OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — For decades, his reputation was that of a heart surgeon - including performing pediatric transplants around the world.
- Then, 30 years ago, an adult patient named Big Ed helped Dr. Steven Gundry begin to understand his own research and surgical experience differently.
- Gundry went on to author The Plant Paradox series. The first book was translated into 26 languages. More than two million copies of it, alone, have been sold.
- His next (and ninth) book will be released April 15, 2025, called The Gut-Brain Paradox: Improve Your Mood, Clear Brain Fog, and Reverse Disease by Healing Your Microbiome.
- Consult your physician before starting any diet or exercise regimen.
Continue reading for the transcript of the story as it aired.
For the millions of people worldwide who buy his books and supplements, and swear by them, you'll find others who push back.
"You're saying an apple is not ideal to eat. You're saying grapes are sugar bombs that are problematic," Doctor Mike said on The Checkup.
"They are sugar bombs. There's as much sugar in a cup of grapes as in a Hershey's candy bar," Doctor Steven Gundry responded.
"Yea, but that requires nuance," Doctor Mike added.
And so, that's where Doctor Gundry's conversation with Mary Nelson began.
"I wonder if you embrace those who challenge your thinking, or, how do you perceive it?" she asked.
"You know, I think George Patton said, 'If everybody's thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.' ... So, I like to think I challenge conventional wisdom, and I actually learned a lot of that here in Omaha way back in the day," Gundry explained.
The New York Times bestselling author of The Plant Paradox series grew up in the Westside neighborhood. Joking about it as Hollywood High, he graduated in 1968.
"When I went to Yale, they actually asked me if we had to shoo the cows off the runway to land the planes at Eppley Airfield," he laughed.
From Yale, Gundry went to the Medical College of Georgia, became a heart and transplant surgeon, a professor and started his own clinics in California.
Relying, he says, on his Nebraska values.
"Midwest people are really nice people. I actually never, ever saw my parents have an argument. Never heard a raised voice in my household. I know it sounds hokey, but it just didn't occur," Gundry shared.
Yet, he shined in debate - competing on behalf of Westside at State. That ability to listen and respond lead to a shift 30 years ago when Gundry moved more toward restorative medicine.
"At what point did you adopt some of it for yourself? How much did you end up losing?" Nelson inquired.
"Well, I lost 50 pounds my first year. And subsequently, lost another 20 pounds and kept it off," Gundry divulged.
He limits lectins, which are found in the likes of beans, corn and wheat.
"Well, Kelly Clarkson did me a very good favor. That was right when my first best-seller came out, The Plant Paradox," he said of one high-profile success story.
More than two million copies have been sold of just that book; however, in his conversation with Nelson, Gundry talked less about weight loss and more about what he views as a critical link between a healthy gut and healthy brain.
Doctor Gundry's next, and ninth, book, The Gut-Brain Paradox, ties together our microbiome, mood and brain fog. It's set for release April 15, 2025.