New Gundry Book - The Plant Paradox

[Julie G]

Ha, be careful what you write about! Despite the fact that previous Hashimoto's testing has always been negative for me, my latest shows elevated thyroglobulin antibodies and thyroid peroxidase antibodies. Hmmm. I was unaware that one could develop Hashimoto's. I'm learning that a toxic exposure (check) and iodine supplementation (check) can bring this out in those who are genetically susceptible. Perhaps Jaminet's and Gundry's advice is even more applicable for me now? Do I really have to give up my occasional grass-fed beef, lamb, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, legumes, and cashews...

[slacker]

First, FYI wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) is not associated with gluten, it is found in bran (whole grains).

And for those who may not have heard this before, Type 3 diabetes is another name for Alzheimer's, given the common characteristic of the AD brain's impaired glucose uptake capability. So if Dr Gundry is right, I think this is something of acute importance to E4s.

At the risk of mangling Teresa's post, I've reduced it down to 2 comments on which I wanted to focus:

Is wheat germ agglutinin found in the bran of all grains, or just wheat? Do all grains have forms of bran agglutinin that cause similar problems to WGA?

I believe the term "Type 3 diabetes" as a replacement for "Alzheimer's" points to the fact/theory that insulin resistance can drive cognitive loss. The use of the term type 3 diabetes is most likely an oversimplification for AD, since there are other factors that can cause cognitive loss that get lumped into the term "Alzheimer's." Using Bredesen's (evolving and overlapping) terminology, type 3 diabetes would fall under his type 1 or inflammatory AD.

A big thank you for the thoughtful and respectful posts in this thread. I'm honored to be a part of this group.

[Tincup]

Is wheat germ agglutinin found in the bran of all grains, or just wheat? Do all grains have forms of bran agglutinin that cause similar problems to WGA?

I don't know, but on Gundry's "eat/don't eat" list there are a number of grains that he says can't have their lectins deactivated through pressure cooking. Those might be candidates to have agglutinin.

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[ru442]

Maybe a dumb question George, but is white rice also a Grundy no-no? I see brown rice is...

[Tincup]

Maybe a dumb question George, but is white rice also a Grundy no-no? I see brown rice is...

Only for the carbs. On the book Phase 3, he says (if your system can handle it) you can have white rice. He specifically recommends Indian Basmati rice (says it has the most resistant starch), also suggests cooking then cooling to increase Type 3 resistant starch.

Gundry, at his core, is a low carb guy. He does suggest resistant starch, in moderation, depending on the person.

[ru442]

Maybe a dumb question George, but is white rice also a Grundy no-no? I see brown rice is...

Only for the carbs. On the book Phase 3, he says (if your system can handle it) you can have white rice. He specifically recommends Indian Basmati rice (says it has the most resistant starch), also suggests cooking then cooling to increase Type 3 resistant starch.

Gundry, at his core, is a low carb guy. He does suggest resistant starch, in moderation, depending on the person.

Thanks for the quick response... I don't eat it often, but when I had a stomach bug a couple weeks ago it was one of the foods I could keep down. Good to know it's another carb I can mix in occasionally and not feel guilt!

[Sandy57]

Aloha All

Exactly Russ and it all starts with Ancel Keys. Lastest research now says eating full fat dairy DOES NOT cause CAD or strokes. {And drinking wine and smoking pot is ok, LOL off topic just could not resist.} So deferring to Marc and his research into all cause mortality, this fits right in. Not saying APOE 4's should purposely eat unlimited amounts of Saturated fat. However, without peer reviewed, Pub Med based research and adjusting for all the variables to prove otherwise; it just becomes an individual choice based on your how you feel and your biomarkers.

Then deferring to Stavia, you also can not obsess over every nuance in you labs either. Labs are a snap shot for that day as Keto Dave has shown, might be different 3-5 days later. Again not talking about all labs. There are several labs that help physicians when treating their patients that are vital and life saving; bacterial infections, high glucose levels, low glucose, viruses, liver, Bun, kidney, WBC, RBC, etc etc.

So based on that, until docs like Barry Sears , Mercola, Perlmutter, Gundry, and any other doc selling supplements or information can fund research to unequivocally prove their HYPOTHESES, they will be open to criticism. Not taking sides on either side on the fence or discrediting any of their work, but reality and fact is just that. They need to fund research or quote research that does not leave the door open for discussions like this (that are awesome by the way) in which you can show they alter or change their opinions every few years. Just does not bring a major vote of confidence in the medical community, when you are selling something and your medical facts change to fit your product.

