I lost the hearing in my right ear last year. In an article published earlier this week I revealed part of my medical journey. I shared the homeopathic medical team I turned to for guidance. I am making so many stellar shifts in my diet and have become very proactive in remaining healthy. Here is another part of my discoveries.

Santa Clarita chiropractor, Thomas Polucki, local acupuncturist Kathleen Kenneally and Nola Aronson of Advanced Audiology are my guides. In addition, I read an eye-opening book by the former head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Loma Linda University, Dr. Steven Gundry, The Plant Paradox.

In his book, Gundry explains how he noticed a pattern with his heart patients. He discovered it was their diet that was the primary cause of their ailment. He isolated the cause to lectins, which are in many foods and can be the source of many medical maladies.

Related: How Santa Clarita Doctors Helped Reverse My Hearing Issues

According to Gundry, many foods are high in lectins. Shade vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and squash are high in lectins. Corn, beans and many grains also have a high lectin content.

Our body tries to break down these lectins as we digest them, but if we throw too many lectins at our defense mechanisms the trouble can begin.

I learned that while our intestines are the length of a basketball court, they are only one cell thick.  That’s to allow good nutrients to seep through our intestines and enter our bloodstream. When we overwhelm our body’s defense mechanism by eating too many lectins, we’ve created a bad situation.

When too many lectins enter our intestine, they penetrate our one-cell lining, creating a larger hole as they enter. This allows the harmful remnants that should be excreted from our body to also seep through the intestine lining and enter our bloodstream. As more and more harmful elements work their way into our bloodstream, they add to our organs stress and overwhelm the defenses built into our body.

Dr. Gundry does a far better and much more detailed analysis of why and how this happens in his breakthrough book, The Plant Paradox. In it, he recommends a shift in our diets, beginning with a simple 3-day lectin cleanse.

Gundry convinced me. I started with the cleanse, then shifted my diet.  With my hearing loss, my goal is to keep my tumor from growing so I don’t have to resort to surgery or radiation, both being bad options that will most likely eliminate my tumor but can create a wide variety of risks and permanent additional damage. My best option is to continue to monitor the tumor through semi-annual MRI’s and keep it from growing through a homeopathic cocktail consisting of a lifestyle change in my diet and habits.

The Gundry diet was a painless adjustment for me. I was surprised to see my cravings for sugars and high lectin foods disappear almost immediately. I lowered my carb and sugar intake, shifted to healthy fats and proteins, and anchored myself with a few of my favorites such as avocados, pistachio and macadamia nuts, salads, cheeses and eggs from free range chickens. I’ve eliminated many of the harmful high lectin foods such as peanuts, cashews and beans.

Gundry goes into great depth in his book, The Plant Paradox, outlining the good foods versus the bad foods. He even provides insight on how to still eat some high lectin foods such as beans and tomatoes by preparing them in a pressure cooker. We purchased a good one that I now use for rice, artichokes and as the weather chills I will even prepare my favorite chili. In addition, he provides recipes in his book and offers a second book filled with nothing but recipes.

Gundry also offers a series of supplemental products that my wife Jeri and I have been taking. These include Vital Reds and Primal Plants,

Gundry even offers a lectin shield pill I digest when I know I am going to cheat and enjoy a favorite food that is high in lectins.

Jeri and I are encouraging our friends to read Gundry’s book, The Plant Paradox. He has also created a powerful and easy to follow video that does a far better job of explaining his nutritional philosophy than I can. I urge you to watch this video, even if you choose not to read his book. Our hope it will become as big an eye opener for you as it has been for us.

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