David Perlmutter - Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brains Silent Killers

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This book is intended to supplement, not replace, the advice of a trained health professional. If you know or suspect that you have a health problem, you should consult a health professional. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, that is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

Copyright 2013 by David Perlmutter, MD

Cover design by Jason Gabbert

Cover photograph by Markus Brunner / Getty Images

Cover copyright 2013 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at . Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

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ISBN 978-0-316-23482-5

Power Up Your Brain

Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten

The Better Brain Book

To my father, who at age ninety-six begins each day by getting dressed to see his patientsdespite having retired more than a quarter century ago.

Your brain

weighs three pounds and has one hundred thousand miles of blood vessels.

contains more connections than there are stars in the Milky Way.

is the fattest organ in your body.

could be suffering this very minute without your having a clue.

Maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the ultimate principle of wisdom. To cure disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one feels thirsty, or forging weapons after the war has already begun.

N EI J ING , 2ND CENTURY BC

I F YOU COULD ASK YOUR GRANDPARENTS or great-grandparents what people died from when they were growing up, youd likely hear the words old age. Or you might learn the story of someone who got a nasty germ and passed away prematurely from tuberculosis, cholera, or dysentery. What you wont hear are things like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Since the mid-twentieth century, weve had to attribute someones immediate cause of death to a single disease rather than use the term old age on a death certificate. Today, those single diseases tend to be the kind that go on and on in a chronic, degenerating state and involve multiple complications and symptoms that accumulate over time. Which is why eighty- and ninety-year-olds dont usually die from a specific ailment. Like an old house in ongoing disrepair, the materials weather and rust, the plumbing and electrical falter, and the walls begin to crack from tiny fissures you cannot see. Throughout the homes natural decline, you do the needed maintenance wherever necessary. But it will never be like new unless you tear the structure down and start over again. Each attempt at patching and fixing buys you more time, but eventually the areas in desperate need of a total remodel or complete replacement are everywhere. And, as with all things in life, the human body simply wears out. An enfeebling illness sets in and slowly progresses at an excruciating pace until the body finally goes kaput.

This is especially true when it comes to brain disorders, including the most dreaded of them all: Alzheimers disease. Its a modern medical bogeyman thats never far from the headlines. If there is one health worry that seems to eclipse all others as people get older, its falling prey to Alzheimers or some other form of dementia that leaves you unable to think, reason, and remember. Research shows how deep this angst runs. In 2011, a study conducted by Harris Interactive for the MetLife Foundation showed that 31 percent of people fear dementia more than death or cancer. And this fear doesnt just affect older people.

There are plenty of perpetual myths about the basket of brain-degenerating maladies that includes Alzheimers: Its in the genes, its inevitable with age, and its a given if you live into your eighties and beyond.

Not so fast.

Im here to tell you that the fate of your brain is not in your genes. Its not inevitable. And if youre someone who suffers from another type of brain disorder, such as chronic headaches, depression, epilepsy, or extreme moodiness, the culprit may not be encoded in your DNA.

Its in the food you eat.

Yes, you read that right: Brain dysfunction starts in your daily bread, and Im going to prove it. Ill state it again because I realize it sounds absurd: Modern grains are silently destroying your brain. By modern, Im not just referring to the refined white flours, pastas, and rice that have already been demonized by the anti-obesity folks; Im referring to all the grains that so many of us have embraced as being healthfulwhole wheat, whole grain, multigrain, seven-grain, live grain, stone-ground, and so on. Basically, I am calling what is arguably our most beloved dietary staple a terrorist group that bullies our most precious organ, the brain. I will demonstrate how fruit and other carbohydrates could be health hazards with far-reaching consequences that not only will wreak physical havoc on your brain, but also will accelerate your bodys aging process from the inside out. This isnt science fiction; its now documented fact.

It is my objective in writing Grain Brain to provide information that is sound and based on evolutionary, modern scientific and physiological perspectives. This book goes outside the box of the laymans accepted dogmaand away from vested corporate interests. It proposes a new way of understanding the root cause of brain disease and offers a promising message of hope: Brain disease can be largely prevented through the choices you make in life. So if you havent figured it out by now, Ill be crystal clear: This is not just another diet book or generic how-to guide to all things preventive health. This is a game-changer.