GRAIN BRAIN - slowing/preventing Alzheimer by eliminating grains? Perlmutter, MD

I too buy gluten to add to our home made bread; you cannot buy bread that tastes as good as what comes out of our bread machine. Never enjoyed all that hand kneading. Gets done, cools off, and most of it gets frozen. I like that it gets stale in a day if you don't; must be a lot of preservatives in the store bought to keep it fresh so darn long!

Absolutely love home made pasta (OMG: wheat and EGGS!). Are cooking more and more and avoiding the prepared foods. Enjoy spending time (OK, and money) on new recipes.

We probably have increased our carbs. However we both do a fair amount of exercise, feel great, and as long as we feel good, don't gain weight (I get close to overweight bmi, she doesn't) and our lab numbers are fine (they are) then we'll continue to eat what we enjoy and ignore all the latest booksellers. Now everything is gluten free; remember the fat free fad? I know some swear by certain exclusions/diets, and if that works for their metabolism fine. But I'll continue to enjoy the whole spectrum of foods, and adult beverages in a fairly moderate amount. If anyone comes up with an organ meat free diet I might sign on.
 
I replaced broccoli with cupcakes in my diet recently, and I'm happy to report my cognitive abilities have improved slightly. Next I'm going to replace zucchini with pizza.
 
Chuckanut said:
It's supposedly a Baker's secret that the longer the rise, the better the bread. According to Cook's, the slower the rise, the less negative flavor products are produced by the yeast. So, letting the bread rise overnight in the fridge or a cold area of the house/garage/porch probably makes sense if one has time.

The other trick is to hand knead or not use the Kitchen Aid for more than a few minutes. Apparently, these new fangled machines over knead the dough.

I have no idea of either of the above affects the glutton or other health qualities of the bread. Human nutrition is full of pseudo-science, so be careful of anything your read or hear.
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The refrigerator doughs are usually quite wet and just mixed--not kneaded. We have a bread machine and were very happy with the breads produced. Using the dough cycle and doing everything manually after that alway seemed to do the best loafs for us. For the refrigerator/no knead doughs, after removal from the fridge we let ours go thru an extra rise time compared to most recipes. We are grinding our own flour and the extra time seems to soften the grains compared to most commercial loafs that often taste and feel like sawdust.

I agree with your statement about the science of nutrition. While there is a lot of hokum out there, even the "real" science keeps changing. I think that the only difference between many of the branches of science is the degree to which things change. Health and nutrition do seem to be the most variable IMO.
 
GRAIN BRAIN - slowing/preventing Alzheimer by eliminating grains? Perlmutter...

Everybody has to do what works for them. The idea that one food, diet, supplement, exercise regime or whatever is right for everybody is ridiculous.

Gosh Darn I! It worked for me so it must work for you! If it doesn't, then either you are a liar, or too stupid to do it right, or you are defective in some way. 🙀. Really? What nonsense!
 
Celiac sufferers must avoid gluten. Some others may be sensitive to it. But...the link to AD is just too facile for me. Suspect the terror of Alzheimer's is an irresistible lure to charlatans and well-meaning "scientists" alike. I have a friend who's otherwise sensible, but has gone mad for adding coconut oil to everything she eats (the last thing she needs, since she is very overweight) as an AD "preventive."

Amethyst
 
Chuckanut said:
Everybody has to do what works for them. The idea that one food, diet, supplement, exercise regime or whatever is right for everybody is ridiculous.

Gosh Darn I! It worked for me so it must work for you! If it doesn't, then either you are a liar, or too stupid to do it right, or you are defective in some way. 🙀. Really? What nonsense!
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Roger Williams referred to some of these ideas as Biochemical Individuality:

Biochemical Individuality: Roger Williams: 9780879838935: Amazon.com: Books

I think Leonardo da Vinci most likely ate wheat, given the typical diet of the times, and his brain didn't seem to suffer for it.
 
I cut grains from my diet about 3 months ago and I feel so much better. I had already been gluten free for 4 years but eliminating all grains has really helped with energy, decreased fatigue, memory and weight loss.

