The quick answer: You can blame brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s on the modern diet—that’s the quick answer. The big question is whether you can escape them.
_______________________________________________________________________
When You Outlive Your Brain
Though dementia is a bigger problem, Alzheimer’s disease is plenty scary. Rates of both are soaring; it’s a modern tragedy. Dr. Perlmutter has written a book—Grain Brain—that gathers the best available info on how to protect your brain as you age. Perlmutter is a natural medicine neurologist who believes the cure is in lifestyle, especially diet, not prescriptions. He takes a dim view of grains, but there’s more you’ll want to know.
My point isn’t to defend grains as the staff of life; I’ve already done that here. Rather, I would like to review some excellent conclusions from Dr. Perlmutters book.
How Your Brain Dies
Dr. Perlmutter summarizes the process by which brain-wasting diseases arise. You can blame it on the modern diet:
That's a very brief account of how the modern diet harms the brain, and other organs.
Surprising Facts from Grain Brain
#1 The Beautiful Wife has an above-average cholesterol level and this had been a worry. Dr. Perlmutter argues that cholesterol is necessary for brain health and people with higher cholesterol levels actually live longer and with less dementia. The BW is guardedly pleased to hear this.
#2 The incidence of dementia is rising in step with diabetes. Diabetics suffer a doubled risk of dementia. They also have a higher risk of heart disease. So managing your sugar intake is about more than getting fat—it’s about saving heart and brain.
#3 As many as 30% of people of Northern Europe extraction may be intolerant to some degree of the modern glutens. Gluten intolerance doesn’t only attack the intestine (Celiac disease), it can attack any organ, including the brain and this can go on for years; when the damage becomes obvious it may be too late. Here are some signs to look for.
#4 If you suspect a gluten intolerance, ask your doctor about being tested. This is a serious issue. Dr. Perlmutter recommends the Cyrex Array 3 test. For more information, visit DrPerlmutter.com.
Twelve Steps to Brain Protection
You may recognize these from our Healthy Changes, but here are some of Dr. Perlmutter’s recommendations, slightly paraphrased:
The title of Dr. Perlmutters book was misleading—as you can see, it’s about much more than grains.