"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.

STEVEN R. GUNDRY, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.C., is the inventor of some of the most widely used heart-surgery devices and is renowned as an infant heart-transplant surgeon. Now, through his Center for Restorative Medicine, he helps patients avoid cardiac and other surgical procedures by using nutrition to reverse heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. By bridging the gap between Dr. Atkins and Dr. Ornish and combining the best of the raw-foods and sugar-free plans, Dr. Gundry brings us to the next stage of diet evolution.


From the Hardcover edition.

Chapter 1

YOUR GENES ARE

RUNNING THE SHOW

If you're anything like me, I know you're champing at the bit to get going on Diet Evolution, but hold your horses. I've found that most of us can stick to a program only if we understand how and why we got to our present state of affairs. The next four chapters will do just that.

You can thank Mom and Dad for your beautiful baby blues, as well as your hair color, height, and build. All these traits were encoded in copies of their genes--half of them her's, the other half his--that now reside in your body. Any children you have will in turn have copies of half of your genes and half of your partner's, and so on through generations to come. Determining our appearance and myriad other characteristics is just one way in which our genes rule our lives. As you'll soon learn, they also play a more clandestine role.

The answer to why almost all attempts to lose weight fail resides in your genes and the lies they've been feeding you. Once you understand how genes behave, and how their behavior controls your behavior, you'll be rewarded with an understanding of how you can lose those extra pounds, regain your health and vitality, and set the stage for a long, vigorous life. I'm sure you have heard that if you feed your genes right, all your health problems will disappear. But here you are stuck in the same old rut. I'm going to prove to you that you're in poor health and overweight because you're feeding your genes exactly what they want. Let me assure you, your genes are using you for their health and longevity, not yours. In fact, your longevity stands in their way. So sit back, open your mind, and be willing to suspend everything you've ever known about yourself. But first let's get down to basics.

GENES AS MICROCOMPUTERS

I've found that it helps to think of genes as tiny computer programs. On your computer, the letter A, for example, is "coded" as 1000001. Whenever I strike A on the keyboard, this code of 0's and 1's tells my computer to make an A appear on the screen. Think of your body as a computer and your genes as its operating system. Genes are pieces of information composed of hundreds or even thousands of sugars and proteins arranged in sequences that "spell out" the process the gene wants a cell to perform. They contain all the information needed to tell each cell what to do, but in this case, the keys that turn genes on or off are circulating hormones, neurotransmitters, and numerous other information carriers, particularly compounds in food. To continue the computer metaphor, these codes work much as typing an Internet address into your Web browser "tells" it what information you want.

Your genes are totally dependent on your body to protect them and house them until a new computer, in the form of your offspring, can take on these tasks. We need our genes as much as they need us: your body only works when its operating system--your genes--tells it what to do. Over millions of years, the communication between our genes and the human body has undergone continuous improvements and upgrades, all to ensure perpetuation of the genes. Despite myriad improvements--much like Vista replacing Windows, or Panther replacing Tiger--the basic operating system of your genetic program remains the same.

Okay, you head-shakers, if all this just seems too fantastic to believe, let me ask you why you have no trouble accepting the fact that you can watch Oprah on your cellphone, thanks to invisible electrical impulses from outer space that communicate with cell towers to activate tiny computer programs in your handheld appliance. An invisible but equally powerful, comparable process also happens in our bodies. Why do you think that after two months female dorm mates find their menstrual periods have synchronized? Their hormones sent messages through thin air--rather like text messaging--for them to ovulate at

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Excerpted from Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution: Turn off the Genes That Are Killing You and Your Waistline by Steven R. Gundry
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.