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

by Steven R. Gundry

The black and white Holstein is the classic example of the A-1 cow, while the Guernsey, Brown Swiss, and Belgian Blues are all casein A-2. That’s why I recommend that if you consume dairy, you opt for only casein A-2 dairy products, which grocery stores have recently started selling, particularly on the West Coast. Alternatively, use goat or sheep milk products to be safe.

Wheat germ agglutinin is an especially small protein compared with most other lectins, which are relatively large. So even if the gut mucosal barrier has not been compromised, WGA can pass through the walls of the intestine more easily than other lectins can. But this is just one of many ill effects caused by consuming WGA. It also: 1. Behaves like insulin, disrupting normal endocrine function by pumping sugar into fat cells, where the sugar soon turns to fat, resulting in weight gain and the development of insulin resistance. 2. Blocks sugar from getting into muscle cells, creating still more body fat, and starving muscles of nourishment. 3. Interferes with the digestion of protein. 4. Promotes inflammation by releasing free radicals, which can thin the mucosal lining of the gut. 5. Cross-reacts with other proteins, creating antibodies that can induce autoimmune responses. These antibodies are distinct from those formed by a reaction to gluten. 6. Crosses the blood-brain barrier, taking with it other substances to which it has bonded, and causing neurological problems. 7. Kills cells, without distinguishing between normal and cancerous cells. 8. Interferes with the replication of DNA. 9. Causes atherosclerosis, the hardening of arteries from a buildup of plaque (which is never mentioned in conventional medicine). 10. Enables entry of influenza and other disease-causing viruses into the body from the gut by bonding to the sialic acid i...

So how do you avoid WGA? Simply steer clear of whole-grain bread and other whole-grain products.

There are many reasons you want to avoid BHT—among them the fact that it is a major endocrine disruptor, acting like estrogen. This is the last thing in the world you want your kids to be consuming, because estrogen prompts fat storage; it also promotes early puberty in girls and “boobs” on seven-year old boys.18 And if you need further incentive to avoid this preservative, know that BHT is used in embalming fluid, among other commercial uses. I kid you not!

Drive off the good bugs or let the bad bugs in, and it’s as though gang members have taken over a pleasant neighborhood. They have no interest in the care and upkeep of you; they are only out for themselves. They also hijack the ancient communication system between the normal gut denizens and your brain, making you crave the foods that they need; namely sugars, fats, junk foods, and fast foods. This hijacking operation is just another reminder that it’s not your fault that you’re tired, sick, or overweight.

we banished lectins from his diet and rebuilt his gut wall with high-dose vitamin D3, prebiotics, and probiotics.

• PAIN-RELIEVER ENEMIES: Generic ibuprofen or Advil, Aleve, Naprosyn, Celebrex, Mobic, and other NSAIDs. • Friendly Substitutes: Boswellia or white willow bark. • ACID-REDUCER ENEMIES: Zantac, Prilosec (omeprazole), Protonix, Nexium, and Imeprazole. • Friendly Substitutes: Rolaids are a low-sugar source of calcium carbonate. Also chew DGL wafers. • SLEEP-AID ENEMIES: Ambien, Restoril, Lunesta, and Xanax. • Friendly substitutes: My favorite combination of sleep aids is in Schiff Melatonin Ultra, or buy time-release melatonin and take 3 to 6 mg before bed.

• THE ENEMY: All artificial sweeteners, specifically saccharin (Sweet’n Low, Sweet Twin, and Necta Sweet), aspartame (Equal and NutraSweet), acesulfame K (also in Equal and NutraSweet), sucralose (Splenda), and neotame. Also steer clear of soft drinks or sports drinks, any health or protein bar that contains any of these sweeteners, as well as any form of sugar, including corn, agave syrup, or pure cane sugar. Ditto for any processed foods with such sweeteners. • Friendly Substitutes: Stevia (SweetLeaf, which contains inulin), Just Like Sugar (made from chicory root), the sugar alcohols xylitol or erythritol (Swerve), yacón syrup, and inulin. Use all in moderation, particularly sugar alcohols, which can create gassiness and diarrhea. • SPOILER ALERT: Any sweet taste, even from stevia, stimulates an insulin response that makes you want more,

So, if you are tired and fat and your hair is thinning, and you are eating whole-grain foods and boneless skinless chicken breast, and your doctor assures you that your thyroid hormone levels are normal, so you can’t be hypothyroid, think again. You may be making thyroid hormone, but it can’t get into the gate and off the plane to talk to each of your cells because phthalates are blocking the way. These phthalate-laden “healthy foods” are some of the very items you will be omitting (or severely restricting) on the Plant Paradox Program.

