ROCKGEVITY THERAPEUTIC KITCHEN MANUAL
“Feeling vibrant and strong for the entirety of long life”
ROCKGEVITY COOKING
A lectin lite, nutrient-dense, ancestral approach utilizing new science techniques & ingredients
ALL DISEASE BEGINS IN THE GUT
HIPPOCRATES
DANGER FOODS
FOOD CAN BE MEDICINE OR THE SLOWEST FORM OF POISON
Christa Orecchio
Foods Containing Oxalates
Spinach, swiss chard, tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts & seeds, whole grains like brown rice and virtually all whole grains will have oxalates.
Oxalates are a natural substance in many foods. They bind to calcium during digestion in the stomach and intestines and leave the body in stool. Oxalate that is not bound to calcium travels as a waste product from the blood to the kidneys where it leaves the body in the urine. However if you eat more than 50 mg/day, they stay in your body, attach to calcium and hang out in joints and give you a world of trouble.
Oxalates can cause inflammation, calcium deposits in the joints, kidney stones and generally poison the body. As we get older it is important to reduce/stop eating foods high in oxalates. When it is unavoidable to eat a grain such as rice, choose white rice and hulled grains over the whole grain as that is where the majority of the oxalates live.
On a low oxalate diet, you should limit your oxalate to 40 to 50 mg each day. Oxalate is found in many foods. There are multiple charts in the index that will help you avoid foods high in oxalate. If you are unable to reduce your oxalate foods or have a bad week then you may dump the oxalates using Calcium Citrate. Calcium citrate is fat soluble so take it with 2000mg of fish oil or olive oil. It must be the citrate form of calcium and you need to take it with food or you could increase the stone forming effect.
Additionally, your body may turn extra vitamin C into oxalate. Avoid high doses of vitamin C supplements (more than 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day).
Oxalate Table
This table is a sample list of oxalate foods. You can see that otherwise healthy foods have high oxalate levels such as spinach so close attention must be paid and these seemingly healthy foods must be removed from the diet or drastically reduced.
FOOD
SERVING
MG/SERVING
Swiss Chard or Spinach, cooked
1/2 cup
755
Swiss Chard or Spinach, raw
1 cup
656
Rhubarb
1/2 cup
541
Rice Bran
1 cup
281
Buckwheat Groats
1 cup cooked
133
Almonds
1 oz or 22 kernels
122
Miso Soup
1 cup
111
Wheat Berries
1 cup cooked
98
Corn Grits
1 cup
97
Foods Containing Lectins
The Big Bad Four:
Squash of any kind
Eggplant and all Nightshade vegetables - some of the most known alkaloids from nightshades are strychnine, caffeine, nicotine, and morphine - (list next section)
Soy and all Legumes - including peanuts and cashews...did you know that 5 raw kidney beans could kill you?
Grains - especially corn and wheat
You may have heard of Gluten, the lectin in many grains such as wheat. Interesting how the word gluten is derived from the Latin word for glue-glutinum. Gluten acts like glue in the body and wreaks havoc on the entire digestive system.
DANGER FOODS
Simply put, lectins are plant proteins. They’re found in all sorts of members of the vegetable kingdom, and they happen to be one of nature’s greatest defenses against any hungry animal (or human being).
Now, the trouble with lectins is that many are toxic. So, when you’ve got a lectin-intolerance, you don’t want to ingest them because the consequences can be uncomfortable.
You see, plants suppose if you eat something that makes you sick, you’ll steer clear of it the next time you’re hungry. So, by forcing you to ingest harmful lectins, Nature’s protected itself.
Let’s take gluten, for example. That’s a lectin and kind of a buzzword in the nutrition world lately. And, let’s say you decide to do your gut a favor and cut out gluten. It may help, but there are many other kinds of non-gluten grains containing other types of lectins. And those lectins can cause painful or uncomfortable physical responses, including: Digestive issues, Leaky Gut, Bloating, Nausea, Gas, Occasional Diarrhea.
That’s why this strategy suggests sticking to only sorghum and millet. And remember, do so in limited quantities.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO EAT FOODS WITH LECTINS YOU WILL NEED TO TAKE:
Counteractive Supplement: Gundry MD Lectin Shield 2/meal. Only after you have gone through a comprehensive gut repair do I suggest slowly enjoying small amounts of lectin foods.
Refined starches
Do Not Eat Bread, Snack Crackers and Breakfast Cereals No bread, processed crackers or breakfast cereal due to excessive processing, oxalate and lectins. If you must eat bread then SOURDOUGH BREAD is the best for digestion if you must eat bread with gluten. Wipe whole grain anything from your diet as once again, much like lectins, the majority of the oxalates hang out in the protective coating...the plant's natural defense!
