Dr. McDougall's Digestive Tune-Up

Why is it surprising that this diet works so well at restoring digestive health? That was the question I set out to answer, once I gave the program an honest effort and saw the amazing results. I hadn't been a vegan, and still do not entirely agree with that dietary regimen, but I followed Dr. McDougall's vegan program as he outlines it in Digestive Tune-Up (I cheated with a little coffee).Previous to McDougall's diet, my digestion had been terrible. I had a huge bloated belly, chronic constipation, and low energy. It seemed that no matter what I ate, I had trouble digesting it. For the previous two years, I had been eating Paleo-style. The only thing the Paleo gurus taught me was that if you want to have about one BM per week, go ahead and eat a ton of meat. Then try correcting the problem with heaps of veggies so you can add gas, cramps, and bloat to your list of digestive woes. One of the major tenets of the Paleo philosophy is this: Keeping blood sugar down is essential to good health and longevity. (Translation: All carbs are the devil. Carbs raise blood sugar which raises insulin, which is an inflammatory hormone. Also, all carbs are equally malicious because they all turn into "pure sugar," and sugar is the fodder of yeast, bacteria, and cancer). Among the Paleo community, "starch" might as well be a four-letter word. Rice and potatoes are viciously maligned because of their impact on the sacred blood sugar dogma. To make matters worse, many Paleo gurus suggest that fiber is not particularly important. One overweight Paleo advocate even goes so far as to say that if you drink enough water, fiber is unnecessary. Sure, whatever. Keep eating those sticks of butter for breakfast.So needless to say, I was a bit dubious when I began eating all the starch that McDougall recommends. But after two years of constipation, cramps and abdominal distention, I was willing to try anything. McDougall recommends limiting fruit to three servings per day. In my experience, I discovered fruit was less problematic than some of the gassy, gluten-containing whole grains like wheat and barley. He also recommends limiting vegetables to three servings per day. I think this is good advice, as vegetables can be too hard on the intestines. But the biggest surprise of all was that my belly went flat within a few days. If digestive disorders are caused by bacteria overgrowth in the small intestine (as the Paleo gurus theorize), then starch would make symptoms worse because it travels so far down the digestive tract (all the while turning to sugar and feeding the yeast and bacteria). My bathroom habits also normalized within a couple days, leading me to believe that many digestive troubles are simply caused by constipation, impaction, and the incomplete breakdown of animal protein rather than by bacterial overgrowth.It has been 9 months since I began the McDougall program. These are my conclusions: Most digestive disorders are probably caused by excessive consumption of heavy proteins found in meat and dairy, which rarely break down completely and contribute to impacted stools; excessive fats, which significantly decrease intestinal motility; inadequate fiber, which aids motility and reduces food intolerances. I believe that much of the time, bacteria are not to blame, and that furthermore, bacteria imbalances can be corrected by removing the blockages (incompletely digested meat and cheese) and increasing prebiotics (fiber). McDougall details how starch effectively rebuilds the lining of the digestive tract. He also makes a very strong case that humans are ideally suited for starch consumption and not so suited for digesting massive amounts of heavy proteins.I have come to respect Dr. McDougall quite a lot and I'll tell you why. Although he advocates a vegan diet, he does not come across as pushy and supercilious as so many vegans do. In fact, he does not even call himself vegan because, he says, so many vegans are unhealthy junk food dieters. Here's a guy who had a stroke at age 18. As he recovered in the hospital, he asked doctors what he'd been doing wrong and what he should do to reverse his condition and avoid dying young. Sadly, they had no answers for him. So McDougall set out to become a physician and discover those answers for himself. Still alive and well more than a half-century later, he's telling us what he's learned. It has worked for him and for thousands of his patients. It seems that McDougall was up against odds far greater than the average person; he managed to beat those odds and add more than 50 years to his life. In my opinion, that means everyone should hear what he has to say.Am I currently a vegan? No, not entirely, nor do I think it's necessary for good health and longevity. Nonetheless, I'm about 90% vegetarian and I'm grateful for the information I've learned from McDougall's books. I no longer fear carbs and I don't think that eating a potato is going to give me diabetes.Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck to everyone.

