Dr. Michael Greger from nutritionfacts.org does tremendous work, and is one of the most trusted go to resources for nutrition information. In the link below, he exposes Dr. Steven Gundry, the author of the NY Times bestselling book titled “The Plant Paradox”. It turns out that Dr. Gundry not only provides false and dangerous information to sell books, but also his own line of supplements as well. Go figure.
I am reminded of a quote from legendary nutrition scientist Dr. T. Colin Campbell where he said that “people love to hear good things about their bad habits.” Hence, this is why a book like “The Plant Paradox”, can become a NY Times bestseller, along with countless other diet books each year too. For example, another one of Amazon’s best selling diet books, “The Big Book of Keto Diet”, features a big piece of steak on its front cover. Or how about this creative entry: “Bacon & Butter: The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Book” (this book received 4.5 out of 5 stars from 771 reviews on Amazon). Again, people love to hear good things about their bad habits. Which raises the question, has there ever been a NY Times best seller on Veganism or Whole Food Plant Based diets? Fortunately, there have been a few, but their numbers are dwarfed by the countless low carb, high fat & other fad diet books that are released each year, and cause so much harm.
Dr. T. Colin Campbell & his son, Dr. Thomas Campbell, provided further commentary on “The Plant Paradox” by Steven Gundry, MD: “What a shame that this type of unscientific nonsense creates so much unnecessary confusion, with deadly consequences…To say that people are confused is an understatement and it is this confusion that invites scams like this book…We can only hope that this newly invented fad, based on such unethical and self-serving behavior, will pass quickly.”
Dr. Steven R. Gundry is apparently a real doctor who is likely laughing himself all the way to the bank in the same deceptive spirit as the late Dr. Robert Atkins (click here for more on the fraudulent practices of Dr. Atkins). What is most distressing is that the US spends over $3.6 trillion a year on health care (sick-care), and we now know that close to 86% of all chronic diseases in the US can either be prevented or reversed by making simple lifestyle changes, the biggest of which is diet. In the Plant Paradox book, Gundry makes the claim that “eating shellfish and egg yolks dramatically reduces total cholesterol” and he also tells his readers to “forget everything you thought you knew was true.” This of course will plant the seed of doubt in many people’s minds and tell them again, exactly what they want to hear. And if you are not familiar with that playbook, see the famous “doubt is our product” quote from the tobacco company Brown & Williamson (planting the seed of doubt was a marketing strategy used by tobacco executives in their attempt to manufacture doubt in the face of overwhelming evidence of the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes). The oil industry (decades of misinformation on climate change) and our health/sick care industry (e.g., egg yolks reduce cholesterol) are using the same techniques from the very same playbook to plant the seeds of doubt, and confuse people as well. And if there is a seed of doubt on any level, people will continue with their bad habits.
So how does Dr. Gundry show that a food decreases cholesterol? As Dr. Greger explains in the link below, the author (Dr. Gundry) cites a study that removed so much meat, cheese, and eggs that the saturated fat levels fell dramatically. As a result, and of course not surprisingly, cholesterol levels also dropped by 50%. Amazingly, as Dr. Michael Greger points out, the author then flips that information to declare that “eating egg yolks will dramatically reduce your total cholesterol”, which is absolutely the opposite of the truth. If you add egg yolks to people’s diets, their cholesterol goes up, way up! Dr. Greger reminds us that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, and that these lies, or misinformation, will ultimately hurt people, and likely contribute to countless premature deaths.
Okay, so what about the lectins? According to world renowned dietician Brenda Davis, “Some argue that the lectins that naturally present in these starchy foods are harmful to human health. Consuming too many lectins can cause significant gastrointestinal distress. However, because legumes and grains are almost always consumed in a cooked form—and lectins are destroyed during cooking—eating beans and grains doesn’t result in lectin overload. Sprouting also reduces lectin levels in plants, although not as effectively as cooking. Generally, pea sprouts, lentil sprouts, and mung bean sprouts are safe to consume, as are sprouted grains, which are naturally low in lectins. Most larger legumes contain higher amounts and should be cooked.”
From what I understand, Dr. Gundry also classifies tomatoes, beans, potatoes, peppers, eggplants, cashews, and whole grains as “fake health foods” too. Of course, these foods are amongst the healthiest on the planet, but do we really need to continue? The only thing fake is Dr. Gundry himself. A quick Google search reveals that the swindling author of “The Plant Paradox” has amassed a net worth that exceeds $8 million (my guess is that his financial status is even higher as ads for his products seem to be everywhere). And all he had to do was lie, and sell himself out. The evidence is pretty clear, Dr. Steven Gundry is not only a complete fraud, but also dangerous.
Click here for an updated article from Dr. Michael Greger.
Click here to learn about the health benefits of soy.
Click here to learn about the health benefits of soy.
