Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Dr. Gundry Podcast, where Dr. Steven Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
This Halloween, when you’re carving the pumpkins, I want you to skip the tradition of eating the pumpkin seeds. Now, while this may seem like an innocent, delicious snack, pumpkin seeds are actually doing you more harm than good.
Now, there are a lot of claims about the benefits of eating pumpkin seeds. They’re great for prostate health, they’re great for regulating hormones. They’re full of antioxidants. They strengthen your hair and nails. They’re great for heart health and they’re rich in zinc. Well, some of this actually may be true, but there’s a bigger problem with pumpkin seeds, and I bet you know what it is. Yep, they have lectins.
Now, what the heck are lectins? Lectins, as most of you watching this channel know, are part of the plant defense system against being eaten. And plants are eaten by animals, we’re their predators. And plants do not want to be eaten, and they certainly don’t want their babies, their seeds eaten. So plants use biologic warfare to convince animals that eating them or their babies is going to make them feel bad, is going to make them not live as long, is going to make them not as fertile. So these are incorporated into the vast majority of seeds that you have the potential to eat.
Another similar favorite snack, very much in the same way, are sunflower seeds. So when you see all those baseball players munching on their sunflower seeds and spitting out the shell, just realize that they’re eating a lectin-loaded food. Sunflower oil is bad for you because it’s an omega-6 fat, and it’s loaded with lectins as well.
This also goes for peanuts, which are not a nut at all, it’s a legume, cashews and chia seeds. Now, wait a minute, chia seeds? Chia seeds are great for you because they have omega-3 fats, which they do. But years ago, I was exposed to studies from Loren Cordain, the father of the Paleo diet, who’s a professor at Colorado State University, of humans who were given chia seeds to show that they had anti-inflammatory properties because of the omega-3 fats. And lo and behold, they did have omega-3 fats in their blood, but their inflammatory markers, like C-reactive protein, CRP, actually went up when they were eating chia seeds.
So what can you do? Well, since we’re on the subject of chia seeds, you may have seen my interview right here on my YouTube channel with basil seeds and the founder of Zen Basil. Basil seeds have all the benefits without the lectins, and they act exactly like chia seeds. So use basil seeds instead.
Now, there are seeds that don’t have any lectins. Plants have a strategy. Plants would like you to distribute some of their seeds for them by eating them. And these plants make the coating of the seed indigestible so that you cannot digest it with your digestive enzymes or even your microbiome. So you will poop their babies intact somewhere with a generous dollop of fertilizer.
Flax seeds fall into that category. Now, as you know, flax seeds are loaded with a really cool protein, but they’re also loaded with the short-chain omega-3 fat linoleic acid. Flax seeds have been shown, particularly linoleic acid, to dramatically reduce inflammation and actually prevent lipopolysaccharides, those LPSs that I talk about, from getting into your bloodstream.
Now, here’s the deal with flax seeds. They resist digestion. So you could eat all the flax seed crackers in the world and they’re useless. You could sprinkle flax seeds on your salad. They’re useless. You have to grind them. And please, if you’re going to buy them ground, buy them refrigerated, keep them in the refrigerator. I personally like to buy them whole, get a coffee grinder, grind your flax seeds when you use them, and then mix them in with whatever you’re going to eat. It’s a great source of omega-3 fats, fiber and protein.
Second, hemp seeds. Hemp seeds have no lectins. They’re also a good source of omega-3 fats. They’re a great source of protein. And they have been shown to improve heart health, brain health and eye health. Particularly, hemp hearts are really easy to use and there’s no more processing needed. Sprinkle them in your salads, put them in your goat yogurt, put it in your goat or sheep kefir, and they add a really great texture.
Sesame seeds. Sesame oil and sesame seeds have been shown to block the effect of LPSs, those inflammatory bacterial cell walls. So get yourself some sesame seeds. In fact, studies in humans show that having people consume two tablespoons of sesame oil, not the toasted but the regular, a day dramatically lowers blood pressure in people who are hypertensive. And when they stopped using the sesame oil, their blood pressure went back up.
Are there safe nuts? Well, yes, there are. First of all, you want to get zinc, have some Brazil nuts. They’re also rich in selenium. About three Brazil nuts will give you your daily dose of selenium that you need for thyroid health, for prostate health. But don’t overdo it because too much selenium can backfire.
Walnuts. Walnuts are a rich source of tannins, a type of phytosterol polyphenol that has been correlated with improved brain health.
Macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts are mostly monounsaturated fats like olive oil, but they contain a additional fat that’s been shown to directly affect the health of blood vessels and the brain. And there’s several studies that suggest that this particular fat in macadamia nuts can suppress appetite.
Pistachios, they’re one of my go-to nuts. They are rich in melatonin. In fact, they’re the highest melatonin containing food there is. No, they’re not going to make you sleepy. It turns out that melatonin, as you know, is only one of two antioxidants that are used in our mitochondria. The other one is glutathione. So melatonin is not the sleep hormone, it is the antioxidant of your mitochondria.
Finally, pine nuts. Pine nuts, of course, are an essential ingredient in pesto, along with basil and Parmesan cheese and olive oil. But pine nuts are absolutely delicious, particularly if you toast them lightly and then sprinkle them on your salad, throw them on your vegetables, and you’ll have a great way to get another beneficial nut in a fun way to change around your vegetables and your salads.
Okay, that’s it. Throw away the pumpkin seeds. Don’t roast them for Halloween. That way you will not get a spooky surprise.
