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Book Review: The Plant Paradox

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Happy May, My Lovelies!  I keep meaning to write a post sharing with you all the exciting things going on with me and my family.  I promise to catch you up via a longer post soon, but first I'm very happy to share with you one of the most important health books I've ever read: The Plant Paradox by Dr. Steven R. Gundry.  I am so grateful for TLC Book Tours allowing me to be a part of this tour.  (As you know, I typically review literature and historical fiction; I rarely review nonfiction.)  

Please read this review.  It will change your life!




About The Plant Paradox

• Hardcover: 416 pages

Publisher: Harper Wave; 1 edition (April 25, 2017)

“Dr. Gundry is a true trailblazer, always at the forefront of scientific knowledge. The Plant Paradox shows the world what pioneer thinking is about and is a must-read book for anyone interested in being as healthy as nature has designed them to be.” —Alejandro Junger MD, New York Times bestselling author of Clean, Clean Gut and Clean Eats

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, MD, Professor of Surgery, New York Presbyterian/Columbia University

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.


 

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble




Photo by Drea Castro

About Steven R. Gundry, M.D.

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. Find out more about Dr. Gundry and his work at his website, and connect with him on Facebook.


My Review:

I have read many health and diet-related books over the years, but never one like The Plant Paradox. Dr. Gundry combines history, chemistry, and biology to explain why and how certain plants were never meant for us to eat.  However, don't let this dissuade you from reading the book because it does not read like a dry, academic journal piece.  I also think it's important that his research has been peer reviewed, and his endnotes are extensive.  Much of what he writes about he's known for years to be anecdotally true, but some of the science like "immune system scanners" is relatively new science: the description for these scanners won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2011 and the discovery of the receptors (G-spotters) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2012.  These new discoveries help explain the patterns Dr. Gundry has noted in the immune systems of his patients.

What's really disconcerting is how physicians and the media have erroneously encouraged the consumption of whole grains and other "super foods" that are not healthy at all.  Gundry explains why these foods are dangerous to our immune systems, and he lists them so they can be avoided.  But the good news is he's included a list of healthy options as well as recipes to get the reader started on a path to a healthier life.  Also included in the book: anecdotes from patients who struggled with varying health issues and how changing their diet changed their health drastically for the better.

I don't mean to get off topic, but this book reminds me of my grandfather: He was one of the artists for Jenny Craig's "You Are What You Eat" campaign back during the 80s, and I can remember one of his drawings was a beautiful giraffe made entirely of leaves.  While we may not literally be like the giraffe and look like or "become" what we consume, we can certainly be constrained by eating lectins found in so-called "healthy" foods.  So instead of "You Are What You Eat," this book teaches us why "You're Sick Because of What You Eat."

I am currently purging our pantry and restocking it with the good choices found in the book.  I truly believe that it will make all of us feel better, and I will update my family's progress from time to time here on the blog.  I hope you will read this book, and I'd love for you to share your thoughts with me either below in the comments section or via email.

Disclosure:

I received a copy of The Plant Paradox from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.



Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill



16 comments

  1. This is interesting. Recently I was told that I needed to change my diet. Although I was not given a specific plan to follow by the docs, I was instructed to eschew white foods and all high-fat foods: potatoes, refined sugar, white rice, white flour, etc., especially. I have followed it fairly closely, dropped 10 pounds immediately, and it sounds like this book totally turns that on it's ear! I need to read it. I am beginning to think I need to find a way to subsist on water and air since everything seems to be off-limits: salt (the blood pressure) meat and cheese (fat and cholesterol) and especially sugar (everything tasty!). What a conundrum!

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  2. WOW! Is THAT interesting. A total upheaval of everything we have been reading and learning about for the past several years. I think this would really be worth the read. xo Diana

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  3. Very interesting, Ricki. I definitely have to look into this one...who knew?

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  4. This sounds fascinating, but daunting at the same time!

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  5. I have read a lot about the dangers of gluten free food lately. I can remember all the changes and cycles the so called expert nutritionists have recommended over the years and the one thing I have been convinced of is eating real, clean, non processed foods. Easier said than done today, and I don't plan on existing on greens and seeds, but I do find it fascinating, and will be checking out this book! Thanks Ricki Jill,
    Jenna

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  6. Sounds like you're making some great changes - I hope you see the positive effects very quickly!

    Thanks for being a part of the tour!

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  7. Thanks for the info!

    I am going to do some research.

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  8. Fascinating stuff! I'm curious to see how this takes off, since it sure makes sense to me!

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  9. Sounds interesting! It's hard to eat all the right foods. We've done more research and we've changed some things this year. I just got the book Chilbury Ladies choir at the library today. I think you recommended it...I think! Hugs!

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  10. I find this whole thing hard to swallow. When I joined Weight Watchers I started eating about half the amount of food I had been consuming - and my digestive problems disappeared. I would write more, but I am eating dinner - which includes apples with the skins on. I am feeling great.

    PS: For one person to write that all you know about dieting is ludicrous - if this was backed up by independently verifiable research and clinical trials then I might believe it.

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Hello!

I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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