Rice
Bread
Cereal
Pastries
Flour
Cookies
Potatoes
* Potatoes, rice or pasta, if cooked & cooled or reheated before eating becomes resistant starch and may be eaten in small quantities
* cook basmati rice with tsp coconut oil/cup and cool 12-24 hrs
Sugars and sweeteners
There are good approved sweeteners such as chicory root that have a low glycemic index but if you must have any of these do it with extreme caution and use as little as possible, 1T/day
Sugar
Sweet One or Sunett (Acesulfame K), Splenda (Sucralose), Nutrasweet (Aspartame), Diet Drinks, Maltodextrin
Forbidden fruits and vegetables
Squash, eggplant, nightshades (potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos, gooseberries, tobacco), legumes*, anything soy, peas, green beans (actually legumes)
*must pressure cook the legumes to reduce lectins
Peas
Beans
Legumes
Squash
Tomatoes - unless peeled and seeded
Melon
Zucchini
Peppers
Gojiberies
Lentils
Soy
Soy beans most forms
Tofu
Edamame
Soy sauce (use coconut aminos instead)
Tempeh is has wheat
Seeds and Legumes
Pumpkin, Chia, Sunflower seeds
Flax seeds for men (ok for women)
Sesame seeds - low in lectins but very high in oxalate
Peanuts - yes peanuts are legumes and all legumes are gone
Cashews - yes legumes again!
Forbidden Oils
Soy
Grapeseed oil
Corn oil
Peanut oil
Cottonseed oil
Sunflower oil
Canola oil
Hydrogenated anything
Grains
Oats - on the list due to Glyphosate, wash & soak oats water, fridge up to 5 days
Whole grains
Quinoa
Rye
Barley
Buckwheat
Corn
Spelt
Oat Products With No Glyphosate Detected
Nature's Path Organic Honey Almond Granola.
Simple Truth Organic Instant Oatmeal (Original)
Kashi Heart to Heart Organic Honey Toasted Cereal.
Cascadian Farm Organic Harvest Berry Granola bar.
365 Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats.
Aug 15, 2018
Dairy
Non-Southern European cow milk products (A1)
Yogurt and Kefir
Greek yogurt
Ice cream
Ricotta and Cottage
APPROVED FOODS
“USE ALL FOOD AS A VESSEL TO PUT OLIVE OIL INTO YOUR BODY”
Steven R. Gundry MD
Let's talk about fat for a moment. We have been lied to for years by the USDA. We were told to reduce fat and increase whole grain and that has put us where we are today. Wipe out all those old ‘80’s food pyramid thoughts that include, “milk, does a body good” and now think, “fat, does a body good!” So much so that Dr. Gundry recommends we eat :
1 liter of unrefined, first press, Moroccan olive oil a week.
PLANTS
Good Fats, approved oils, and cruciferous vegetables
Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, walnut oil, sesame oil (sparingly), and coconut oil
Avocados
Romaine, red & green leaf lettuce, kohlrabi, mesclun (baby greens), endive, butter lettuce, parsley, fennel, seaweed/sea vegetables
Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, asparagus, and radish
See “Rocks Yes/No List” for the entire list of approved and danger foods
All
Dark Chocolate
Nibs used for cooking if must have sweetened chocolate eat VERY sparingly and be sure it is over 72% Cacao
ACV is best
ALL without added sugar
ALL (except chili pepper flakes)
Miso - sparingly
Sweeteners:
Chicory Root Fiber - has prebiotic properties
Good Balance Chicory Root Sweetener is a soluble dietary fiber. Also known as Fructo-Oligosaccharides (FOS) a form of fiber found in Chicory Root plants.
Erythritol (Xylitol if can't find but erythritol has some prebiotic properties - best)
Stevia
Monk Fruit - available in supplement form online as above sweeteners
Maple, Honey or Agave for snacks or dishes such as oatmeal - 1T/day maximum
The “quick list” of approved nuts is:
1⁄2 cup/day of Macadamia, Walnuts, Pecans, Pistachios
Here is the full list of approved nuts and seeds:
Macadamia
Walnuts
Pistachios
Pecans
Coconut
Chestnuts
Flaxseeds - 5-19-20 update NO LIST FOR MEN DUE TO LIGNANS
Psyllium
APPROVED FOODS
Nut flours, flour alternatives, lectin-free grains
Now, this is where we can satisfy our grain and bread cravings. And, it’s okay to indulge in this category daily, but make sure to limit consumption of these foods to small portions per meal. And, there are only certain kinds of nuts on the list – legumes, like peanuts and cashews should be completely avoided. Instead, stick to the following.
