Naughty Krishna and his brother Balarama eating their fill with curd
After the good reports I had from the allopathic and the naturopathic worlds, I wanted to give you a report on a dietary experiment Carla and I have been conducting for the past seven weeks. I came across Dr. Steven Gundry online, and purchased his books: Plant Paradox Cookbook, then the Summary Plant Paradox. Since then we have been following Phase I and II and are now entering phase III of this program.
The reason for the title Plant Paradox is that while plants are oftentimes healthy food, not all plants or animal products are good for the gut—the stomach, intestines and the colon. This digestive track is an emphasis for the Dr. Gundry: what creates a healthy microbiome?[i] the inner workings and health of your gut-digestive system. If that goes wrong, then inflammatory disorders are created that can have serious health consequences. Our foods and eating habits have changed very quickly in the recent times, and Gundry traces these “recent” changes further back than the Paleolithic period. Many of our digestive systems simply have not evolved quickly enough to accommodate these many new foods. Even the addition of what are generally thought of as healthy foods, brown rice, corn and beans for instance, are not necessarily good for the gut.
Dr. Gundry was a world-class heart surgeon who had no training or interest in diet or supplements until he had a patient who, in six months, went from 100% blockages to his heart down to 50% blockages; this was an astounding turnabout. The only changes the patient had made, he lost weight and was taking supplements. It put Gundry on the trail to a scientific investigation of diet and supplements, which also led to a change in his own health habits; he lost 70 pounds and cured various ailments he had at the time. Since then the doctor has been a convert and now advocates dietary changes to effect good health and even recommends supplements, which he previously said only creates “expensive urine.”
My experiment started seven weeks ago. Even though I was gluten and dairy free (which from many years of experimentation I knew my body does not tolerate well), I was becoming stiff in my joints and waking up with headaches. When I read about Dr. Gundry’s ideas, I thought it merited a try. Now, the good doctor definitely has a marketing plan going on with his line of supplements, but I was impressed at the amount of information he gives on his website and in his books, and he even suggests brands of supplements other than his own (his plan does not require supplements, but they are suggested for use for various reasons). With his eating plan you limit the amount of lectins you ingest through your food—lectins are proteins occurring naturally in plants that act as their protection (a poison) from being eaten by bugs and animals. Some plants contain more lectins than others, and those high in lectins can harm your digestive system; that, along with the widespread use of antibiotics for humans and those used on animals, as well as various chemicals for plants–in all your digestive system can become quite damaged. This damage to the gut results in your immune system kicking into gear to fight off what comes into the blood stream that should not be there, and this can create autoimmune disorders. The stiffness and inflammation I had in my joints and congestion in my nasal passages were definitely an out of control immune response—the way of eating outlined by Dr. Gundry promised to correct this.
Gluten, which I long recognized as an agent that created stiffness in my joints, is one kind of lectin, but there are many more. In phase I we ate according to a simple list of yes foods and no foods for three days. After those first three days we entered phase II, six-weeks in which the list of yes foods grows a bit. Tomatoes and night shades were out (I knew I should not eat these based on the Blood Type Diet but I had grown lax in avoiding them), soy products were also out along with zucchini and yellow squash. However, there are many foods that are in the yes foods, and neither one of us have felt deprived with the new menu.
Results: the first week was quite easy for me, although it was definitely work—mostly for Carla to reorganize the kitchen and pantry and learn new recipes. It has also been fun to explore new ways of preparing food—the new recipes have been delicious (Dr. G. is obviously a “foodie”, so his recipes are actually quite good). In the second week I was having typical detoxing symptoms, sore muscles, periods of tiredness; having been on many ten day fasts and other cleansing programs I am familiar with these symptoms. On the other hand, I experienced increased flexibility, and at other times I had a definite increase in sustained energy. The morning headaches disappeared almost immediately and, significantly, so did food cravings. There has been about four and a half weeks of detoxing, a longer period than I anticipated, Carla has had these as well for almost the entire time. This past week there has been a noticeable lessening of detoxing symptoms and the addition of smooth energy, as well as a fluidic flexibility in the joints (Carla said she has such fluid movement in her joints it reminds her of when she took ballet). In addition, my nails are stronger and I have improved digestion, very nicely I have had a much-desired 6% drop in weight in the past seven weeks.
I look forward to even more improvements as we continue into phase III. Phase III includes adding new foods—one new food a week, then tracking its effect. If no negatives are observed with the new food, then it can be added to the yes food list. In this way you tailor the foods you eat to your immune system’s response. Dr. Gundry compares the work of healing the gut to gardening—you do not weed one day and expect a harvest the next. You weed out the bad bacteria in the gut by not feeding it with the foods it likes and demands (cravings such as sugar, even sugar from carbs and fruit), and fertilizing the good bacteria with the nutrients they thrive on, leafy greens and high quality fats and proteins. We are experimenting with some of Gundry’s supplements as well, a pre-biotic and Vital Reds.
There is nothing in this food program that anyone would say is bad for you or unbalanced, it is very healthy eating (it can be adapted to vegetarian only as well). The protests have mostly come from plant-based eaters who take exception to eliminating foods generally thought to be healthy. There might be others who may be skeptical of how damaging lectins really are, but this program has a track record now by a reputable surgeon who had a change of perspective triggered by real life patients. Dr. Gundry says that in his clinics, one in Palm Springs and one in Santa Barbara, that out of 800 patients with auto-immune disorders he has followed, all 800 have seen improvements by following this program. He does not expect this perfect score to continue as he does not think any plan can be 100%, but that is an impressive feat so far. I am not here to sell you on this program, but I wanted to share the results of this experiment with you and offer it for your consideration. I will give you further follow-ups as we continue this experiment and our quest for perfect health.
[i] Definition of microbiome: Merriam Webster Dictionary
1 : a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment and especially the collection of microorganisms living in or on the human body
- Your body is home to about 100 trillion bacteria and other microbes, collectively known as your microbiome.—Carl Zimmer
- …what’s arguably become the hottest area of medicine: microbiome research, an emerging field that’s investigating how the bacteria that live in and on our bodies affect our health.—Sunny Sea Gold
2 : the collective genomes of microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment and especially the human body
- They form one community among the many that make up the human microbiome: the full genetic complement of bacteria and other organisms at home on your skin, gums, and teeth, in your genital tract, and especially in your gut.—Nathan Wolfe
Microbiome Note: You have more microorganisms than human cells in your body. These microorganisms perform innumerable beneficial functions, without which you literally could not live. This mutually beneficial relationship between human cells and microorganisms is considered healthy; whereas bad microorganisms inhibit healthy functioning of the body; they demand what they want without any beneficial return.