"The Plant Paradox" by Dr. Gundry

I wanted to thank GeorgeN for mentioning this book in one of his posts. I'm finding it a compelling read and would recommend it to anyone interested in your diet's impact on your health, also to anyone who has ever suspected wheat and/or gluten/grains as having adverse affects. The primary premise is that lectins are at the root of many issues. Gluten is the most famous lectin but lectins occur in lots of different foods, prominently in grains but also in plants, hence the "plant paradox".

This book is putting a lot of science behind some of the things I've experienced, thought others might benefit.

Cheers,

C

Thanks, Clay - I just received a notice about Dr. Gundry's work introduced by this video clip which provides an eye-opening look at what foods may impact your health.

[silenceyourcravings.com]

Be well,

Jackie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2017 04:53PM by Jackie.

Jackie, thanks for that link, er, infomercial for his prebiotic Quite a letdown, the book is not at all like that...

Clay - I didn't provide that link to detract from Dr. Gundry's work, but rather point out that he's reaching out to share important information in a variety of ways. Many people aren't likely to buy a book but will pay attention to videos
that provide easy-to-understand information that can be extremely helpful....especially in areas that aren't likely to be routinely addressed by their physicians.

I've seen several of these by Dr. Gundry ... obviously targeting a broad audience and providing important information from a reliable source. We know that gut issues and various sensitivities can underlie many health problems including Afib so this just supports the importance of 'leaving no stone unturned'.

Jackie

I didn't mean it that way!

My spidey sense goes off when docs start pushing their "special" supplements and formulas, especially when their calling card is "eat your way to health" - smacks of direct marketing instead of science. But I've done a little more research on him and it seems that he is well respected and that when he recommends supplements he recommends several sources and does not push his own brand.

At one point I went completely off grains and watched my chronic knee inflammation disappear (its back now that I'm back on some grains). This recommendation was from a nutritionist who did muscle testing, and while she was right it was a little bit like witchcraft, so I never really believed that it was real! So a lot of what he's saying rings true from my experience, and its helpful to see that there is science behind it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2017 10:24AM by ClayS.

I didn't mean it that way!

My spidey sense goes off when docs start pushing their "special" supplements and formulas, especially when their calling card is "eat your way to health" - smacks of direct marketing instead of science. But I've done a little more research on him and it seems that he is well respected and that when he recommends supplements he recommends several sources and does not push his own brand.

At one point I went completely off grains and watched my chronic knee inflammation disappear (its back now that I'm back on some grains). This recommendation was from a nutritionist who did muscle testing, and while she was right it was sort of like witchcraft! So a lot of what he's saying rings true from my experience, and its helpful to see that there is science behind it.

Hi Clay - We're on the same page. Sorry if my response didn't sound that way... but I am totally in agreement that Dr. Gundry is promoting extremely useful tips on underlying causes of ailments that are not typically considered by most physicians. I know about and understand muscle testing and have enjoyed the benefits of that as well.

My journey into natural health and healing practices began many years ago as a result of several tragic blunders by well-intentioned physicians but, unfortunately, who didn't have a clue about nutritional needs and interferences and I suffered the consequences. Happily, I lived to tell about it and have made it my mission to continue to learn and share knowledge so others can feel comfortable about the value of nutritional medicine.

Best to you,
Jackie

My wife and I have been a patient of Dr. Gundry's for several years. I've known a number of people who've been greatly helped by following his program. He's got a very unusual background from pioneering cardiothorasic surgeon to being in the longevity business. He still does surgery, but most of his practice is helping people with chronic illness now. I was starting to get RA-like symptoms in my hands before I went on his program. These symptoms went away almost immediately upon starting.

One story I particularly like: I met this lady online. Her story – the first time she met Gundry was in the hospital for a pre-op for a bypass he was to perform on her the next day. She asked him if there was any other way besides the surgery. He told her to get his first book, “Diet Evolution,” and follow his suggestions. She did and did not need the bypass. She said she’d lost ~45 pounds and was now able to do all kinds of physical labor on her farm/ranch.

Another is the son of a friend. When the boy was ~11 or 12, he had Crohn's disease. He was treated by standard of care, which was not working well. He was malnourished because of this. They took him to Gundry, who convinced the boy to be compliant on Gundry's program. He improved significantly in a couple of weeks. He also gained about 25 pounds of mostly muscle, fairly quickly. He just graduated from high school at ~18 with as a ripped wrestling champion with a college scholarship (still compliant through his teen years).

He published an abstract of his success managing heart disease here: <[atvb.ahajournals.org]

When he decided to enter the supplement business, he teamed up with real pros. However this gives the whole thing a "slick" feel. While I think his products are good, the real magic is in following the program he outlines in his book. As he notes in the book, supplements are just that, to supplement a good lifestyle, not in lieu of it....

