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Lewis HowesThese Foods Will KILL YOU! (Don't Eat This To LIVE LONGER) | Dr. Steven Gundry
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Chapter summaries
Avoiding Sugar and Simple Carbs to Protect Immunity
Asked how to protect the immune system in a crisis, Dr. Gundry says to avoid simple carbohydrates, which he says are in most packaged foods, and he warns that sugar suppresses white blood cell function. He also says that needing toilet paper signals a leaky gut.
- •Packaged foods, even seemingly healthy ones like plantain chips, are probably simple carbohydrates
- •Sugar suppresses white blood cell function
- •An orange juice cup contains five to six teaspoons of sugar
- •Needing more than a piece of toilet paper signals a leaky gut
Immune Boosters: Olive Oil, Mushrooms and Vitamin D
Gundry says olive oil polyphenols and mushrooms boost immunity, partly by feeding gut bacteria. He then spends considerable time on vitamin D, saying he has never seen toxicity, citing his own levels and doses and the case of two patients with very high levels.
- •Olive oil polyphenols and mushroom components boost the immune system
- •Gut bacteria fed complex sugars from mushrooms signal the immune system to relax
- •Gundry says everyone with leaky gut or autoimmune disease he sees has low vitamin D
- •He recommends 5,000 IU daily, or about 10,000 right now, and describes taking much higher doses when feeling ill
Vitamin C, Zinc, Quercetin, Astaxanthin and Blocking Viruses
Gundry recommends timed-release vitamin C, zinc, quercetin and astaxanthin. Howes asks whether a strong immune system can fend off a virus entirely, and Gundry agrees, linking vulnerability in chronic disease to leaky gut and deficient IgA and IgM.
- •Take timed-release vitamin C, 500 to 1,000 mg four times a day
- •Zinc at about 30 mg and quercetin from citrus pith, apples and onions
- •Astaxanthin, the compound that makes salmon red, may prevent an inflammatory response to the coronavirus
- •A strong immune system is designed to defend against viruses
- •People with chronic disease are susceptible because leaky gut impairs immunity
Fish Oil, DHA and the Sushi Question
Gundry explains why long-chain omega-3 fats matter, saying half the fat in the brain is DHA and that a higher omega-3 index goes with larger memory areas. He says sushi is not a good idea because of mercury and grains, and gives a method for reaching 1,000 mg of DHA a day from fish oil labels.
- •The brain is about 70% fat, and half of that is DHA
- •People with the highest omega-3 index have the largest hippocampus
- •Most people he sees with high mercury eat sushi, though sushi is fine once in a while
- •Aim for about 1,000 mg of DHA daily and check serving size on the label
Polyphenols and Why Stressed Plants Are Better
Gundry explains that polyphenols are plant compounds made to protect against stress and sun, found in dark berries, olives and leaves. He says organic, insect-bitten and bitter plants contain more, and that eating a wide variety of plants is difficult without supplements.
- •Polyphenols are plant protectants, and plants grown at higher altitude or under stress make more
- •Leaves of black raspberry and olive have more polyphenols than the fruit
- •Organic, imperfect-looking vegetables are loaded with polyphenols
- •Hunza tribes eat about 250 plant species versus roughly 20 for most people
Nut Butters, Goat Milk and the Spinach Lectin Surprise
Answering Howes's questions, Gundry says peeled almonds avoid a lectin in the almond skin, and he names walnuts, pistachios and macadamias as good nut choices. He recommends goat or sheep milk over cow milk and reports that some patients reacted to aquaporin lectins in spinach.
- •The almond peel contains a lectin; peeled almond butter is available
- •Goat milk is more similar to human milk than cow milk
- •Aquaporin lectins appear in spinach, tobacco, corn, soybeans and green peppers
- •Removing spinach helped patients who followed his program but still had problems
Label Lies and Starving the Gut Bacteria
Gundry says nutrition labels mislead, telling people to take total carbohydrates minus fiber to find the real sugar. Using the bagel example, he says refined carbs feed us but starve the gut bacteria that signal the mitochondria, leaving people fatigued.
