Chapter One. The War Between Plants and Animals
Plants are not passive food — they evolutionarily “defend themselves” from being eaten using biochemical weapons. One of the key defense mechanisms is lectins — proteins designed to damage the digestion and immune systems of predators.
Humans, despite technology and culinary skills, biologically remain participants in this evolutionary war. Many chronic diseases are viewed as a side effect of the constant consumption of plant defense substances to which our bodies are poorly adapted.
Chapter Two. Lectins on the Loose
Lectins are resistant to digestion, heat, and enzymes, so they easily pass through the stomach and reach the intestines in an active form. There, they can bind to the cells of the mucosa, disrupt intercellular contacts, and interfere with the functioning of hormones and immune receptors.
Lectins from modern cultivated plants — grains, legumes, and nightshades, whose selection has enhanced their protective properties, are particularly dangerous. Regular intake of lectins creates background inflammation even with a “correct” diet.
Chapter Three. Your Gut is Under Attack
The gut is viewed as the main front of this biochemical attack. Lectins damage the intestinal barrier, increasing its permeability and allowing toxins, food fragments, and microbial components to enter the bloodstream. This activates the immune system and triggers systemic inflammation, autoimmune reactions, and metabolic disorders.
The key idea of the chapter is that health begins with the integrity of the gut, and its chronic damage is the basis of most “civilization diseases.”
Chapter Four. Know Your Enemy
This chapter details which specific foods are the main sources of problematic lectins and why. The author shows that the danger lies not in plant food as such, but in specific groups of plants — primarily grains, legumes, nightshades, and their modern hybrids. The role of industrial selection and agro-technologies that have increased the content of protective proteins is emphasized.
The key idea is that it is impossible to build health without understanding which foods systematically overload the immune system and the gut.
Chapter Five. How the Modern Diet Makes You Fat (and Sick)
Modern nutrition is viewed as the main factor in the epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases. Lectins disrupt satiety signals, affect insulin, leptin, and thyroid hormones, causing the body to store fat even with moderate calorie intake. Gut damage exacerbates inflammation, reduces cell sensitivity to hormones, and slows down metabolism.
The author concludes that the problem is not weak willpower, but biochemical sabotage from food.
Chapter Six. Change Your Habits
This chapter is dedicated to the necessity of changing food thinking. The author emphasizes that health requires abandoning universal dietary templates and moving towards a conscious choice of foods and cooking methods. The idea of gradually changing the diet, reducing lectin load, and observing the body's reactions is introduced.
The main focus is not on a short-term diet, but on forming sustainable habits that support the gut, metabolism, and immune system in the long term.
Chapter Seven. Phase 1
The first phase of the program aims to sharply reduce lectin load and relieve inflammation. Major sources of lectins are removed from the diet, while supporting the gut and liver. The body transitions from a state of chronic irritation to a state of recovery, reducing swelling, normalizing appetite, and improving insulin sensitivity. This phase lays the foundation for subsequent changes and is not focused on calories, but on biochemical “switching” of metabolism.
Chapter Eight. Phase 2
The second phase focuses on restructuring metabolism and stabilizing the improvements achieved. Support for the intestinal barrier and microbiota continues, and the use of fats as the main source of energy is enhanced. Weight begins to decrease more steadily, and fluctuations in sugar and energy throughout the day decrease. Nutrition becomes more diverse, but is still strictly controlled for sources of lectins.
Chapter Nine. Phase 3
The third phase is designed for long-term health maintenance. The diet becomes maximally individualized: cautious reintroduction of certain foods is allowed with good tolerance. The main task is to maintain the integrity of the gut, low inflammation levels, and stable metabolism without strict restrictions. This phase transforms the program from a “protocol” into a lifestyle.
Chapter Ten. The Plant Paradox: Ketogenic Intensive Therapy Program
This chapter describes an intensified version of the program for people with pronounced metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases, or severe inflammation. A ketogenic approach is used as a tool for rapid reduction of insulin and inflammatory processes. Keto is viewed here not as a universal diet, but as a temporary therapeutic measure applied to specific recovery tasks.
Chapter Eleven. Supplement Recommendations for the “Plant Paradox” Program
This chapter is dedicated to the role of nutrients and supplements in supporting the program. It emphasizes that supplements do not replace nutrition, but can accelerate gut recovery, reduce inflammation, and compensate for deficiencies arising from dietary restrictions. Special attention is paid to vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and fatty acids that help stabilize metabolism and immune regulation.
