The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain
Written by Steven R. Gundry, MD
Narrated by Steven R. Gundry, MD
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
"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.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Steven R. Gundry, MD
Steven R. Gundry, MD, is the director of the International Heart and Lung Institute in Palm Springs, California, and the founder and director of the Center for Restorative Medicine in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara. After a distinguished surgical career as a professor and chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University, Dr. Gundry changed his focus to curing modern diseases via dietary changes. He is the bestselling author of The Longevity Paradox, The Plant Paradox, The Plant Paradox Cookbook, The Plant Paradox Quick and Easy, and Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution, and has written more than three hundred articles published in peer-reviewed journals on using diet and supplements to eliminate heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and multiple other diseases. Dr. Gundry lives with his wife, Penny, and their dogs in Palm Springs and Montecito, California.
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Reviews for The Plant Paradox
190 ratings18 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Dr. Gundry provides a poorly based argument against lectins, supported by anecdotes and no objective evidence. In the book he cites sources for the lectins that might lead one to be deceived into thinking their is scientific support for his claims, but investigation of the sources yields only definitions of lectins and descriptions of lectins performing normal functions in the body. None of his sources support pathological processes of lectins, certainly not to the scale he claims. In summary, this is a doctor enamored with diet trends, claiming scientific support and explanations for the trends and providing his own advice and recipes for benefits when he is only peddling snake oils.
11 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I suffer from RA, hypothyroid, acid reflux, I wanted to read this book for so long. As the audiobook went on I started to change my diet and started to reduce my medications and stopped all but one. My pain has decreased and I am so excited! I have had severe pain for over 10 years!! I just ordered his cookbook.
Jennifer P3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5CAUTION!
This is pseudo-science and does NOT adhere to academic standards.2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Informative... excellent... audio was a pleasure to listen to ......should be mandatory for anyone interested in health..... bold and new claims .... even if you disagree with some of the claims, you need to be aware of them
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Non-science based book with author promote his supplements
https://www.redpenreviews.org/reviews/the-plant-paradox-the-hidden-dangers-in-healthy-foods-that-cause-disease-and-weight-gain/
https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/6u37ic/factchecking_review_of_the_plant_paradox_the/1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is briliant stuff.
But is amaizing that it actualy works.
Great team.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've been looking for the best and most healthiest way to eat. I've tried just about all the diet plans out there. This book cleared up my "diet confusion." Backed by science and medical experience, and I'm confident that I know the best way to eat for a healthier, vibrant, energized, disease-eliminating, sustainable eating plan! Thank you, Dr. Gundry!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book and can't wait to implement the things I learned. Hoping to get my Crohn's in remission if not cure it. Will write another review after trying the progam.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Half is decent advice, the other half has already been proven to be inaccurate. Extremely disappointed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is my new food bible I reread it over and over again it’s packed with life saving information
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The author made it simple to understand and interesting at the same time. One famous quote that I love is “ It’s not my fault “. We all can achieve great health if we take the time to listen and apply yourself to all the author teaches us to do.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dr. Gundry's books are always well written. And at the forefront of healing our nation by food. Recipes are a bit lacking, but most diet/health books are... I guess that's why he sells the cookbook separate.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book helps in the destruction of the environment. Feeding like that is very egoistic.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book provides actionable insights for readers to take resulting in overall improvements in health, energy and the removal of chronic illnesses.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very interesting and informative. It completely changed my views on nutrition. After some preparations I will be ready to start the program soon! Thank you very much!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book, I had to buy the actual copy too
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I have been seeing a holistic doctor and she recommended this book to me as a lifestyle change for my eating habits. Not going to lie, I'm a little skeptical about all this but I'm willing to give it a try. Gundry does make some farfetched assertions about the benefits of his program, especially when he's also hocking his name brand version of the supplements he wants you to be on.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5While there is some useful information in this book, the conclusion that an expensive diet is the solution does not match other facts that I've learned. His audience seems to be an upper class white European, a person who has no problem with industrialization and globalization. Yes, our health issues are not our fault. The solution is not more industrialization and processing of foods. There isn't one solution, but the solution certainly is not more of what caused the problem in the first place (industrialization and agriculture). We need to restore land, restore soil, restore living in balance with the world around us. There are better books that look at a bigger picture to see what needs to change. The solution certainly isn't one of making better personal food choices. We need to stop those who are poisoning the land and our food. We need systematic changes.All that said, I do think he is correct on much of what he says in this book. And the food plan listed does look healthy. The problem I have with it is that it is expensive and requires globalization and industrialization. This isn't a solution for the average person. We need to heal our entire communities rather than focusing on those with the money to follow an expensive diet.