ROCKGEVITY THERAPEUTIC KITCHEN MANUAL

Rockgevity®

“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

Olives

• All

Dark Chocolate

• Nibs used for cooking if must have sweetened chocolate eat VERY sparingly and be sure it is over 72% Cacao

APPROVED FOODS

Vinegars

• ACV is best

• ALL without added sugar

Herbs and Seasoning

• 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

Nuts and Seeds

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. 

Pasture-Raised Poultry

• 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

Dairy Products

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

Ice Cream

• 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

Gerson Website

Steven R. Gundry, MD and his “Anti-Lectin” Plant Paradox Diet

Dr Gundry's Website

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

Dr Hyman's Website

Volter Longo, PhD, The Longevity Diet and Fasting Mimicking “Prolon” system

Dr Longo’s Website

David A. Sinclair, PhD, anti aging studies Harvard

Lifespanbook.com

Alberto Villoldo, PhD, anti aging studies of the Shaman

TheShaman’sWayofHealing

Christa Orecchio, Clinical and Holistic Nutritionist

Christa Orecchio's Website

DANGEROUS COOKING PROCESSES

AGEs Advanced Glycation End Substances

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.

Therapeutic Standards for Fat Selection

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.