PRUDISH PEOPLE BE WARNED! You may be offended by the earthy language and imagery in this book, but read it anyway! Your digestive tract will thank you.Be prepared for plain talk and graphic illustrations in this guide to the most common digestive diseases of the developed world. Not only is this information nearly impossible to come by for many people, when it is available it may be cloaked in technical terms and euphemisms that make it impossible for the reader to understand what is being said. Not the case here. There is no mistaking what Dr. MacDougall and his weirdly talented illustrator are telling you! Each chapter is a lesson about a specific condition, told through the device of dialogues with a couple of typical patients. At first I thought that framework was unecessary, but I came to appreciate the user-friendly quality of the book. Not everyone has the leisure, inclination or reading level to look up unfamiliar words in a medical dictionary, or spend time reading peer-reviewed journals. For someone who is suffering and wants a clear explanation of what is causing their pain and what they can do about it right now, this book is a godsend.For those who are not familiar with Dr. John McDougall, and who may not have read his other books, Dr. MacDougall advocates treating diseases through improved nutrition. It makes sense that diseases of the digestive tract would be caused by patients' bad eating habits. It makes sense that the first step toward treatment should be improving their dietary habits. But how often have you been told that by a health care professional? Yes, there are pills and surgery that can treat the symptoms, but what about a simple eating plan that reduces and reverses the actual disease?Even if you are highly literate and consider yourself, as I did, well-versed in health matters, you may learn something new here. I did. As a former GERD and gallstone sufferer, I wish I had found this information long ago. It would have saved me the pain, expense and surgery that I had to endure without getting permanent relief. The way of eating described here worked for me, it was quick and easy to implement and cost practically nothing. There are no supplements or unusual food items to buy. You can just eat regular inexpensive supermarket food. You will learn what to choose and what to avoid. Try it even it's just for a week - you have nothing to lose but your pain!P.S. For those on a low budget, much of the information in the book can also be found for free on Dr. MacDougall's website, and in the author's previous books on general health. If you can't afford the book, the website is a good place to start. If you can afford it, I would still recommend the book as a handy and portable reference tool.

Fascinating journey through the human digestive tract illustrates and explains why the standard American diet - dominated by fat and cholesterol-laden animal products severely lacking fiber and vital nutrients - is making you sick and prematurely killing you. Or dooming you to a miserable, pill-popping existence which is hardly a life. Learn how you can escape the shackles of poor health, obesity and the many unnecessary and ill-advised medications and procedures foisted on you by the money grubbing medical establishment. How? By adopting a delicious and truly healthy whole foods plantbased way of eating. Within just weeks your blood pressure will drop, your blood sugar levels will decrease and other conditions like chronic constipation will disappear. You've got nothing to lose. And everything to gain. Nobody is too sick, too overweight or too old to benefit. Read this book and change your life forever, for good.

First of all, I love Dr McDougall’s style, I can understand everything he talks about. His since of his humor is an added bonus. I have colitis ( after years of the Paleo lifestyle). I’ve tried the low fodmap, and other diets, but finally got rid of all my symptoms after just a few weeks of WFPB!. I struggled with Plant are in the past, but after finding Dr.McDougall’s website, cookbook and many YouTube videos, I have been able to stick with it and it’s paid off. Feels great to have normal BM again!! This book was a blessing, knowledge is power and he helped me understand everything, after two years for searching on the internet and getting no dietary help from my doctors. I can’t thank you enough Dr M!!

I love John mcdougall. I could watch his educational and informative videos all day. YouTube is a dark hole time stealer- but I love it.He is so articulate and explains things well. I have many digestive issues. Although he didn’t specifically go into my troubles. He did touch on it.A very enjoyable read in story telling format. To make what could be a complicated or boring subject easier to digest. 😂 sorry. Couldn’t help myself.

This is an excellent book giving the reader answers to all those questions which they are too embarrassed to ask their doctor about. Dr McDougall writes with authority and humour making the book easy to read and enabling the reader to take control of their condition. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels that everything they have tried so far has not succeeded in getting to the root of their digestive problem - it was real eye-opener for me and although it is a slow process I have vastly improved my condition with what I have learned in this book and 'The Starch Solution' written by the same author.

Best health book going! Best dr!

Great illustrations, scientifically sound, well referenced, highly informative and extremely useful for anyone interested in how food interacts with the human body. You will be more educated than anyone in the NHS after reading this.

If you want to know how your digestive system works and how to do the best for it, this is the book for you! It helped me to improve my digestion and my general health. And not anymore heartburn! Highly recommended. Medea4