Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution - Review

This book was recommended by my client Megan A.

Dr. Gundry's plan has three phases. Phase 1 is similar to Atkins Induction, but allows a glass of red wine for women and two for men every day. I think that is excessive for people wanting to lose fat, especially women. Phase 2 cuts the meat and nuts/seeds portions in half and adds in a ton more veggies. Dr. Gundry says his plan is the bridge between Atkins and Ornish, but that just sounds like marketing. Phase 3 is almost all raw vegan. He says to eat raw green vegetables until you're not hungry. I can get behind that. It is the best way to stop a binge - IF you're disciplined enough.

His explanation for these phases is that each one mirrors the eating of ancient humans, going back further and further, and doing so will turn off the genes that would have killed you off if you followed your instincts to eat calorie-dense sweet foods and sit around. I don't know if that's true either, as I'm always trying to read about exactly how much we know of diets in any ancient time. For instance, Atkins Induction and Dr. Gundry's Phase 1 are supposed to be something like the hunter-gatherer diets. I read somewhere recently that most of our knowledge of hunter-gatherer diets comes from studies of surviving modern h-g cultures, not necessarily a record in the fossils or something like that. This author pointed out that men were the researchers, and were only allowed to speak with the men of the h-g tribes, which could have led to underreporting of the food contributions of women. They were likely to be fruits and grains. A lot to think about, even if I have seen a lot of people lose fat on the "caveman diet" or similar, including myself.

There are a few other points that I'm going to look around and read more about. Dr. Gundry says that you should go exercise before breakfast because our ancestors would have done so in order to find food.

Unfortunately for this almost-interesting book, the good doctor's style seems tailored to piss off any smart people and condescend to any of those just below average people.

If you're a diet book lover like me, check it out of the library. But don't go using any of the recipes with protein powders and artificial sweeteners.