confused about Gundry diet

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pharmacydoc
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confused about Gundry diet

Post by pharmacydoc »

I'm reading Gundry's new book, the Longevity Paradox and getting more and more confused. In the first half of the book he makes a good case about animal protein and saturated fat being harmful, but the recipes are heavy on cheese and coconut milk with no substitutions listed. He spends time talking about how little meat and eggs to eat but never explains what a vegan should eat to get enough protein and nutrients.

In one place he says that beans are ok if pressure-cooked, but then legumes are listed in the Foods to Avoid section. They are the same thing, right?

Is anyone else confused about these statements?
NonnaEgea
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by NonnaEgea »

I agree with you. In fact, I practically derailed my entire diet protocol trying to incorporate his philosophies. Lectins in so many vegetables, nuts and grains, beans (and as you say - very little in the way of animal protein). Anyhow, I found it hard to incorporate into my Kety style diet, eventually ditched his teachings, but became confused and out of sync with my diet, put on weight, lipid panel screwed up and am only now coming full circle back to my original pre Gundry diet discipline of healthy fish and meats, eggs (organic), vegetables, organic and non starchy. I do eat some fruits and nuts. Good luck with figuring it out. I am very curious to hear feedback on your question.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

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pharmacydoc wrote:I'm reading Gundry's new book, the Longevity Paradox and getting more and more confused. In the first half of the book he makes a good case about animal protein and saturated fat being harmful, but the recipes are heavy on cheese and coconut milk with no substitutions listed. He spends time talking about how little meat and eggs to eat but never explains what a vegan should eat to get enough protein and nutrients.

In one place he says that beans are ok if pressure-cooked, but then legumes are listed in the Foods to Avoid section. They are the same thing, right?

Is anyone else confused about these statements?
One thing to keep in mind with Dr. Gundry is he isn't focused solely on the APOE 4 community.

Dr. Gundry's big dietary focus is eliminating lectins from your diet. So the big question to ask yourself is whether lectins - ie foods that contain lectins - cause you any trouble? For some people they do and for them his diet can be a good guideline. I've tried but I really cannot eat beans as a dietary staple because I end up having issues with them when I eat them fairly regularly. Gundry has beans on his naughty list because they contain a large amount of lectins but he recommends pressure cooking them if you must eat them as that helps to remove some of the lectin content. Even with pressure cooking beans simply didn't agree with me. He is a proponent of lentils over beans due to lower lectin levels and I am planning to give them a try.

He has also been a proponent of consuming a liter of olive oil per week but that didn't work for me given my APOE 3/4 status. So his recipes may not work particularly well for people who have trouble with high amounts of fat.

So like you I have taken what I find useful from Gundry's protocol and tossed the rest on the trash heap. My biggest takeaways from his protocol is eating at least one big green leafy salad per day and getting more of my OMEGA-3s from sardines. I'm trying to figure out a way to get pulses into my diet but at this point it's been a lost cause.

Also Gundry doesn't believe you need large amounts of protein. He makes the analogy that gorillas are much stronger than us and all they eat are leaves so that means we don't need much protein. I got a good chuckle out of that one and I eat more protein than what he would typically recommend because you have to get your calories from somewhere and I need to keep my carbs and fat firmly under control.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by pharmacydoc »

Thanks to both of you for the helpful information. I read Plant Paradox a couple of years ago, but wasn't ready to give up so many food groups. I have two autoimmune conditions, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and vitiligo, so I'm going to give his diet a try. I ordered his cookbook hoping to get more info.

BTW, I stopped eating sardines because of concern about BPA in the cans. Apparently, even when companies use substitutes for the BPA, the new chemicals are just as bad or worse.

The increased fat doesn't bother me, so I'm eating more fat and complex carbs, but decreased protein. As you said, "we have to get our calories from somewhere". It seems we have to individualize the advice.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

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My wife and I are Gundry patients . One thing he notes is that we are all different. Hence some people are what he calls "canaries." They need to stay very strict on his plan as written in Phase 2 of his Plant Paradox book. Others can get away with pressure cooking their legumes and be OK. Over time, he has emphasized resistant starch to feed your gut biome. However, some resistant starches are pretty carby and he warns that some people must restrict them significantly as their glucose/insulin system can't handle them well. The rub is that legumes are good resistant starches, however they are carby and pressure cooking may not deactivate the lectins sufficiently for some. He also suggests soaking and changing the water several times before pressure cooking. He's also happier with lentils than some of the other legumes.

We've been patients since 2015 and have posted 7 transcripts of our consults here.. We've done an eighth, but haven't had time to redact the labs and get it posted. His advice changes a bit over time as he gets more info and he incorporates his clinical experience with various patients.