As patients, we get blood panels from the labs Singulex, True Health Diagnostics & Vibrant America prior to every consult. Our last ones totaled 19 pages. All his patients get this and he considers all of us part of his research project. I'm actually not sure how he codes us to get the insurance company to allow this. He has many markers that are not part of standard panels. These include many inflammatory markers and we saw ours improve into range on the program. He starts out testing modifications to his protocol on himself and seeing what happens to markers, then widens this to others in his circle. Lastly to patients. The protocol does change over time as a result.

{edit} if anybody wants them, I can post a lot more links.

George



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2017 10:43PM by GeorgeN.

Its really exciting to see work like this being done, and also exciting to see him having success.

I'm hopping on the Gundry train!

Thanks, George, for the additional info. As Clay comments, it is exciting and great that you've been able to connect with Dr. Gundry. Even better that his fees and the lab fees are covered by insurance. My experience locally with functional medicine practitioners is they typically are cash practices...so you are indeed fortunate all around.

Jackie

Is it possible that a lot of people say they feel so good on Dr. Gundry's diet because they didn't eat too well to begin with?

I eat a lot of tomatoes, I raise them, I make a lot of sauce and juice from tomatoes--I don't have indigestion problems, no skin problems. I also eat beans sometimes, no problems, I eat dark brown bread, a few slices/day, I eat olive oil most days.

I have seen these "experts" throughout the years saying that eggs were bad, coconut oil was bad, now they are good for you.

I am 80 and I rototill a large garden, can and freeze my produce, I have many fruit trees that I have to use a spray, which I pull, it is a workout but I do it on his 4 fake foods. Now, if he comes up with a cure for AF then I will listen, otherwise, just another voice blowing in the wind.
I googled the following:

:Not always bad?

What about their beneficial effects? Any buzz you may hear is that lectins are really bad for you. That their intolerance makes you fat or has inflammatory side effects.

What they often fail to mention is that depending on the type, they can have a neutral effect – not being bad or good – or even offer benefits for human health (10).

That’s right, lectins can be healthy and good for you! You can’t paint them all with the same brush.

It’s kind of like people who start with the premise that bacteria are bad. True, many are dangerous to humans, but many are beneficial and actually necessary for our survival. Without your gut flora, you would not be able to digest nutrients and would die.

You can’t avoid lectins entirely. Common sense tells us that if their consumption was entirely bad for us, then no one – humans or animals – would have them in literally everything they eat.

Liz



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2017 11:16PM by Elizabeth.

Good review on lectins at this link that also contains a link to a presentation by Dr. Gundry involving lectins and Inflammation...which is always important info for afibbers wanting to avoid the thick, sticky blood consequences of inflammation [articles.mercola.com]

Excerpt
Lectins Are Highly Inflammatory
One major concern is that most lectins are proinflammatory, meaning they trigger inflammation and create advanced glycation end products. C-reactive protein (CRP) is one example of the many lectins you have circulating in your body right now, and it’s used as a marker of inflammation.

They are also immunotoxic (capable of stimulating a hyperimmune response), neurotoxic and cytotoxic, meaning they’re toxic to cells and may induce apoptosis (cell death). Certain lectins may also increase your blood viscosity by binding to your red blood cells

This makes the blood cells sticky, resulting in abnormal clotting. Some lectins (such as WGA) may even interfere with gene expression and disrupt endocrine function. Lectins also promote leptin resistance, thereby increasing your risk of obesity. All of these factors can predispose you to disease.

Also:
[selfhacked.com]

Liz,

Certainly some of his patients have had poor diets before transitioning to Gundry's program. Others, however, have been on what would generally be considered very good diets.

All foods have lectins. Gundry's point is for humans, some we've had hundreds of thousands or millions of years to adapt to, others are very recent on an evolutionary scale (nightshades, which are from America, have been in the diet for hundreds of years). Also he points out that Italians always seed and skin their tomatoes, which is where the lectins are. He has other examples of how traditional preparation can diminish lectin effect.

He also notes that some people who are sensitive to wheat can successfully eat it in Italy & France where they don't use glyphosate to dry the wheat before harvest. Also the breads are yeast or raised or sourdough. Evidently in a lot of commercial bread sold in the US, transglutaminase is used to raise it instead of yeast.

As patients, he tells us "get your numbers in line (from our extensive blood tests) & then see what you can get away with." Different people have different sensitivities. Most pushback about his program is that it is too strict, not that it doesn't work.

Since the publication of his first book, he attracted around 50% of his patients with formerly intractable autoimmune illness who have beat a path to his door. He has successfully treated many of them. Thirty percent of his patient base have one or two copies of the ApoE4 gene (also known as the Alzheimer's gene, which also increases heart disease risk). He is keeping them mentally healthy as they age, without CVD causing issues.

