Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes That Are Killing You and Your Waistline
Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes That Are Killing You and Your Waistline
“Dr. Gundry has crafted a wise program with a powerful track record.”
–Mehmet Oz, M.D., professor and vice chair of surgery, NY Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center
Does losing weight and staying healthy feel like a battle? Well, it’s really a war. Your enemies are your own genes, backed by millions of years of evolution, and the only way to win is to outsmart them. Dr. Steven Gundry’s revolutionary book shares the health secrets other doctors won’t tell you:
• Why plants are “good” for you because they’re “bad” for you, and meat is “bad” because it’s “good” for you
• Why plateauing on this diet is actually a sign that you’re on the right track
• Why artificial sweeteners have the same effects as sugar on your health and your waistline
• Why taking antacids, statins, and drugs for high blood pressure and arthritis masks health issues instead of addressing them
Along with the meal planner, 70 delicious recipes, and inspirational stories, Dr. Gundry’s easy-to-memorize tips will keep you healthy and on course.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Unbelievably informative.
This book will change EVERYTHING you thought you knew about food and it’s effects on your body. I’m so glad I saw Dr Gundry on a brief PBS show and bought the book.
2 Stars Extremely Restrictive
SOuth Beach diet is better than this. This starts out liberal and ends up extremely restrictive and very vegetarian.
5 Stars Sensible nutrition for human paleolithic genes
At first glance, Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution looks like it is promoting the typical low-carb plan with different phases, already familiar to folks who have followed the South Beach Diet, Atkins, etc.
You start out with a typical “induction” phase with zero fruits, dairy or starches, then move later into a more modified game-plan with some low-glycemic fruits and even a few small 1/2 cup servings of true “whole grains” thrown in…all of which is familiar to low-carb fans. As every low-carber knows, keeping an sharp eye on starches (and even excess fruit) helps tremendously with weight loss and drastically improves one’s blood lipid profile. Alas, the medical establishment as a whole still does not officially support the use of low-starch diets to help normalize weight or blood lipids, which says volumes about the sheer inability of our health organizations- over decades- to come to terms with what really works in lifestyle modifications. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, getting your nutrition advice from your doctor (especially if he/she is the typically busy/lazy practitioner who sees all treatment in terms of drugs) is probably a poor idea. The same holds when seeking any effective exercise recommendations; you’ll no doubt hear “do some aerobics”.
But Dr. Gundry’s plan is no Atkins or South Beach copycat. While the above is optimal for weight loss, Gundry wants to move you later into a lifetime phase where you cut down on ALL animal-based protein, while increasing your veggies further and further. In fact, one should begin looking at meat as a “side” dish, with veggies and greens taking up the “main” course. Many meals do not need meat at all, and should have plant-based protein. Indeed, Dr. Gundry would like you to eat a plateful of greens at lunch and again at dinner. And he means an entire plate! This, of course, is a radical departure from typical American eating habits…no more need be said on that. The goal here is to actually decrease one’s “heat” from a high metabolism and animal-protein diets. In studies with long-lived individuals, they simply register a lower, “cool” metabolism. When your body is habitually generating too much heat, it isn’t optimal for health in the long term.
Gundry lists other life-extension strategies which I won’t mention here. It certainly seems like his diet and advice is on the right track. I’d personally put his book far above most of the dietary advice out there that I’ve read. Gundry is an expert’s expert on the heart and also did his homework on the nutrition end. It pays to listen to people this wise 
There are, of course, weaknesses as in every book. Gundry’s comments on exercise are inadequate (to his credit, he does mention weights and high-intensity type sprints, which is better than most diet gurus offer). But, such is typical of almost all diet books, the exercise sections tend to be glossed over, and usually are down-right stupid, and one is far better off following the exercise advice of real fitness experts in this area, such as Tom Venuto, Craig Ballantyne (Turbulence Training), Alwyn Cosgrove, etc.
Perhaps the severest criticism of Dr. Gundry’s book I have is the title; it just isn’t sexy enough for a public looking for glitz. “Dr. Gundry’s Diet” just has to go. Sorry Doc, we’re in the next century, hire an ad exec. Jazzing up that title is the first step in grabbing the average bored skimmer’s attention span. If Doc wants to keep “evolution” in the title, we can glam up that part, too. But we’re really talking about a “de-evolution”, back to what our paleo ancestor genes ate. We’re talking GOING BACK IN HISTORY, just like William Hurt did in that cheezy movie “Altered States”. It’s like from the Jetsons back to the Flintstones…are you with me? Hopefully, we’ll look a little more attractive than William Hurt did on this diet, but I’m a little worried about that… Hopefully also, we’ll keep a little more paleo muscle tissue than Dr. Gundry probably has, judging from the lame resistance training advice he gives…
I’d suggest a working title something like: “The De-Evolving Diet: Just Like Fred Flintstone Ate, Chow Down on Chunks of Woolly Mammoth and Tons of Bitter Greens, If You Can Find Any.” Or something along that line…
OK, OK, that sub-title is way too long. But if you’re so smart, dear Amazon reader, why am *I* forced to come up with these innovative suggestions?
5 Stars Great Plan — Support community needed!
I’ve been working this plan for 6 weeks, and just love it! I wish the website had been developed. I think Dr. Gundry has an amazing plan here! We need a community of support though. So, I’ve started a blog, http://doctorgdietevolution.blogspot.com/ .. come on over!
The book is well written, clear, and the plan is workable.
3 Stars Some really good, some deserves revision…
I am not disqualifying all the 5 star reviews out there, but I think there are sections that deserve some revision.
This book was very educational, and provided exceptional layman explanations about the human body and genes to help set context and created a buy-in from the reader. But there are sections where the book seemed to have provided conflicting recommendations, thus causing confusion about what we should eat or not eat at the phase we’re in. It seems like more than 1 person worked on the book and it wasn’t brought together cohesively in the end. I bet there will be a new version coming.
Filed under: Weight Loss Book Reviews