I wish I could eat anything but I have numerous food sensitives with gluten and dairy being the strongest.
 
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DW was diagnosed celiac in 1982, she has been gluten free since then.

She was forced to give up her beloved beer and became a wine drinker.
Fast forward to 2008, DS moved to big micro-brewery area and found a way to brew excellent beer of all varieties, gluten free. I have been brewing since and DW is thankful. The same equipment is used in making wine. It is the best of both worlds.

Although DW's choice of grains have been limited since 1982; but I don't think her cognitive skills have changed. That is, if this grain eater's cognitive skills haven't been diminished, and I don't recognize it.
 
An article from NPR discussed a study that included self-diagnosed gluten intolerants. Many were actually fructan (a carb found in wheat) intolerant.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
GRAIN BRAIN - slowing/preventing Alzheimer by eliminating grains? Perlmutter...

I was diagnosed with celiac early last year. My doctor was concerned with some readings in my blood work over the past 2 years and thought it might be liver related. Had an MRI done on my liver and more blood work done. Liver was fine, but blood work showed I was off the charts for celiac. I've adjusted my diet as needed. My 24/7 dull headache disappeared, eczema cleared up and my brain fog lifted. I also sleep better. I thought all those things were just a sign of aging. The hardest thing to give up was microbrews and good pizza.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
Just anecdotal: I am experimenting with a very low carb diet (high fat/mid protein) and found it gives me a very big energy boost.

It does give issues with doing sports though I found so I tend to eat some carbs a few hours before doing high intensity exercise. Your muscles really like the glycogen :)
 
Totoro said:
Just anecdotal: I am experimenting with a very low carb diet (high fat/mid protein) and found it gives me a very big energy boost.

It does give issues with doing sports though I found so I tend to eat some carbs a few hours before doing high intensity exercise. Your muscles really like the glycogen :)
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This has been my experience as well. If I get extra exercise, I can feel really wiped out if I don't eat enough carbs. For example, yesterday was a super active day and I was exhausted last night and this morning until I ate complex carbs. Within a few hours, I was feeling great again.
 
splitwdw said:
retire2013, I can read just about anything......I had a hard time getting through this book. I read and have the book because a friend was trying the diet and needed coaching. Did you get your lab tests done as recommended before you started the diet? Will you have the tests again to see your results as recommended. Did you do the one day fast before starting the diet? I can't even imagine drinking all the purified water, half your body weight in ounces. The example is if you weight 150 pounds you should drink 75 ounces purified water. And rice is okay in moderation but only a couple of times a week. I did not want to discourage my friend but sounds like just another "amazing diet". She had the lab tests done before and after and there wasn't much difference.
I'm all for helping yourself getting healthy but for the most part if you eat a sensible diet and exercise you're doing the best you can.

No, I did not have any lab tests done and don't plan to have any done. Like you, I just read a lot and then spending time thinking about what I read. My plan is to just cut down on the wheat and other grains that contain gluten to see if I feel better. I have osteoarthritis and a friend of mine told me that when she cut out wheat and dairy, her arthritic pain just went away almost completely. So I thought I would give this wheat-free approach a try.
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mike143 said:
Let me know if the is the correct NPR audio: The ‘Gluten-Free’ Boom | On Point with Tom Ashbrook Yes. That was the interview.


Here is a good book on the same subject matter: Perfect Health Diet: Regain Health and Lose Weight by Eating the Way You Were Meant to Eat: Ph.D. Paul Jaminet Ph.D., Shou-Ching Jaminet Ph.D., Mark Sisson: 9781451699159: Amazon.com: Books
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I will look for this book at our local library. Thank you. I love reading! Especially now that I've ERd.
 
nuke_diver said:
Beer is not gluten free

Therefore I will never be gluten free

:D
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Some of it is naturally under 20ppm, and others are treated to get it under 20ppm. I think it's Lagunitas that has one. Sorgum beer ain't beer...it tastes like crap.
 
sengsational said:
Some of it is naturally under 20ppm, and others are treated to get it under 20ppm. I think it's Lagunitas that has one. Sorgum beer ain't beer...it tastes like crap.
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I actually tried some from Belgium a month ago, and not bad.
 
