Steven R. Gundry

Gundry was a cardiothoracic surgeon with a real record in infant heart surgery before he turned to diet books, and The Plant Paradox argues that lectins, proteins found in beans, grains, nightshades and many vegetables, sit behind a long list of modern illnesses. Dietitians and nutrition researchers reject the claim: lectins are largely destroyed by cooking, and several foods the book tells readers to avoid are among the best evidenced for health. The commercial arrangement matters here. He sells a supplement line under his own name, and a number of the products are pitched as ways to tolerate the very foods the book removes, so the diagnosis and the remedy come from the same shop. The surgical credential is genuine. The nutritional claims are not accepted by the field he is writing in.