This case from his book is pretty interesting:

"George P. was eighty-five when his son moved his wife and him to Palm Springs from their home in Florida, after George was diagnosed with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. The relocation had not gone well. When a person with dementia is removed from his familiar surroundings, the dementia almost always worsens, as was the case with George, and he began wandering at night. The family was living on a tight budget, so a twenty-four-hour care or a memory care facility was not in the cards. After his son brought George to see me, testing revealed the presence of the ApoE4 genotype, commonly called the Alzheimer’s gene. He also had high insulin levels and sugar levels, typical of people with George’s condition. His poor brain was starving for sugar. The entire family went on the Keto Plant Paradox Intensive Care Program and I added some brain-enhancing supplements for George. Within a couple of months, he stopped wandering at night. A few more months and he was engaging his son and wife in conversations and jokes, just as he had years earlier. I saw George every three months like clockwork for his new blood work, often drawing his blood myself to have more time to assess his status. About a year after his first appointment, I walked into my exam room to draw George’s blood. On this day, his son and wife, who were always with him, were nowhere in sight. “Where’s your family?” I asked. “Home,” he replied. “Well, did someone drive you here?” I asked. “No,” he replied, “I drove myself.” The shocked look on my face must have surprised him. Getting up from his chair, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Look, I’ve been coming here every few months for over a year now. Don’t you think I’d remember the way by now?” If I ever needed reassurance of my faith in the power of food, his question said it all."

My first pass is to suggest to people they eat non-processed food.

George

I would guess that genetics and history play a pretty big role in our general health, which is why its great that he does the testing he does. The challenge I have with supplements and/or diet, is that I'm not running tests and therefore don't really know what's going on - I'm painting with some pretty broad brushes and hoping my observations on whether things are better or worse are correct. That's why I'm excited to see this approach having success, especially with insurance coverage. If this were more available or even standard, our questions would have better answers.

Clay - yes, metabolic testing is definitely important. My FM MD likes to test a couple times a year or even more frequently when working on a specific issue. Fortunately, Medicare does cover most of the labs... ie, Genova Metabolic Profile testing as one example. The genetic tests such as George has mentioned help tremendously in guiding targeted supplementation for genetic interferences.

For afibbers, the ExaTest identifies intracellular status of critical electrolytes that is extremely useful guidance.
At the time when I had those, my insurance covered as well. Markers of inflammation as mentioned in the "Thick, Sticky Blood" and "Clot Risk" posts are extremely important for afibbers who have not been prescribed formal anticoagulants. And as the Gundry info points out, certain food elements such as lectins can impact blood viscosity so it all links together... that's why experts using the functional medicine approaches to health are so valuable because they really can make a difference by eliminating core problems rather than masking over with drugs.

Jackie

From family history, I'm not starting with the best hand. My dad passed from cancer and mom had cancer and dementia when she passed of a respiratory infection. To Liz's point, everyone thought mom had a wonderful diet. Until she had to go into a memory care facility, she prepared all her food from scratch from whole foods - plenty of whole grains, legumes, nightshades & seeded veggies. However from a Gundry perspective, her diet was full of lectins. It is a path I'd like not to repeat. She would accompany people to restaurants & not eat. Likewise, she was so particular she would bring her own food when invited to others' houses for social occasions.

People with different genetics may be able to get away with more than I can. My wife and I effectively eat the same diet. Compared to the population, our lab numbers are both excellent. However hers are significantly better than mine and I am stricter than she is.

George:

You are probably right, geneticts have a lot to do with our health----my mother did not eat the best diet, she ate potatoes everyday, she ate ice cream, and she loved donuts, she didn't eat a lot of them but she didn't deprive herself. She had AF the last 10 years of her life which weaken her, but she did live to 93 and was able to take care of herself throughout most of that time. I am sorry that your mother went through what she did. I remember once when I was talking with Dr. Brownstein and he had mentioned that a close friend of his had died from cancer (he was only in his fifties) he also did everything right, didn't help.

I don't think it is only what you eat it is also what you do, a lot of people are heavy because they are inactive. Most people don't work physically hard anymore, yes, many do exercise, running etc. I don't think that is quite the same.

I am wary of many of these people that come out saying this or that is causing all of our problems. Dr. Gundry sells expensive supplements---the ingredients in a lot of his supplements are not new, his Lectin shield has glucosamine which has been around for many years, he has MSM and sea shells, nothing new, I can't take any of those kind of supplements as they will give me aura Migraines.

My blood work has always been good all these years even after eating all of these Lectin foods, so for me, that is my gold standard.

Liz

Great summary observation, George. Just as the experts say, "you don't have to be held hostage to your genes" and you are certainly to be commended for getting to the right people for the right tests as there are a lot of unreliable tests and many, still unknown to a lot of doctors. As a result, you've gone well beyond 'the extra mile' and I'm sure you will live a long and healthy life as a result. You have your Afib in remission. Hat's off to you!!!

