New Gundry Book - The Plant Paradox

[mimik67]

Waves back, Julie!

Yes, I thought it odd that the first three posts i read today in his FB group were about people or their family members having gut trouble on Gundry approach. Also people not tolerating resistant starch. Interesting. Glad to hear you have had such good success with your labs even not following a strict Gundry approach. I am just starting to work that out for myself. Baby steps for me. I followed a higher animal protein / saturated fat diet for 3 years before I knew my Apoe 3/4 status. Needless to say it did not do wonders for my lipids. Looking forward to getting a recent baseline and getting some good changes in my diet. Stay tuned!

Julie did you ever land on some gut friendly non-animal protein sources? Also how do you figure out your protein needs for the day? Gundry saying no more than 4 ounces of animal protein per day. That hardly seems like enough protein overall. I know veggies have some protein, but still wondering a typical day for you? I know you say you eat 10 cups non-starch veg. and 10% saturated fat. But that is about all i have gleaned from your N=1 so far. Thanks for anymore info here.

[Julie G]

Mimi, we must be on different Facebook groups. I'm on one called: The Plant Paradox, formerly Diet Evolution and don't see anyone complaining of gut issues...

I struggle with the protein thing. In general, I buy the evidence that suggests less is correlated with longevity, BUT my blood results consistently show protein levels below the reference range. I eat somewhere between 12-15% protein, using more plant than animal, but don't limit myself as strictly as George does. I think those of us with gut issues and ongoing infections (hand waving ) may need more protein as we heal. Spinach and tons of other vegs are excellent plant sources. Soaked and sprouted organic nuts are another. For animal protein, I like pastured eggs and wild caught shellfish, salmon, and I'm dabbling with sardines again. I'm starting to enjoy them with kimchi and an Asian inspired dipping sauce I make with coconut aminos. Delicious with some stir-fried veggies.

[harpsicon]

Julie,

This is a different site - the one everybody's referring to is Gundry Matrix. The Plant Paradox one is brand new and is inhabited by a lot of people who don't seem to have the background that the Matrix people mostly share.

[Tincup]

Mimi, we must be on different Facebook groups. I'm on one called: The Plant Paradox, formerly Diet Evolution and don't see anyone complaining of gut issues...

I struggle with the protein thing. In general, I buy the evidence that suggests less is correlated with longevity, BUT my blood results consistently show protein levels below the reference range. I eat somewhere between 12-15% protein, using more plant than animal, but don't limit myself as strictly as George does. I think those of us with gut issues and ongoing infections (hand waving ) may need more protein as we heal. Spinach and tons of other vegs are excellent plant sources. Soaked and sprouted organic nuts are another. For animal protein, I like pastured eggs and wild caught shellfish, salmon, and I'm dabbling with sardines again. I'm starting to enjoy them with kimchi and an Asian inspired dipping sauce I make with coconut aminos. Delicious with some stir-fried veggies.

On one of my consults, I asked about the studies showing that the elderly do better with more protein. Gundry's opinion was that that the elderly weren't absorbing the protein due to years of gut issues.

From 30 July 2016 G: Okay. One thing you don’t want us to have high IGF1. It looks like there are some data that suggests older people don’t metabolize protein very well and they need more and you would disagree with that I presume.

50:56
Dr G: Yeah, I would disagree with that. The reason I think that happens is older people’s gut become incredibly damaged from lectins all the time and so they’re actually not absorbing protein.

[Julie G]

LOL, George, you just called me "elderly." I shall forgive you as we're basically saying the same thing- an accumulation of damage leads certain folks (not just the elderly ) to need more protein. In my case, it was undoubtably years of eating gluten (and other lectins) when I was very sensitive to gluten that contributed to my gut issues. I had 15+ biopsies taken during my last upper and lower scopes and lots of inflammation was found. On top of that, the years of Babesiosis have taken a toll on my immune system. I seem to have higher protein requirements now, but will hopefully be able to transition to less as I heal.

Waves harpsicon. Nope, I've belonged to the group I described for several years now. It was formerly Diet Evolution; just changed names. There are over 6,000 members; many from our community. I'm not active there, just follow with interest.

