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Gene Therapy Plan, The
From a renowned oncologist and pioneer in integrative medicine, a breakthrough in treating and preventing disease by altering our genetic blueprint What if the food we eat could target not only diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer but the effects of aging What if our diets could affect every aspect of our health by controlling the expression of our genes While modern medicine largely focuses on treating symptoms with prescription drugs, Dr. Gaynors revolutionary approach goes straight to the most fundamental level our DNA. Although we cannot change the genes we are born with, we can change how they are expressed over the course of our lives through foods and supplements that prevent and reverse disease. The Gene Therapy Plan presents the science behind these ideas and provides easy-to-follow meal plans and recipes to help put them into practice. Empowering and informative, this meticulously researched book by the author of Nurture Nature, Nurture Health offers accessible prescriptions for freeing ourselves from what we thought was our genetic destiny.
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First published April 21, 2015
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May 29, 2015
Restoring Balance
`We should see ourselves not as being merely "healthy" or "ill," but as being ecogenetically "well managed" or "poorly managed" across the life span' states New York City physician MITCHELL GAYNOR, M.D., the founder and president of Gaynor Wellness and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College with more than twenty-five years of experience treating patients. What he brings to us in this book is the concept of treating the entire person through a combination of allopathic approaches and alternative therapies - an approach he calls The Gene Therapy Plan. It is a breath of fresh air to all of us who have been practicing medicine for years.
With the advances in technology come some miracles and - some ill effects. The presence of computer technology has altered not only the way we communicate and isolate ourselves by relying on instant texting and selfies and apps and docs and memory sticks, it has also altered medicine, some would say in a good way, others have noted the distancing between physician and patient that occurs when that 10 minute appointment becomes a faceless entering of data and prescribing on an iPad using codes instead of words and caring eye contact and, God forbid, laying on of hands. Terms now common are MRI, CT, chemo, and even in the operating room Robotics and laparoscopes have replaced skilled surgeons' hands and touch and integration of all the senses. There is a growing dichotomy between practicing medicine by treating the whole patient and coding a diagnosis that plugs into approach A, B, or C - depending on the schematic pain of the medical center. Where does that lead? `Fixing things' as opposed to healing and guiding toward health in all facets of living.
Hello, Dr. Gaynor! In this intensely helpful book he takes us through the approach that connects mind, body, nutrition, and restoring balance to our bodies to overcome genetic dispositions toward eventual disease states. `We all have the seeds of illness within us. The question is whether that potential for disease will become active or will remain dormant.' He uses the nutrigenetic approach `Using nutrients in this strategic way to combat disease and promote good health is called "nutrigenetics," and it is the core principle of the Gene Therapy Plan. Nutrigenetics is actually a subset of a broader approach called "ecogenetics," which is focused more broadly on how we live in our environment and how the environment as a whole interacts with the individual's genome to produce either health or disease. Our level of physical activity, for instance, may encourage (or discourage) the production of more inflammation-suppressing enzymes. Meanwhile, whether we are fat or lean affects whether we send out weaker (if we are lean) or stronger (if we are obese) signals to suppress cancer-killing substances...The Gene Therapy Plan takes all these interactions into account. It is designed to help you combat the most prevalent and troubling diseases of our time, and it does so in the context of promoting overall health and well-being through weight control, stress reduction, and exercise.`
In his warm yet scholarly Introduction he opines, `You are what you eat', my mother always told me. But it wasn't until after I'd finished my medical training and become a cancer specialist that I learned just how profoundly right she was.' It is that tone that he maintains throughout this resource for healthy living book. `Today I divide my time equally between Gaynor Integrative Oncology, a practice focused on treating cancer patients, and Gaynor Wellness, in which I apply the same ecogenetic principles to treating people with a variety of concerns, ranging from general health maintenance and disease prevention to weight loss, insomnia, chronic fatigue, dermatological diseases, and Parkinson's. Both practices incorporate meditation, music therapy, guided imagery, and cognitive behavioral therapy in concert with activities such as restorative physical therapy, yoga, aerobic exercise, and qigong as well as nutritional counseling based on the same principles presented here in the Gene Therapy Plan. My aim is always to treat the entire person in a way that acknowledges the complex nature of chronic illness, and to work at every level of the body's healing processes--physiological, genetic, psychosocial, and spiritual-- to create an optimal state of well-being.'