My grandmother lived to two week short of her 105th birthday. Eight children; no hospitals; no major ailments, rarely ill, survived the depression; short on money; cooked from scratch; had a garden in summer; outlived four of her children. An amazing woman ... and no Afib, either. Outside of my bout with Afib and a couple of other relatively minor imbalances, I'm hoping I can live as well and as symptom free as she did so I appreciate the insight that Dr. Gundry and similar colleagues who point the way to maintaining good health. Thanks for sharing your motivating story.

Best to you,
Jackie

Liz,

Dr. Gundry actually suggests glucosamine, MSM & etc. He told us to eat shrimp shells when we eat shrimp. He mentioned that he developed this lectin shield product because about 50% of his patients weren't helped by the aforementioned. He also said he preferred that we avoid lectins, not take the product and go ahead and eat them. He says he uses his own product when he travels and can't control his meals as well. For me, I just fast when the choices are not ideal. I've been known to fast for a week, so not a big deal.

He is also big on polyphenols. He has us consume significant quantities of unfiltered olive oil for this purpose.

He would tell people they are better off following his diet recommendations than consuming his supplements on top of a poor diet.

All this being said, I have doctor friends who treat people with T2 diabetes & etc with low carb diets. One friend, Mark Cucuzzella, holds the current record for dropping a patient's A1C (~6 week average blood sugar) from 23.7 to 5.3 (7 is considered diabetic, 4.6 is perfect), through dietary means. The patient presented at the hospital with a serum glucose of 750 mg/dL!


Other docs I know treat these conditions with fasting. Toronto nephrologist, Jason Fung is a primary example & blog.

A friend, Dr. Terry Wahls, put her very progressive MS in remission using a program that is somewhat similar to Gundry's. She is now using this program in NIH & MS society funded studies. She also has a VA clinic and successfully used the program to treat vets with TBI's, PTSD & depression. Last August there was a 6 month wait to get into her clinic. She is very strict about compliance, vets who don't want to comply are removed from the program and asked to reapply when they are ready to comply. She has a TEDx talk and book.

Gundry's program at its core is designed to keep insulin low, as are the others. What the differential benefit is between the programs, I cannot say. Especially for those with more complex cases, I would recommend Gundry or Wahls, though all are better than standard diet and standard of care, in my opinion.

George:
My father had Graves disease, my mother AF and occassional Aura Migraines, I got all 3, my brother missed it all but he did pass away a few years ago of prostrate cancer. I don't know of any relatives that had cancer, so who knows, it is a hit or miss with our genes.. I am in awe of you that you can go a week without not eating, I am more prone to low blood sugar and cannot go a whole day without food.

You should go on that program where these people go to remote parts of the world and have to survive on whatever they can hunt or fish for their food for 3 weeks. They have to make their fire without matches in order to purify their water so they can drink it, they can bring a magnesium fire starter. They make their shelter from whatever they can find, a lot can't make it for 3 weeks if they cannot find food. They also don't have any clothes on or shoes, it is rather interesting to watch what they do to survive and the remote places that they go to.

Liz

Liz,

Ha ha, that would be funny!

In what I've researched, most low blood sugar is caused by a late (meaning a significant time after food is consumed) insulin response that is ultimately too large and drops the blood sugar.

In my case, I've trained my system over time to exist in a low insulin state most of the time. Also to easily produce plenty of ketones when food is absent. Ketones being an alternative brain fuel. I can exercise pretty hard being several days fasted (a few weeks ago, I skied over 34,000' vertical on steep an ungroomed runs at 12,000' starting at 40 hours fasting), but having fasted for five days and then replicated that skiing effort, I can tell I'm not as effective as when I'm fed or only fasted for a couple of days. Interestingly, I actually felt my muscles recovered more quickly on two days fasted than on fed. I've asked a couple of researchers about this and gotten a couple of different opinions. One thought it might be that ketones help clear lactate quicker, another thought it might have to do with serum pH.

I'm using myself as a guinea pig right now on long term fasting/refeeding cycles. I've seen some interesting results (for example, my chronic nasal congestion since infancy is clearer than I ever recall), but nothing on the afib front so far. Not that I get it often enough to tell. However I've been looking at some monitoring I've done during sleep. I have some sleep cycles where the heart rate increases by 20 BPM for 5 or so seconds a few times an hour. There can be PAC's that occur during these cycles. If PAC's go away, I might make a case I've done something for the heart electrical system. I've seen these patterns since I started monitoring 11 years ago.

George

Gentlefolk,

Dr Gundry has his stronlgly held opinions and no doubt they will suit some people.My problem is that he makes them a general rule.

People can and do live very well around the world with widely different food choices .

I have seen many dietary systems held with strongly held beliefs over the decades.

Many or most have now disappeared.

Be more questioning

Thanks

Alexe