Remove the Toxins from Your Diet with ‘The Plant Paradox’ [REVIEW]

Foods you eat every day are trying to kill you. Find out which ones in Steven R. Gundry’s The Plant Paradox.
(Photo by Jonas Tana, Flickr)

We’ve all heard the saying, “you are what you eat.” But in the era of Genetically Modified Organisms, this maxim can produce a lot of anxiety. That’s why world-renowned heart surgeon Steven R. Gundry, MD has written The Plant Paradox. Here he helps us navigate the world of food so we can eat better and live longer.  

Harper Wave

Dr. Gundry enlightens us with new thoughts about food consumption so we don’t bloat minutes after eating. Like so many Americans, I try to make sure my family eats healthy. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash are normal parts of our diet. Yet, when my husband eats them, he frequently feels bad afterward. I didn’t understand why until now. The answer is lectin.

“[Lectins] are large proteins found in plants and animals, and they are a crucial weapon in the arsenal of strategies that plants use to defend themselves in their ongoing battle with animals,” Gundry explains (pg. 14). Interesting little piece of information, right?

These proteins are considered “sticky” because they bind to the salic acid found in your gut and bodily fluids, which in turn interrupts the messages transmitted between cells causing inflammation. They can also bind very well with virus and bacteria, causing increased health problems and overall sickness. And last but not least, you gain weight from consuming them! Who knew? Certainly not me!

I couldn’t turn the pages of The Plant Paradox fast enough, eager to learn as much as I possibly could to gain a better understanding of how and why I need to change my eating habits. First, Gundry helps us fully understand the verbiage on various packaging labels, such as “gluten free,” “cage free,” and “all natural” (pg. 126-127).

Then he teaches us how to avoid lectins in the foods we already eat. Although the list is extensive, I am convinced that I can eliminate the foods that cause my husband the most trouble so he can lead a more fulfilling life, lose weight and ultimately feel good every day.

If you read one book to improve your health and well being this year, make it The Plant Paradox. Soon, you will discern the changes you can make to feel your very best.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steven R. Gundry, MD
(Photo by Drea Castro)

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.

He has operated in more than 30 countries, including charitable missions to China, India, and Zimbabwe. He pioneered the science of interspecies heart and tissue transplants, and kept a baboon alive with a transplanted pig heart for a record breaking 28 days.

He is one of the first 20 surgeons to test the implantable left ventricular assist device, a type of artificial heart. And together with his colleague Leonard Bailey, they have performed more infant and pediatric heart transplants than anyone else in the world.

Dr. Gundry graduated cum laude from Yale University, with special honors in Human Biological and Social Evolution. He is an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine and completed residencies in general surgery and thoracic surgery at the University of Michigan. Additionally, he served as a clinical associate at the National Institutes of Health and completed a fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London.

Visit his home on the Web at GrundyMD.com, or connect with him on Facebook.

THE PLANT PARADOX: THE HIDDEN DANGERS IN “HEALTHY” FOODS THAT CAUSE DISEASE AND WEIGHT GAIN
By Steven R. Gundry, M.D.
416 pgs. Harper Wave. $27.99

You may purchase this book at one of these fine online retailers: HarperCollins, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

The Plant Paradox is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.