The book is divided into two parts: Targeting Disease with Gene Therapy, and Implementing the Plan. He discusses the basic plan and how it applies to obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and aging, and then he devotes a large portion of the book to recipes that reflect the basics of his tenets. Holistic medicine, that healthy marriage between Eastern and Western methods, is here. `The Gene Therapy Plan can achieve those objectives, but its purpose is much more basic and comprehensive. It is designed to keep dormant disease dormant, and to help active disease go back to being dormant. And it does so in an integrated way that keeps a multitude of health variables in proper balance. The Gene Therapy Plan weaves all these elements into a consciously holistic picture of total human wellness that also addresses all the microscopic dormant and precursor conditions that could, given the wrong ecogenetic influence, turn into illness.' Hope and Wholeness from a very rich mind.
`We should see ourselves not as being merely "healthy" or "ill," but as being ecogenetically "well managed" or "poorly managed" across the life span' states New York City physician MITCHELL GAYNOR, M.D., the founder and president of Gaynor Wellness and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College with more than twenty-five years of experience treating patients. What he brings to us in this book is the concept of treating the entire person through a combination of allopathic approaches and alternative therapies - an approach he calls The Gene Therapy Plan. It is a breath of fresh air to all of us who have been practicing medicine for years.
With the advances in technology come some miracles and - some ill effects. The presence of computer technology has altered not only the way we communicate and isolate ourselves by relying on instant texting and selfies and apps and docs and memory sticks, it has also altered medicine, some would say in a good way, others have noted the distancing between physician and patient that occurs when that 10 minute appointment becomes a faceless entering of data and prescribing on an iPad using codes instead of words and caring eye contact and, God forbid, laying on of hands. Terms now common are MRI, CT, chemo, and even in the operating room Robotics and laparoscopes have replaced skilled surgeons' hands and touch and integration of all the senses. There is a growing dichotomy between practicing medicine by treating the whole patient and coding a diagnosis that plugs into approach A, B, or C - depending on the schematic pain of the medical center. Where does that lead? `Fixing things' as opposed to healing and guiding toward health in all facets of living.
Hello, Dr. Gaynor! In this intensely helpful book he takes us through the approach that connects mind, body, nutrition, and restoring balance to our bodies to overcome genetic dispositions toward eventual disease states. `We all have the seeds of illness within us. The question is whether that potential for disease will become active or will remain dormant.' He uses the nutrigenetic approach `Using nutrients in this strategic way to combat disease and promote good health is called "nutrigenetics," and it is the core principle of the Gene Therapy Plan. Nutrigenetics is actually a subset of a broader approach called "ecogenetics," which is focused more broadly on how we live in our environment and how the environment as a whole interacts with the individual's genome to produce either health or disease. Our level of physical activity, for instance, may encourage (or discourage) the production of more inflammation-suppressing enzymes. Meanwhile, whether we are fat or lean affects whether we send out weaker (if we are lean) or stronger (if we are obese) signals to suppress cancer-killing substances...The Gene Therapy Plan takes all these interactions into account. It is designed to help you combat the most prevalent and troubling diseases of our time, and it does so in the context of promoting overall health and well-being through weight control, stress reduction, and exercise.`
In his warm yet scholarly Introduction he opines, `You are what you eat', my mother always told me. But it wasn't until after I'd finished my medical training and become a cancer specialist that I learned just how profoundly right she was.' It is that tone that he maintains throughout this resource for healthy living book. `Today I divide my time equally between Gaynor Integrative Oncology, a practice focused on treating cancer patients, and Gaynor Wellness, in which I apply the same ecogenetic principles to treating people with a variety of concerns, ranging from general health maintenance and disease prevention to weight loss, insomnia, chronic fatigue, dermatological diseases, and Parkinson's. Both practices incorporate meditation, music therapy, guided imagery, and cognitive behavioral therapy in concert with activities such as restorative physical therapy, yoga, aerobic exercise, and qigong as well as nutritional counseling based on the same principles presented here in the Gene Therapy Plan. My aim is always to treat the entire person in a way that acknowledges the complex nature of chronic illness, and to work at every level of the body's healing processes--physiological, genetic, psychosocial, and spiritual-- to create an optimal state of well-being.'
The book is divided into two parts: Targeting Disease with Gene Therapy, and Implementing the Plan. He discusses the basic plan and how it applies to obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and aging, and then he devotes a large portion of the book to recipes that reflect the basics of his tenets. Holistic medicine, that healthy marriage between Eastern and Western methods, is here. `The Gene Therapy Plan can achieve those objectives, but its purpose is much more basic and comprehensive. It is designed to keep dormant disease dormant, and to help active disease go back to being dormant. And it does so in an integrated way that keeps a multitude of health variables in proper balance. The Gene Therapy Plan weaves all these elements into a consciously holistic picture of total human wellness that also addresses all the microscopic dormant and precursor conditions that could, given the wrong ecogenetic influence, turn into illness.' Hope and Wholeness from a very rich mind.
