening…)

Nisha Gopalan

The Plant Paradox offers a true paradigm shift in the way we think about food. Whether you’re paleo, gluten-free, low-carb or plant-based, Dr. Gundry’s profound insights and practical advice will help reverse both autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease.

Terry Wahls

It is rare that a book on health and nutrition introduces truly novel concepts, and rarer still that it backs them up with solid scientific data and clinical proof of validity—but The Plant Paradox does just that. We all owe Dr. Gundry a debt of gratitude for his insight and dedication to a new level of superb health.

Dale Bredesen

If you have ‘tried everything’ or you or a family member are still troubled by stubborn pounds, autoimmune disease, or even heart disease, you owe to yourself to read this book. The Plant Paradox is going to dramatically improve lives, it’s that simple.

Jonathan Carp

Fellow panelist Dr. Steven Gundry, author of The Plant Paradox–which argues that certain fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans are harmful to the body–promised the crowd they would feel better if they wean themselves off their medicine cabinets. Swallowing just one Aleve, he declared, is like “swallowing a hand-grenade.”

Rina Raphael

2017-04-06
A fresh, learned perspective on eating healthy.When renowned heart surgeon Gundry (Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes that Are Killing You and Your Waistline, 2009), the director of the International Heart and Lung Institute, discovered that diet was capable of reversing heart disease—among other health issues—he dedicated his career to clarifying the science behind so-called "healthy" foods that cause harm. During his decades of clinical practice and scientific research, the author identified a health paradox: many of the grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits that are considered healthy are actually triggering inflammation, a leading cause of illness. Specifically, Gundry found that foods containing a protein called lectin—of which gluten is the most well-known—alter the gut microbiome and make people vulnerable to an array of autoimmune diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn's disease. In addition to identifying lectin as a hidden culprit, the author makes the more familiar, though still alarming, argument that the Western food industry plays a major role in systemic poor health. By feeding cows, chickens, and other animals an unnatural diet consisting mostly of corn and grains, supplemented by hormones and other chemicals, those compounds make their ways into our systems. The result is further disruption of the body's ability to properly digest food. The good news, according to Gundry, is that a healthy gut can be restored by reprogramming it using the right lectin-free foods, including many plants. In the second half of the book, he provides lists of "good" and "bad" foods, as well as recipes, alongside a dietary program designed to promote long-term health. While the "Gundry diet" is certainly restrictive, its potential is profound, and the author's writing is clear and convincing. Much more than just another dietary fad, Gundry's scientifically proven approach to restoring a healthy microbiome will reorient your approach to food.

Kirkus Reviews

"Gundry's logical and extensive investigation into lectins provides readers with more than enough evidence to take this information to heart and try his method." —Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

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