Friendly Substitute: Use conventional cookware or those with a ceramic coating that are certified to contain no PTFE or PFOA made by T-fal, Amoré, Culina, and other manufacturers.

ENEMIES: Sunscreens with parabens, such as methylparaben. Avoid all sunscreens unless the active ingredient is titanium oxide. Also avoid scented products. • Friendly Substitutes: Check the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website for its Guide to Sunscreens, which includes some products without parabens: www.ewg.org/sunscreen/. • ENEMIES: Makeup with parabens. • Friendly Substitutes: The EWG also has a database of more than 62,000 cosmetic products without parabens: www.ewg.org/skindeep/. • ENEMIES: Deodorants and antiperspirants that contain parabens or aluminum. • Friendly Substitutes: Again, EWG has analyzed and rated deodorants and antiperspirants as part of its cosmetics database: www.ewg.org/skindeep/browse/antiperspirant;deodorant. Acceptable brands include Be Green, Purely Great, and Penny Lane Organics.

ENEMIES: Toothpastes with triclosan and its cousin triclocarban. Triclosan is also in certain mouthwashes and antibacterial toothbrushes. For a long list of other personal care products with this chemical, see http://drbenkim.com/articles/triclosan-products.htm. Pass them all by. You also want to avoid toothpaste that contains sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). • Friendly Substitutes: Jason, Face Natural, Desert Essence (Natural Tea Tree Oil or Neem flavor), and Trader Joe’s Antiplaque No Fluoride All Natural (Peppermint or Fennel) toothpastes contain neither triclosan nor SLS. Ditto for my new favorite (despite its unappealing name): The Dirt’s Natural Organic Fluoride Free Toothpaste with MCT Coconut Oil. • Tom’s of Maine products contain no triclosan, and its Botanically Bright line offers two SLS-free products.

ENEMY: Roundup and similar products. • Friendly Substitute: Mix a gallon of white vinegar with a cup of salt and a tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap; spray that mixture on weeds. There are a number of variations on this recipe, including lemon juice instead of white vinegar and Epsom salts instead of salt. • ENEMY: GMO foods. • Friendly Substitute: Organic foods.

When WGA and other lectins lock on to the insulin receptor in nerve cells and neurons, they block the entrance of sugar there as well. With no sugar reaching its neurons, the hungry brain demands more calories. If you block insulin receptors with WGA, you get a hungry human—one who will eat more and hopefully be a big winner when winter arrives. This may have been fine in the short term, promoting mankind’s early survival; but if this process continues, more WGA and other lectins bind to insulin receptors in the brain and nerves, causing brain cells and peripheral nerves to die, resulting in dementia, Parkinson’s, and peripheral neuropathy.

rice contains no WGA. Nor does the taro root the Kitavans eat in abundance. Likewise, the millet, sorghum, and yams that are African staples contain no WGA.

RULE NUMBER 1: What You Stop Eating Has Far More Impact on Your Health Than What You Start Eating

RULE NUMBER 2: Pay Attention to the Care and Feeding of Your Gut Bugs, and They Will Handle the Care and Feeding of You. After All, You Are Their Home. Another way of expressing this rule is: Give your gut bugs what they want, and nobody gets hurt.

RULE NUMBER 3: Fruit Might as Well Be Candy

Just to be clear, there are three fruits that you can have, so long as you eat them when they are still green: bananas, mangoes, and papayas. Unripe tropical fruit has not yet increased its sugar (fructose) content. Instead, it is made up of resistant starches, the things your good gut bugs love to dine on, but we mere humans don’t have the enzymes to digest. Green papaya and mango are great sliced in a salad. Green banana flour comes in handy for making grain-free pancakes and baked goods. Our dear friend the avocado is the only acceptable ripe fruit because it contains nary a trace of sugar and is composed of good fat and soluble fiber, which help you lose weight and absorb fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants.

RULE NUMBER 4: You Are What the Thing You Are Eating, Ate