December 16, 2014
*Received free advanced copy*
The Gene Therapy Plan by Mitchell L. Gaynor M.D. is about using food to change a person’s genetic predisposition for disease using ecogenetics, the science of applying the ideology of personalized medicine by using explicit substances to target a person’s genetic profile for developing different diseases. Basically it’s about different nutritional aspects of disease prevention. The Gene Therapy Plan talks about Nutrigenics, how we live in our environment and how our environment interacts with our genome.
This is unlike many of the diet and health books that are out there. The Gene Therapy is easy to understand, backed by science, and gives you super simple ways to make small changes toward a healthier you. Of course The Gene Therapy tells you what fats are bad, too many carbs are bad, and that not all diets are considered equal.
One of the most helpful and interesting things to me was in one part of the book gives you some different phytochemicals, their sources in whole foods, and their benefits. I suffer from an autoimmune disease and insulin resistance. This part was particularly helpful with pointing out which foods have anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and immune boosting benefits. This way I can focus on adding more of these certain foods into my diet.
The Gene Therapy addresses Obesity, Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Aging giving detailed information about foods and supplements that can benefit you. Even if you are not obese, have diabetes, or heart disease a person can benefit. If an illness runs in your family there is information in here for you about how to prevent it by simply adding something small into your diet, like a specific fruit or supplement! I’ll be honest, I am not the most motivated person to eat healthy or make a lifestyle change. I’m actually a terrible dieter. I just watch what I eat and exercise every now and then. I cannot stress how easy this books makes becoming a healthier you. All I have done is add more of certain things already in my diet to reap more of the benefits they provide.
At the end of the book there are sample shopping lists, meal plans, recipes for those who need a little more guidance but like I said I’m kind of lazy when it comes to making real big changes. Overall, I was very impressed with how simple Dr. Gaynor broke everything down to making steps toward being a healthier you. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to making either minor or major changes to their lifestyle. The Gene Therapy truly has something to offer for every one of all ages.
The Gene Therapy Plan by Mitchell L. Gaynor M.D. is about using food to change a person’s genetic predisposition for disease using ecogenetics, the science of applying the ideology of personalized medicine by using explicit substances to target a person’s genetic profile for developing different diseases. Basically it’s about different nutritional aspects of disease prevention. The Gene Therapy Plan talks about Nutrigenics, how we live in our environment and how our environment interacts with our genome.
This is unlike many of the diet and health books that are out there. The Gene Therapy is easy to understand, backed by science, and gives you super simple ways to make small changes toward a healthier you. Of course The Gene Therapy tells you what fats are bad, too many carbs are bad, and that not all diets are considered equal.
One of the most helpful and interesting things to me was in one part of the book gives you some different phytochemicals, their sources in whole foods, and their benefits. I suffer from an autoimmune disease and insulin resistance. This part was particularly helpful with pointing out which foods have anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and immune boosting benefits. This way I can focus on adding more of these certain foods into my diet.
The Gene Therapy addresses Obesity, Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, and Aging giving detailed information about foods and supplements that can benefit you. Even if you are not obese, have diabetes, or heart disease a person can benefit. If an illness runs in your family there is information in here for you about how to prevent it by simply adding something small into your diet, like a specific fruit or supplement! I’ll be honest, I am not the most motivated person to eat healthy or make a lifestyle change. I’m actually a terrible dieter. I just watch what I eat and exercise every now and then. I cannot stress how easy this books makes becoming a healthier you. All I have done is add more of certain things already in my diet to reap more of the benefits they provide.
At the end of the book there are sample shopping lists, meal plans, recipes for those who need a little more guidance but like I said I’m kind of lazy when it comes to making real big changes. Overall, I was very impressed with how simple Dr. Gaynor broke everything down to making steps toward being a healthier you. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to making either minor or major changes to their lifestyle. The Gene Therapy truly has something to offer for every one of all ages.
December 15, 2014
What a wonderful book. Wish there was a silver bullet for the ills of aging, diabetes, heart disease etc... but there is not. He does however, give you some wonderful tips on eating that will help you with each of these problems. He discusses the causes of the problems and shows you how you can work to prevent them. Rather than force yourself to an uncomfortable diet you can just make sure that you eat in thirds. An abundance of information. Enjoy.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley,Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" and "To Whom It May Concern"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley,Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" and "To Whom It May Concern"
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August 19, 2020This is truly a life-changing book. Dr. Gaynor gets you down to the cellular level to let you know how to feed those cells and prevent disease. His style is readable, even if technical.