Macadamia flour
Walnuts flour
Pistachios flour
Pecans flour
Coconut flour
Chestnuts flour
Hazelnuts flour
Cassava – best choice flour of the yucca, tapioca starch is the refined alternative
Sorghum – Sorghum is an awesome lectin-free, gluten-free flour alternative. And, it’s chock full of fiber. In fact, it’s known to fight lots of health issues and support the health of your heart.
Millet – Millet is full of major minerals like magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. Not only that, it’s lectin-free and the polyphenols in millet offer more antioxidants than most grains. Millet does have oxalate so use moderately.
Resistant Starches
Now, resistant starches make the list because they feed friendly bacteria. They are the “prebiotic” for your “probiotics.” Some of the best resistant starches are:
Green bananas, green papaya, green mango
Plantains
Cassava or Tapioca starch
Turns out, there are about 100 trillion bacteria living in each of our guts. And that’s surprising because it’s more than ten times the human cells found in our guts.
When the majority of those bacteria are good, we can feel it. That’s because good bacteria actually helps our bodies to:
Digest what we eat
Deliver vitamins (like B12 and K2)
Lose weight
Eliminate disease-causing pathogens6
So, we want to make sure we feed that good bacteria. Another reason we want to include resistant starches in our diets is because they can break down fat and reduce fat storage.
Again, with resistant starches, it’s okay to eat them every day, but limit the quantity with each meal.
In-Season Fruits
The next pillar of the Gundry Strategy is fruit. Now it’s okay to enjoy a modest portion of fruit with each meal, but the fruit must be – in season. Not only that, but in season fruits should be treated as candy.
Turns out, eating fruit in-season was a great thing for our ancestors, because it allowed them to fatten up for the winter months. But now, we can get fruit any day of the year. So, we have to be sure to consume it in moderation.
Now, there are a few fruits that are great year round, but they’ve got to be eaten while they’re still green. Banana, Papaya, Mango, Avocado (ripe OK for avocado)
APPROVED FOODS
Primarily, these fruits are okay because when unripe, they’ve not yet expanded their sugar content. And the good bacteria in our guts love to feast on these green fruits.
Now, Avocado is okay when ripe because it’s essentially sugar-free! Not to mention, it’s full of good fat and soluble fiber – key when trying to lose weight and absorb antioxidants.
ANIMALS
Grass-Fed, Pasture-Raised Meat-ruminants best choice
Bison
Wild game
Venison
Boar
Elk
Pork (humanely raised)
Lamb
Beef or broth
Pastured Poultry & Omega-3 eggs
Pastured poultry can be a great source of protein. However, pastured is not the same thing as free range or organic. Often, free-range chickens are never shown the light of day and they're fed corn and soy. So, there’s only one type of poultry that’s okay here – pastured.
And Omega-3 eggs provide certain health benefits. For instance, research shows they lower cholesterol. So, it helps if we make sure Omega-3s are the eggs that end up on our tables. Also, these are foods we want to consume in limited portions each day.
Chicken, broth, pastured or omega 3 eggs
Turkey or broth
Ostrich
Wild birds pheasant, doves etc
Wild-Caught Seafood
Now, Fish is one of the healthiest and tastiest foods out there. Turns out, it’s full of really important nutrients like protein and vitamin D. But, it’s also a wonderful way to get omega-3 fatty acids, which have numerous benefits like helping with various inflammatory health issues. The thing is, we want to make sure the seafood that ends up on our plates is wild-caught. Farmed seafood is fed corn and fish fed corn do not develop Omega-3 fatty acids and farm-raised fish are often injected with antibiotics or even treated with pesticides. Whereas wild-caught seafood is caught by a fisherman in its natural environment. BTW, crustacean shells are a natural lectin blocker!
White fish
Freshwater bass
Alaskan salmon
Canned tuna
Alaskan halibut
Hawaiian fish
Shrimp
Crab & Lobster
Scallops
Calamari/Squid/ Oysters
Mussels
Sardines, Anchovies & Mackerel
Mucus buildup attributed to dairy products in the lungs gives them bronchitis. Mucus buildup in the joints gives them arthritis and so on. So, most “food as medicine” programs are avoiding dairy altogether. Dairy has also been linked to prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women so it is highly discouraged. However, high fat dairy doesn’t have casein which is the substance that is most problematic so if you must consume dairy, use full fat, sparingly as a condiment in coffee or the like. Butter for baking only small amounts.
