The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain

by Steven R. Gundry

The cumulative result is less muscle mass, starved brain and nerve cells, and plenty of fat. Sound familiar? Recently, it has been found that lectins climb the vagus nerve from the gut into the brain and can be deposited in the substantia nigra,3 the switching center in the brain, damage to which causes Parkinson’s disease. This explains why, according to a large Chinese study, patients who have had a procedure called a vagotomy back in the 1960s and 1970s (in which their vagus nerves were surgically cut to treat ulcers) have a 40 percent lower incidence of Parkinson’s compared to age-matched controls.4 Lectins weren’t reaching the brain as readily, and therefore weren’t able to cause as much harm. It also explains why Parkinson’s is more prevalent among vegetarians, as they consume more plants (and therefore more lectins). Remember, the plant is just doing its job: ridding the world of unwanted pests, including you!