Katsmeow said:
Whenever I read about something controversial in medicine I always look to see what others say. The theories behind Grain Brain are very controversial.

This was a good article that addresses the book in what seems to be a balanced way:

This Is Your Brain on Gluten - The Atlantic

This is an article by Chris Kessler (who is in favor of Paleo eating and is no huge fan of grains) about why he doesn't feel the book is persuasive

Do Carbs Kill Your Brain




And an article by Dr. David Katz (whose work I quite like at Yale Prevention Research Center) who addresses his concerns with the book:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/822731

Part of his point being that getting rid of refined carbs is one (good) thing, but getting rid of all grains is quite another.
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Thank you, I will read these articles.
 
Retire2013 said:
I will look for this book at our local library. Thank you. I love reading! Especially now that I've ERd.
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Wheat Belly is another one to read, if you really like to read this stuff. Also, Eat the Yolks is a nice romp, but it's not as common, so might not be in the library.

Anyway, thanks for posting the idea. I just go through all three of these books and ordered the Cyrex Panel 3 test because I'm not going to suffer through a gluten fee experiment without showing some sensitivity. I do think that non-celiac gluten sensitivity is "real". The traditional gluten sensitivity test only checked antibodies for one protein, so missed tons of people who were sensitive..some even had celiac. The cyrex panel checks a whole bunch of antibodies to a whole bunch of wheat proteins.

It is drop-dead easy to find x-purts that support the status quo, so those references mean little to me. This book is extreme in its dietary recommendations, but lays out a bunch of undisputed facts that I found interesting. Even if you don't agree with the conclusions, the set of facts set forth are interesting on their own. Like the way the wheat genome has been manipulated from something with a few genes to something with tons of genes. That means that those genes added to make the wheat easier to grow also encode for a bunch of proteins that our fairly recent ancestors did not have to deal with.

What consumer reports said was basically that if you buy the gluten free product off the shelf on a whim, you are doing yourself a disservice. They, and I, think going partially gluten free, if that makes any sense, is not doing you any good. If you DO go gluten free, you get rid of it all, and you don't replace the wheat based foods with some other grain. Just forget about fake bread and fake muffins...eat non processed food instead.
 
outdoorgirl02 said:
I cut grains from my diet about 3 months ago and I feel so much better. I had already been gluten free for 4 years but eliminating all grains has really helped with energy, decreased fatigue, memory and weight loss.

I wish I could eat anything but I have numerous food sensitives with gluten and dairy being the strongest.
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Glad to hear that you are feeling great with going grain-free. :dance:
May I ask if you now eat mostly vegetables, limited amounts of high-quality proteins and fats?

Are you planning to remain grain free? I find it really hard to give up rice. I still eat rice 3 to 5 times a week.
 
sengsational said:
What consumer reports said was basically that if you buy the gluten free product off the shelf on a whim, you are doing yourself a disservice. They, and I, think going partially gluten free, if that makes any sense, is not doing you any good. If you DO go gluten free, you get rid of it all, and you don't replace the wheat based foods with some other grain. Just forget about fake bread and fake muffins...eat non processed food instead.
Click to expand...

A little over a year ago, DH and I did a test to see if we had any gluten sensitivity. I do believe that some people (apart from those with celiac disease) have sensitivity to gluten. And, I could see how people might not just know this.

So, we went gluten free for a month to see what happened. During that month we did not eat gluten at all. For the first 2 weeks I went grain free entirely (DH didn't). After that, I did eat some limited grains that had no gluten (corn tortillas, brown rice). We looked at the gluten-free section in the store and decided that the majority of it was gluten-free junk food. No, I don't need to eat gluten-free cookies.

I don't personally eat a lot of bread. The other day I had a tuna sandwich and that was the first bread I had had in weeks. DH, on the other hand, likes bread and eats it every day. So, we looked at some of the gluten-free breads such as those made with rice flour. We elected not to get that either.

In our case, we found absolutely no difference between how we felt before and how we felt after being without gluten for 30 days. It was an interesting experiment and we both concluded that gluten doesn't happen to bother us.
 
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