- •Subtract dietary fiber from total carbohydrates to find real sugar, ignoring the sugar line
- •A zero-sugar bagel with 35 grams of carbs equals about nine teaspoons of sugar
- •Gundry says a bagel's sugar reaches the bloodstream faster than a Coke
- •Starved gut bacteria stop sending signals to mitochondria, causing fatigue
- •Nine cups of vegetables feed those bacteria
Plant Paradox: Chemical Warfare, Fruit and Seasonal Eating
Gundry explains that plants defend themselves chemically and use color to signal ripeness. He argues humans were meant to eat fruit once a year to store fat for winter, but now eat it year-round, and he offers his reading of Jack LaLanne's "if it tastes good, spit it out."
- •Plants are chemists that use chemical warfare to protect themselves
- •Fruit is meant to be eaten when ripe so seeds can spread
- •Food makers use red, orange and yellow packaging to trigger the eat-for-winter response
- •Eating year-round fruit tells the body winter is coming
- •LaLanne's saying means eating for the microbiome rather than the tongue
The Microbiome, Genes and Whether Aging Is a Choice
Gundry says humans host over 100 trillion bacteria, that 99% of genetic material in us is non-human, and that family disease patterns reflect shared eating habits and inherited bacteria. Howes challenges him about aging given his white hair, and Gundry introduces Terry Wahls's reversal of her MS.
- •We are a condominium for over 100 trillion bacteria
- •99% of genetic material in us is non-human
- •Family history largely reflects learned eating habits and inherited bacteria
- •He cites a Nature article that he says showed only 7 or 8% of outcomes are genetic
Poop as Bacteria, Viruses and Why We Need Microbes
Gundry says the large coiled stool is mostly bacteria that ate the fiber, and that germ-free mice live short lives with poor immune systems. He covers how bacteria teach the immune system from the womb, discusses bacteriophages, and explains what a virus is.
- •Most of stool is baby bacteria that have eaten fiber
- •Germ-free mice have horrible immune systems and short lives
- •Placental bacteria give information to the baby's immune system
- •Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria
- •A virus cannot replicate on its own and takes over a cell's machinery
De-Aging, the Gut Wall and Time-Restricted Eating
Gundry describes his own 18 years of eating in a two-hour window and Terry Wahls's apparent de-aging after trying time-restricted feeding. He describes the gut wall as a tennis court's worth of one-cell-thick barrier lined with immune cells, and says friendly gut bugs keep the immune system calm.
- •Gundry eats calories only two hours a day in winter and has for 18 years
- •Wahls and her wife saw their kids say they were de-aging
- •The gut wall has the surface area of a tennis court and is held by tight junctions
- •60 to 70% of white blood cells line the gut wall
- •Gundry says an intact wall means you do not age, and he teaches patients to treat autoimmune disease by removing lectins
Patient Story: Chronic Pain and a Guacamole Slip-Up
Gundry tells of a 36-year-old patient with chronic pain syndrome who became pain-free after changing her diet. After eating guacamole with tomatoes at a party, she had severe symptoms within an hour, and he uses this to show that you can't cheat.
- •Gundry says her pain came from gut nerve cells stimulated by rogue immune cells
- •After a few months of persistence she was pain free
- •Tomatoes in guacamole triggered her elbow and hand symptoms
- •The episode illustrates why you cannot cheat on the program
Restorative Medicine, Gluten, Grains and Foods to Avoid
Asked whether he is a functional medicine doctor, Gundry calls his approach restorative medicine, based on Hippocrates and removing obstacles to health such as lectins. He then discusses gluten-eating bacteria, whole grains, cashews, peanuts and chia seeds.
- •He says he does restorative medicine, removing obstacles to health
- •Starving harmful gut bugs of sugars, lectins and saturated fats makes them leave
- •Whole grain lectins are in the hull, which traditional cultures discarded
- •Cashews can be eaten pressure cooked, but he says to avoid chia seeds
What to Eat: Leaves, Tubers and a Liter of Olive Oil a Week
Gundry says to eat leaves, tubers like jicama and sweet potatoes, and plenty of olive oil, which he pours on everything at about a liter a week. He cites a Spanish study in which olive oil users had better memory, less breast cancer and less heart disease, and calls olive oil the secret.
- •Eat leaves and tubers such as jicama, sweet potatoes and rutabagas
- •He uses about a liter of olive oil a week
- •In Crete and Sardinia people use a liter weekly
- •A Spanish study found improved memory and 65% less breast cancer in women versus a low-fat Mediterranean diet