This is a book to gift to everyone you love who struggles with fear of the genetic cards they have been dealt, and who don't realize how much diet and lifestyle can change that outcome.
Please read it, share it, and talk about it. I believe Dr. Gaynor lived to dispense this information.
blessings
Marjorie
This is a book to gift to everyone you love who struggles with fear of the genetic cards they have been dealt, and who don't realize how much diet and lifestyle can change that outcome.
Please read it, share it, and talk about it. I believe Dr. Gaynor lived to dispense this information.
blessings
Marjorie
October 28, 2021
Helpful but lacked slightly
This book enlightened me to the connections between fat storage and hormonal imbalances. The only thing I wish were included was a more detailed list of approved food and foods to avoid.
This book enlightened me to the connections between fat storage and hormonal imbalances. The only thing I wish were included was a more detailed list of approved food and foods to avoid.
March 16, 2017
lots of good stuff in here. Seems like so many problems could be fixed/controlled if peeps would just eat a bit better!
October 31, 2021
I got this as a library book. I'm going to purchase it and keep it my collection. Its laid out well. Explained well and will be a great reference resource to have.
September 10, 2024
While a breakthrough for its time, the recommendations are largely based on biochemical mechanisms which don't always play out in vivo (real life).
June 8, 2015
This Book Will Lead You to Make Immediate Changes in Your Lifestyle
The “Gene Therapy Plan: Taking Control of Your Genetic Destiny with Diet and Lifestyle” by Dr. Michael L. Gaynor, M.D., is an excellent book that suggests not only how to stay healthy but what alternate plans to consider when you are sick and are not responding to your prescribed treatment.
The introduction to his book is written by Dr. Oz who has sent many of his patients to Dr. Gaynor for treatment as has many other physicians when their treatment plan is not working.
Dr. Gaynor, takes an integrative approach to medicine and offers very good advice on foods, drinks and natural substances to take advantage of to remain healthy, such as olive oil, coconut milk and oils, green tea, chamomile tea, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, juicing, etc.
But his plan goes far beyond eating foods that are healthy but seeks to harness the power hidden in foods to change our genetic predisposition for disease. In this approach Dr. Gaynor draws heavily on a branch of study known as ecogenetics.
Dr. Gaynor, discusses in terms we can understands how ecogenetic food changes our genetic blueprint and provides scientific data to support alternative therapies and age-old practices, The key approach is to use identified nutrients to combat disease and promote good health. That approach is called “nutrigenetics: and is the core principle of the Gene Therapy Plan.
The “Gene Therapy Plan” is designed to help you resist cancer, heart disease and diabetes, maintain a healthy weight, reverse low immunity, softening the effects of aging, remove toxins from the body, and to promote energy.
Dr. Gaynor has a lot of fascinating things to say about obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and aging in Part I. Then in Part II the author presents sample meal plans, recipes, and how to make several juices, smoothies and snacks. The recipes are very good; I’ve tried some and look forward to trying many more.
I’ve made some changes in my life as a result of reading this book. I am now substituting coconut milk for my flavored coffee cream, have returned to drinking green tea and having switched to orange and orange and lemon-flavored teas, and make sure broccoli and Brussels sprouts are included in my weekly meals. This book is certainly worth reading; it will provide lots of new insights and motivation to make changes for a more healthy life.
The “Gene Therapy Plan: Taking Control of Your Genetic Destiny with Diet and Lifestyle” by Dr. Michael L. Gaynor, M.D., is an excellent book that suggests not only how to stay healthy but what alternate plans to consider when you are sick and are not responding to your prescribed treatment.
The introduction to his book is written by Dr. Oz who has sent many of his patients to Dr. Gaynor for treatment as has many other physicians when their treatment plan is not working.
Dr. Gaynor, takes an integrative approach to medicine and offers very good advice on foods, drinks and natural substances to take advantage of to remain healthy, such as olive oil, coconut milk and oils, green tea, chamomile tea, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, juicing, etc.
But his plan goes far beyond eating foods that are healthy but seeks to harness the power hidden in foods to change our genetic predisposition for disease. In this approach Dr. Gaynor draws heavily on a branch of study known as ecogenetics.