The list below is the only milk that contains casein A-2 protein. We want to stay away from casein-A1. Turns out, casein A-1 is converted to a protein called beta-casomorphin which can prompt an immune attack on the pancreas of people who consume milk from these cows or cheeses made from it. This can cause some serious health concerns.
So, stick to Southern European cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and buffalo milk.
Here are the guidelines:
A2 Milk
8 oz approved cheese or yogurt per week maximum
French/Italian butter
Ghee
Goat butter & cheese
Butter (grass fed French, Irish or Italian)
Goat and sheep brie
Sheep cheese (plain)
Coconut yogurt
High-fat French/Italian cheeses such as triple-cream brie
High-fat Switzerland cheese
Buffalo mozzarella (made from buffalo milk)
Organic heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese
Lectin-free whey protein
Coconut ice cream or Milk/Dairy Free frozen dessert w/1 gram of sugar
MACROS~DIET TYPES
Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a very low-carb, moderate-protein and high-fat diet. It typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbs
Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher-carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.
Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.
High-protein “Carnivore” ketogenic diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs.
There are many studies pointing to the benefits of Keto diet principles. The biggest boost, in my opinion, is the emphasis on healthy fats. These elements are already in the program with the virtual elimination of grains and complex carbs but by adding a Keto element the emphasis on healthy fats is intensified. Consuming high levels of these good fats and unadulterated proteins can offer great results such as preventing:
Heart disease: The ketogenic diet can improve risk factors like body fat, HDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar
Alzheimer’s disease: The keto diet may reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and slow its progression
Epilepsy: Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause massive reductions in seizures in epileptic children
Parkinson’s disease: One study found that the diet helped improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
Polycystic ovary syndrome: The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin levels, which may play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome (40
Brain injuries: One animal study found that the diet can reduce concussions and aid recovery after brain injury
Acne: Lower insulin levels and eating less sugar or processed foods may help improve acne
APPENDIX
Dr. Gerson’s Anti-Cancer Vegan Juicing Diet
Steven R. Gundry, MD and his “Anti-Lectin” Plant Paradox Diet
Human Food Bar - this has lots of Gundry protocol and recipes it looks as if it is part of the Gundry team
Mark Hyman, MD with the Pegan Diet
Volter Longo, PhD, The Longevity Diet and Fasting Mimicking “Prolon” system
David A. Sinclair, PhD, anti aging studies Harvard
Alberto Villoldo, PhD, anti aging studies of the Shaman
Christa Orecchio, Clinical and Holistic Nutritionist
DANGEROUS COOKING PROCESSES
Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) are compounds formed when proteins or fats react with sugars through a process called glycation, which is significantly accelerated by high-heat cooking methods such as grilling, roasting, searing, and frying. This reaction is a part of the non-enzymatic browning that gives seared meats, toasted bread, and roasted foods their desirable flavors and aromas, known as the Maillard reaction. When foods are cooked at high temperatures or for long periods, particularly when they are dry, the increased heat speeds up the chemical process, leading to a higher concentration of these AGEs, which are considered pro-inflammatory compounds.
For a therapeutic kitchen, the priority is maintaining the structural integrity of the fats—using stable, saturated fats for high heat and saving delicate, nutrient-dense oils for low heat or finishing.
1. High-Heat Heroes (Searing & Sautéing)
When you are cooking "fast and loud," use fats that are chemically stable. Ghee is a therapeutic powerhouse because the milk solids (which burn easily) have been removed, pushing its smoke point to ~485°F. Beef Tallow and Lard are traditional kitchen staples that are highly resistant to oxidation due to their saturated fat content.
2. Oven Stability (Roasting & Baking)
For roasting vegetables or meats, you need a fat that can sit at 375°F+ for an hour without breaking down. Duck Fat and Tallow are excellent here. If using Coconut Oil, opt for "Refined" if you want a neutral flavor, or "Unrefined" for a slight tropical note (best kept under 350°F).
3. The "Cold" Essentials (Finishing)
Therapeutic cooking isn't just about heat; it's about preserving volatile nutrients. Oils like Flaxseed or Walnut are highly anti-inflammatory but extremely fragile. These should only be drizzled over a dish after it has been removed from the heat source.
4. A Note on Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Contrary to some myths, high-quality EVOO is quite stable for medium-heat sautéing due to its antioxidant content. However, to get the most "therapeutic" bang for your buck, keep it under 375°F to ensure you aren't destroying the very compounds that make it healthy.