[mimik67]

Hi Julie!

My apologies for any confusion. Yes I jumped into the Matrix Forum (not realizing there is another one, so I will have a look at the one you mentioned).

George and Julie, yes absorption of protein for those with long history of gut issues is a very big issue. The Integrative and functional docs and health coaches that i have spoken to, often use Spectracell Micronutrient panel: https://www.spectracell.com/clinicians/products/mnt/
"SpectraCell’s Micronutrient test provides the most comprehensive nutritional analysis available by measuring functional deficiencies at the cellular level. It is an assessment of how well the body utilizes 33 vitamins, minerals, amino/fatty acids, antioxidants, and metabolites, while conveying the body’s need for these micronutrients that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones, and other substances essential for proper growth, development, and good health. This test provides the basis of a personalized, functional approach in addressing a broad variety of clinical conditions including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular risk, diabetes, various immunological disorders, metabolic disorders and micronutrient deficiencies."

Some practitioners recommend temporarily, amino acid supplements and very particular protein powders, only in the cases where blood work is showing that the body is not digesting protein at all. This while the gut is healing. I dont plan to give up on healing my gut, just because I am getting older!

[mimik67]

Hi George!

Per Gundry's comment on gut health in later life, and lectins, I wonder how we can really know what is causing the decline in gut health over a lifetime? There are so many assaults on the gut: Chlorinated water, antibiotics, birth control pills, NSAIDS, poor diet, stress, pathogens (parasites, yeast, fungus, dysbiosis), genetics, methylation, biotoxin illness leading to low Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH) and decreased gut function, intracellular infections such as Lyme and Company, poor faty acid metabolism, and on and on. Additionally, many people have small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO, or, IBS as some docs like to call it). SIBO alone can lead to massive gut inflammation, malabsorption and other health issues. This can happen after a single course of antibiotics, or a stomach flu. That puts a lot of people at high risk, with or without including lectins in the diet. I am sure lectins dont help, but I dont see how they can be the primary issue.

From the blog post:
"A new study by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine published in the September 2013 issue of Nature proposes a mechanism for how disease–causing microbes such as Salmonella and C diff often thrive when people take antibiotics. Soon after someone takes antibiotics two things happen: The number of friendly gut bacteria is dramatically reduced and the amount of available carbohydrates in the gut is dramatically increased. According to the authors, the extra carbs and fewer friendly gut bacteria allows the bad bacteria to take over..."

More here:

https://digestivehealthinstitute.org/20 ... nfections/

[Tincup]

Hi George!

Per Gundry's comment on gut health in later life, and lectins, I wonder how we can really know what is causing the decline in gut health over a lifetime? There are so many assaults on the gut: Chlorinated water, antibiotics, birth control pills, NSAIDS, poor diet, stress, pathogens (parasites, yeast, fungus, dysbiosis), genetics, methylation, biotoxin illness leading to low Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH) and decreased gut function, intracellular infections such as Lyme and Company, poor faty acid metabolism, and on and on. Additionally, many people have small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO, or, IBS as some docs like to call it). SIBO alone can lead to massive gut inflammation, malabsorption and other health issues. This can happen after a single course of antibiotics, or a stomach flu. That puts a lot of people at high risk, with or without including lectins in the diet. I am sure lectins dont help, but I dont see how they can be the primary issue.

It was a one off from him. When I'm talking to him & the meter is running, I don't encourage long answers. We end up having productive discussions and use our time to the last second. He would agree that the list is long and also that many of the things you mention impair people's ability to handle lectins & etc. He mentions a number of things from your list in his recent book.

[mimik67]

I don't encourage long answers.

George good for you! These docs love to talk!! Sounds like you use your time well!

[circular]

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.

Hi Juliegee, I was just wondering if you are aware of another viewpoint suggesting that iodine can lead to Hashimoto's but in the absence of adequate selenium. See this link which gives some names of people who believe this in case you want to pursue. Have you tested your selenium levels? I know it's one of those we don't want too high, but I wonder if this was a factor in your increased thyroid labs, and maybe the iodine was just pointing up an additional deficiency?