Chia seeds 101. Tiny but mighty superfood. Chia seeds are a superfood. The Aztecs have been eating them forever and they’re great for you. Now, I used to believe that chia seeds were at superfood at one point too, about 15 years ago. I even had a bag of them sitting in my office to show my patients. In fact, one of my patient’s son was a maker of chia seeds, and I bought into the hype. Who wouldn’t buy into the hype? You put them in water, they swell up, they get this gelatinous stuff, and it looks like, wow, that’s fiber. That’s going to improve my digestion. Wow.
About that time, I was approached to work on a book with the father of the Paleo diet. And we were chatting about recipes, and I happened to mention what a fan I was of chia seeds. And he stopped dead his tracks and said, “Don’t you read the literature?” And I said, ‘Well, you know I do,” blah, blah, blah. And he says, “Well, you haven’t read this literature.” He said, “Chia seeds are very inflammatory.” I said, “What?”
And the study he referred me to was done to show that chia seeds have a short chain omega-3 fat, which they do. And the study was done with human volunteers to give them chia seeds. The other group didn’t get chia seeds. And they looked at the amount of omega-3 fats in their blood. And lo and behold, their omega-3 fats did go up. Yay, that sounds good.
But they were also looking at a marker of inflammation, which is C-reactive protein. In this case, hs-CRP, highly sensitive or heart-specific CRP. And the chia seed group actually went up in their C-reactive protein. And that was the point that most people had missed. That yes, the omega-3 fat went up, but the inflammatory markers went up as well.
Now, one of the reasons for that is that chia seeds are from South America, and just remember that all of us are from Africa, Europe, or Asia. Even Native Americans are from Asia. So none of us were exposed to any American plant until 500 years ago when Colombian trade started, so this is a modern plant that we’ve been exposed to.
He was absolutely right. And my chia seeds sit up in a cupboard just so I can pull them out and show people how mistaken I was about chia seeds. These contain lectins and they’re inflammatory.
Now, interestingly, when The Plant Paradox came out, and I’ve had a couple of patients call me up and tell me that they were reacting to certain foods that seemed, on the surface, to be quite safe. One of them is a chip that, on the surface, seems to be quite safe. Another one is a cracker that, on the surface, seems to be quite safe. And lo and behold, we discovered that these food companies were adding chia seeds to their recipes. And when we removed these products from my patients, lo and behold, their reaction went away. So it looks like, from my patients, that these things for a number of people are not good for you.
But if you love your chia seed pudding, don’t freak out. Instead, use basil seeds. Now, the great news is basil seeds act just like chia seeds in the way they absorb water and become a gelatin-like fiber. In fact, it looks just like chia seeds. But basil seeds are part of the basil family. Now, basil I’ve talked about for years, basil is some of the most anti-inflammatory foods that you can eat. Fun fact, sage is a part of the basil family, and sage was called by Romans salvia, salve, savior because of its known health-promoting properties. It’s no wonder that basil is part of pesto. It’s no wonder that basil is part of a Caprese salad. And fun fact, believe it or not, true Caprese salad, the tomatoes are peeled and de-seeded. I’ve had it in a traditional Florence restaurant. So the point of all this is basil has the health-promoting properties that chia seeds undo.
Now, they don’t taste like basil. That’s the good news. They’re a natural source of fiber, vitamins, electrolytes, and antioxidants. They’re lectin-free, they’re vegan, they’re keto, and they’re paleo-friendly. The great thing about basil seeds is they are loaded with prebiotic fiber without the downside of the lectins that chia seeds have.
Now, that fiber feeds your friendly gut bacteria. You’ll learn in Gut Check, my current book, that the happier your gut bacteria are, the happier you will be, the happier your brain will be. We’ve heard for years about the gut-brain connection, but it’s only been recently that we’ve realized that the brain is completely dependent on its mood, its happiness, its lack of depression, its lack of anxiety by messages it receives from the gut bacteria. And the happier you make them, the happier you will be.
The other great thing about fiber in the form of basil seeds and other forms of fiber is that it actually smooths out your digestion. And there’s some pretty cool studies that it lowers cholesterol if that’s what you’re interested in. I’m not, but if that’s what you like, fine.
It relieves stress. Basil seeds have adaptogens. You actually balance sugar levels. There’s some interesting human studies, one in 2016 showing that basil seed ingestion lowered blood sugar levels. Sounds like fun. There’s another 2016 study in rats who were diabetics, that basil seeds’ addition to the diet lowered blood sugar and lowered diabetic levels in these rats, and it even made them lose weight. That sounds like a good thing.
Now, in a gram to gram comparison with chia seeds done by the Zen Basil company… Now, I have no relationship with them, I’m not an advisor, I’m just a big fan. So Zen Basil seeds have two times the fiber of chia seeds, have two times the potassium, have two times the calcium, two times the iron, 10 times the amount of prebiotics. Plus, unlike chia seeds, they are lectin-free.
So how the heck do you eat it? Well, anything you can do with a chia seed, you can do with a basil seed. Now, I must admit, I have never tried to make a basil pet. I have made a chia pet. I suppose it’ll work. Maybe I should try it and see if I can make one, grow some hair on a chia pet with basil seeds. Stay tuned, I’ll let you know.
But anything else you can do with a chia seed, you can do with a basil seed. You can make basil seed puddings. I like to mix it in water or coconut milk. It’ll be just like pudding. You can top it with chopped macadamia nuts or in-season berries. In Unlocking the Keto Code, I have a great tropical basil seed pudding recipe. You can bake with them. You can use them as a thickener in baked goods. You can use them as a thickener in soups and casseroles.
Again, I like Zen Basil seeds. They’re the only USDA organic certified basil seeds on the market that I’m aware of. I’m so impressed with them, I actually did a whole episode on this podcast with the founder Shakira Niazi, and if you want to learn more, check it out.
Speaker 1:
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