STEVEN GUNDRY MD, F.A.C.S., F.A.C.C., is a cum laude graduate of Yale University with special honors in Human Biological and Social Evolution. After graduating Alpha Omega Alpha from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, Dr. Steven Gundry completed residencies in General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Michigan and served as a Clinical Associate at the National Institutes of Health for years. There, he invented devices that reverse the cell death seen in acute heart attacks; variations of these devices subsequently became the Gundry™ Retrograde Cardioplegia Cannula. It has become the world's most widely used device of its kind to protect the heart from damage during open-heart surgery. After completing a fellowship in congenital heart surgery at The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, in London, Dr. Gundry was recruited as Professor and Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center. There, he and his partner, Leonard Bailey, pioneered infant and pediatric heart transplantation. Together, they have performed more such transplants than any other transplant surgeons in the world.
During his tenure at Loma Linda, Dr. Gundry pioneered the field of xenotransplantation, the study of how the genes of one species react to the transplanted heart of a foreign species. He was one of the original twenty investigators of the first FDA-approved implantable left ventricular assist device (a kind of artificial heart). Dr. Gundry is also the inventor of the Gundry Ministernomy, the widely used minimally invasive approach to aortic- or mitral-valve repair, the Gundry Lateral Tunnel, a "living" tissue that can rebuild parts of the heart in children with severe congenital heart malformations; and the Skoosh™ venous cannula, the most widely used cannula in minimally invasive heart operations.
One of the fathers of robotic surgery, and a consultant to Computer Motion (now Intuitive Surgical), Dr. Steven Gundry received early FDA approval to use robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery for coronary artery-bypass and mitral-valve operations. He holds patents on devices for connecting blood vessels and coronary artery bypasses without sutures, as well as for repairing the mitral valve without the need for sutures or a heart-lung machine. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs (ASIAO) and was a founding board member and treasurer of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS). He recently completed two successive elected terms as President of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, Desert Division.
Dr. Gundry has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology, the American Surgical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the College of Chest Physicians. He is a member of numerous other surgical and medical societies. As a medical researcher, Dr. Gundry has published three hundred articles, chapters, and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals on surgical, immunology, genetics, nutrition, plant-based diets, and lipid investigations.
In 2002, Dr. Gundry met someone who would change the trajectory of his career… and life. He crossed paths with an "inoperable" patient named “Big Ed”. Using a combination of dietary changes and nutraceutical supplements — Big Ed lost weight and cleared most of his arterial blockages. An obese, chronic "diet" failure himself, Dr. Gundry adapted his Yale University thesis to design a diet for himself based on evolutionary genetic coding.
On this diet, he lost weight — to the tune of 70 pounds — and reversed his own ailments, such as migraines, pre-diabetic status, and arthritis. He stopped eating sugar, grains, peanuts and cashews, nightshades and other lectin-heavy foods. Having experienced weight loss and the results of eating a lectin-free and gluten-free diet himself, and inspired by growing research involving the NIH’s Human Microbiome Project, his commitment to better health and longevity through a better diet solidified. His work creating nutraceutical products and supplements advanced.
No longer satisfied with repairing the damage of chronic diseases, Dr. Gundry open his own practice— The International Heart and Lung Institute and Center of Restorative Medicine in Santa Barbara and Palm Springs, California. His mission is to prevent and reverse chronic diseases of "aging" while increasing longevity with diet and nutraceutical products.
In order to help even more people heal themselves, Dr. Gundry began writing books outlining his eating program and eventually, he would create his own supplement line, Gundry MD. He’s always researching new methods, discovering better health solutions, and evolving his wellness philosophies. These theories are outlined in his bestselling books: Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution: Turn Off the Genes That Are Killing You and Your Waistline; The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain; The Plant Paradox Cookbook: 100 Delicious Recipes to Help You Lose Weight, Heal Your Gut, and Live Lectin-Free; The Plant Paradox Quick and Easy: The 30-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Feel Great, and Live Lectin-Free; The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age; and The Plant Paradox Family Cookbook: 80 One-Pot Recipes to Nourish Your Family Using Your Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or Sheet Pan.
He is now the leading expert on the lectin-free lifestyle as the key to reversing disease and healing a leaky gut. Dr. Steven Gundry freely shares his research on how to maintain a healthy microbiome and live a long, vital life via his best-selling books, YouTube channel, Gundry MD blogs, and weekly health podcast, The Dr. Gundry Podcast.
The Gundry MD site is a resource to learn about which foods to eat, like olive oil and pressure cooked lentils, and which to avoid, such as grains and goji berries. His work on balancing bacteria in your gut and aligning your lifestyle with the proper circadian rhythms has been groundbreaking. And he continues to research blue zones, best autoimmune practices, and lectin-free living. Gundry MD also provides information and tips about dealing with challenges like rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and other health concerns that present in later years of life. He also explores the tenets of the Ketogenic diet (and other diets) and shares his expertise on all things “lectins”.
Gundry MD is also a proud sponsor of charity: water. charity: water is dedicated to building new ways to get clean drinking water to communities in need. A portion of every Gundry MD product sold is donated to charity:water.
Dr. Gundry lives with his wife, Penny, and their dogs in Palm Springs and Montecito, California. His two grown daughters live nearby. For more information about Gundry MD, tune into his podcast and YouTube episodes. www.gundrymd.com / www.drgundry.com