That being said, maybe even without the hardcore evidence they are spot on with what they are recommending for better health. That is the tricky part. If a doc observes changes that are improving their patients life's over and over again .........than customers/patients will absolutely buy the products. Why, because of the big what if...what if it works for me, what if they are right....so stay tuned for the next paradigm shift , it will be along soon because it is changing all the time, based on the supplement/ information market. Shifts use to take years, decades, now they take place monthly it seems.

Have fun debating, it's how we all learn, even docs.

Frank

[TheresaB]

Is wheat germ agglutinin found in the bran of all grains, or just wheat? Do all grains have forms of bran agglutinin that cause similar problems to WGA?

From reading "Plant Paradox", Wheat Germ Agglutinin is strictly a "wheat thing."

Wheat germ agglutinin is not gluten. Gluten is the protein found in grains: wheat, barley, rye, and often in oats. Some people are sensitive to gluten and report brain fog, joint pain, and inflammation, which is similar to symptoms wheat germ agglutinin can produce, but how this occurs is different. As far as I know, gluten or other grain components cannot mimic insulin like wheat germ agglutinin nor produce all the same problems as wheat germ agglutinin. Part (most?) of this has to do with size. Gluten is a huge protein, so generally it cannot get through the gut lining unless the cells of the intestinal lining have been compromised. But wheat germ agglutinin is tiny, it can get through the mucosal barrier of a healthy gut without any problem. Dr Gundry also reports that WGA can also easily cross the blood-brain barrier causing neurological problems. The Plant Paradox book lists 11 ill effects of consuming wheat germ agglutinin. If he's only right on half of them, it's still nasty stuff. It might be best to just to steer clear of whole-grain bread and other whole-grain products.

[ApropoE4]

You should especially watch out for animals that go quack.

http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/20 ... exist.html

The Plant Paradox book lists 11 ill effects of consuming wheat germ agglutinin. If he's only right on half of them, it's still nasty stuff.

Why assume he's right on any of them? or, to rephrase, why assume the order of magnitude of the effects he stipulates is interesting at all, and not of the class of statements like "water is lethal at high dosage" or "everyone who's ever consumed a vegetable will end up dead"?

As far as I can see, all of these book and supplement salespeople have nothing to show for their methods - especially Bredesen has failed to follow up on his somewhat outrageous original "case study" paper.

[Julie G]

While your perspective is welcomed, ApropoE4, we insist that you follow our Community Guidelines that specifically prohibit name calling of experts, whose opinions you disagree with. Rather than disparaging these folks, please focus your comments upon the science that you are challenging.

This is actually a great discussion. There's a huge dichotomy between those who tout "whole grain goodness" and those who recommend abstinence. I began diving into the most recent evidence yesterday and stumbled upon the paper (below) cited in your link. The biggest confounder that doesn't seem to be addressed is what food was substituted for whole grains? My guess is that there would be a huge difference between commercially prepared "gluten-free" options vs. vegetables. Extending that thought, I wonder if fiber may be the major determinant of health here accounting for the supposed healthfulness of whole grains. Vegetables would naturally be higher in fiber while refined, chemical laden foods would not. I'd like to see grains go head-to head with veggies. Your thoughts?

Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study
http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1892

Abstract
Objective To examine the association of long term intake of gluten with the development of incident coronary heart disease.

Design Prospective cohort study.

Setting and participants 64 714 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and 45 303 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study without a history of coronary heart disease who completed a 131 item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire in 1986 that was updated every four years through 2010.

Exposure Consumption of gluten, estimated from food frequency questionnaires.

Main outcome measure Development of coronary heart disease (fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction).

Results During 26 years of follow-up encompassing 2 273 931 person years, 2431 women and 4098 men developed coronary heart disease. Compared with participants in the lowest fifth of gluten intake, who had a coronary heart disease incidence rate of 352 per 100 000 person years, those in the highest fifth had a rate of 277 events per 100 000 person years, leading to an unadjusted rate difference of 75 (95% confidence interval 51 to 98) fewer cases of coronary heart disease per 100 000 person years. After adjustment for known risk factors, participants in the highest fifth of estimated gluten intake had a multivariable hazard ratio for coronary heart disease of 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.02; P for trend=0.29). After additional adjustment for intake of whole grains (leaving the remaining variance of gluten corresponding to refined grains), the multivariate hazard ratio was 1.00 (0.92 to 1.09; P for trend=0.77). In contrast, after additional adjustment for intake of refined grains (leaving the variance of gluten intake correlating with whole grain intake), estimated gluten consumption was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (multivariate hazard ratio 0.85, 0.77 to 0.93; P for trend=0.002).

Conclusion Long term dietary intake of gluten was not associated with risk of coronary heart disease. However, the avoidance of gluten may result in reduced consumption of beneficial whole grains, which may affect cardiovascular risk. The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should not be encouraged.