The books and his other postings are written to hit a broad audience. If you are a patient, he tailors it to you. If you have specific issues, then you should make adjustments accordingly.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by pharmacydoc »

Thanks so much for the info! I followed the links to the latest diet advice in your consult with Gundry. That answered many of my diet questions.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by Plumster »

I'm reading Gundry's new book, the Longevity Paradox and getting more and more confused. In the first half of the book he makes a good case about animal protein and saturated fat being harmful, but the recipes are heavy on cheese and coconut milk with no substitutions listed. He spends time talking about how little meat and eggs to eat but never explains what a vegan should eat to get enough protein and nutrients.

In one place he says that beans are ok if pressure-cooked, but then legumes are listed in the Foods to Avoid section. They are the same thing, right?

Is anyone else confused about these statements?
Here's a review of Gundry's books by Dr. Joel Kahn:
e3/4 MTHFR C677T/A1298C COMT V158M++ COMT H62H++ MTRR A66G ++ HLA DR
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by bexnews »

SoCalGuy wrote:
pharmacydoc wrote:He has also been a proponent of consuming a liter of olive oil per week but that didn't work for me given my APOE 3/4 status. So his recipes may not work particularly well for people who have trouble with high amounts of fat.
Was the reflected in your blood panels? Gundry himself recommends APOE4s specifically consume lots of olive oil?

Gundry seems a little aloof to all the debates he starts.... of course he now poo-poos his Matrix book as containing bad advice because he wanted to appease his publisher for marketing reasons. But then what else might he agree to based on criteria other than what is best for his patients and readers? He's got a lot of products out and if you are on his email list each one is hyped more than the prior one. I largely ignore it but then what else of his am I to ignore? Leaves me a bit conflicted over some of his advice.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by TheresaB »

Saying Dr Gundry poo-poos his first book is a misrepresentation, he said that the first book was a compromise with his publisher who wanted to sell books for weight loss, so he was unable to write about many things he wanted to since his publisher said telling people to, say incorporate intermittent fasting, would be “too mean.” :lol:

Just as his undergraduate thesis at Yale and first book examined dietary evolution, Dr Gundry’s own discoveries from testing patients, attending conferences, researching, and presenting, etc. have evolved, thus his recommendation have evolved over the years. Just as our own thoughts/practices should evolve the more we learn from this website, etc.

But even if you followed his first book, “Diet Evolution” exactly as written, and didn’t go on to “Plant Paradox” or “Longevity Paradox” you’d be healthier than most other populations in the western world.

Another source of confusion is many of his recommendations are for general population, but everyone is individual, everyone has different levels of gut permeability, gut microbiome, food sensitivities, genetics, religious dietary constraints, etc. If a patient, he looks at MANY test results, including APOE status, asks many questions, and modifies recommendations accordingly. Plus everyone has to take responsibility for themselves, they have to listen to their own body, evaluate their own biomarkers, etc. Just because Dr Gundry's book says something is okay to eat doesn’t mean you can eat it with impunity. I am a member of the Gundry Plant Paradox recipe sharing facebook group and often wonder what the HbA1cs are of some of the members because despite being “compliant” as allowed on Dr Gundry’s diet, if they’re not following the other Dr Gundry principles, I suspect their blood sugar levels are still running high.
bexnews wrote:
SoCalGuy wrote:
pharmacydoc wrote:He has also been a proponent of consuming a liter of olive oil per week but that didn't work for me given my APOE 3/4 status. So his recipes may not work particularly well for people who have trouble with high amounts of fat.
I don’t know why Olive Oil didn’t work for pharmacydoc, I'd be very curious to know. I do know Dr Gundry recommends good quality, pressed within the past year, extra virgin olive oil for everyone, ESPECIALLY APOE4s. In my first consult Dr Gundry said, “Olive oil is your best friend.” Its full of polyphenols which bind to oxidized cholesterol, he says he tries to cram as many polyphenols in us APOE4 carriers as possible. It’s a monounsaturated fat, so it’s efficient for the mitochondria to process. It also helps with insulin resistance. So it’s very sad that phamacydoc didn’t react to it well, but that’s just one datapoint.
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Re: confused about Gundry diet

Post by pharmacydoc »

I just want to clear the record. Actually, it was SoCalGuy who wrote that about olive oil. I was just trying to understand some statements that seemed inconsistent. Since I cut my animal fats to a few eggs per week, I'm still not sure how to get enough protein without eating lots of beans with carbs. So, I've compromised with some beans, some eggs, and some nuts. I just bought The Plant Paradox Cookbook which has a good explanation of the diet along with great recipes.
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