Dr. Gaynor, discusses in terms we can understands how ecogenetic food changes our genetic blueprint and provides scientific data to support alternative therapies and age-old practices, The key approach is to use identified nutrients to combat disease and promote good health. That approach is called “nutrigenetics: and is the core principle of the Gene Therapy Plan.
The “Gene Therapy Plan” is designed to help you resist cancer, heart disease and diabetes, maintain a healthy weight, reverse low immunity, softening the effects of aging, remove toxins from the body, and to promote energy.
Dr. Gaynor has a lot of fascinating things to say about obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and aging in Part I. Then in Part II the author presents sample meal plans, recipes, and how to make several juices, smoothies and snacks. The recipes are very good; I’ve tried some and look forward to trying many more.
I’ve made some changes in my life as a result of reading this book. I am now substituting coconut milk for my flavored coffee cream, have returned to drinking green tea and having switched to orange and orange and lemon-flavored teas, and make sure broccoli and Brussels sprouts are included in my weekly meals. This book is certainly worth reading; it will provide lots of new insights and motivation to make changes for a more healthy life.
November 5, 2015
A couple of years ago, I got a gene test from 23&Me. It revealed some diseases I am predisposed to and some diseases that I probably would not have to deal with. The book is about the connection of genes to disease and how you can alter the 'expression' of genes through diet and dietary supplementation. I do think there is enough medical theory to justify such a connection. The author of this book is an oncologist who works at the Weill Cornell Medical School in NYC (so no fly by night doc!).
The problem that I have with this book is that to follow the advice of Dr Gaynor, based on the diseases that I need to carefully avoid, is that the program dictates so many supplements as to make it impractical. I don't feel comfortable taking 30-40 different products (which is what I would need to do to counter just 2 of my major gene threats + his anti aging regimen). He does not think, given the state of our food supply, that the diet alone can supply these substances, although he does five lists of food that should also be consumed.
Much of the food advice I am already following -- his diet is a lot like the Perfect Health Diet of Paul Jaminet -- viz., 1/3 carbs, 1/3 fat and 1/3 protein but with a lot of helpful specific suggestions for quality improvement. He does offer a 2 week diet plan and a lot of recipes, which I found singularly unappealing with many obscure ingredients rendering them useless.
So the bottom line is that his premise and theory seems reasonable, but the practical application is difficult and maybe beyond the abilities or desire of many readers.
The problem that I have with this book is that to follow the advice of Dr Gaynor, based on the diseases that I need to carefully avoid, is that the program dictates so many supplements as to make it impractical. I don't feel comfortable taking 30-40 different products (which is what I would need to do to counter just 2 of my major gene threats + his anti aging regimen). He does not think, given the state of our food supply, that the diet alone can supply these substances, although he does five lists of food that should also be consumed.
Much of the food advice I am already following -- his diet is a lot like the Perfect Health Diet of Paul Jaminet -- viz., 1/3 carbs, 1/3 fat and 1/3 protein but with a lot of helpful specific suggestions for quality improvement. He does offer a 2 week diet plan and a lot of recipes, which I found singularly unappealing with many obscure ingredients rendering them useless.
So the bottom line is that his premise and theory seems reasonable, but the practical application is difficult and maybe beyond the abilities or desire of many readers.
April 13, 2015
What a wonderful book on such a timely topic. Great book that discusses diet and lifestyle, obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and aging. Mitchell Gaynor takes you through healthy foods, spices, and meal plans that work with your genetic code, not against it. So much good information and recipes. I have loaned it to my friends to read and they love it too. This book is definitely a keeper and "A Good Read"!
September 4, 2015
This book used a lot of scientific information regarding chromosomes and telomeres to explain how and why we age and what to do to slow it down. The author offered lots of good nutrition and supplement advice to remedy a variety of ailments and diseases. The main point is to avoid processed foods, eat fresh organic food and get exercise.
May 31, 2016
Awesome information relating to food, epigenetics and the gut microbiome. I only wish Dr. Gaynor would have condemned the consumption of all animal products. He was a courageous and gifted man. R.I.P.
June 22, 2018
I've read a lot of health information before and nothing in the book was exciting to see. It's a good summary of a lot of how different supplements and nutrients can have positive effects on your body.
February 4, 2015
I received a free copy of this book from the GoodReads First Reads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. A very interesting book for anyone who is trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
December 12, 2014
I won a free copy from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Program and think that it interesting. I would recommend it to everyone.
July 4, 2015
This will change the way you look at food/herbs/human biology.
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August 27, 2016Loved Gaynors take of a very difficult subject - presented it in this easy book - fab read
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews