Category Archives: Life reflections

The Monday Book: GRAIN BRAIN by David Perlmutter

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grain brainGrain Brain

A review by Paul Garrett

It was only a few years ago that the word Alzheimer’s entered our vocabulary, and since then the disease has been blamed on everything from chem trails to aluminum cooking pots, but what if the devastating disease is linked to our diet? Dr. David Perlmutter posits this theory in the book Grain Brain (Little, Brown Spark, 2013, revised 2018).

Perlmutter is one of a growing minority who adhere to a theory I will call evolutionary eating. It goes something like this: Humans evolved over millions of years as hunters and gatherers, consuming a diet of high fat, moderate protein and occasional carbohydrates. It wasn’t until about 12,000 years ago we began consuming a diet high in carbs, mostly from grains. Up until then carbs were only available a few months of the year when the fruit and berries were available.  According to Dr. Perlmutter, we haven’t had time to evolve into beings that can metabolize a high carbohydrate diet.

Perlmutter believes that we function best on diets like the high fat, low carb Keto and its cousin the Paleo diet. He thinks the low fat, high carb regime that has been the darling of government nutritionists is killing us.

The book is heavy on citations and points to recent research from all over the world that shows the deleterious effects of sugar and gluten on the brain, as well as other parts of the body.

Perhaps one of the most controversial sections is the chapter that rips Statin drugs. According to Perlmutter there is no direct evidence that high cholesterol is tied to heart attacks but plenty of evidence showing that low cholesterol is directly related to brain disease.

The book has three parts. In the first Dr. Perlmutter lays out his case, Part Two lays out the case for proper diet and rest. The third part includes recipes and a four-week plan of action to combat the effects of sugar ang gluten, including a list of supplements including DHA and Coconut oil.

Is it possible that cutting out sugar and gluten is the key to a healthy brain? It is a controversial notion. But with the popularity of regimes like the Keto and Paleo diets we may soon have a body of evidence on which to draw.

Branching Out – –

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Jack hits the ground running and meets the deadline – for once – –

Regular readers may recall that I’m no fan of gardening. This goes back to my earlier life in West Fife, where the earth tends towards solid clay. So solid, in fact that I once fashioned a frog from it, let it dry in the sun (it does shine occasionally in Scotland) and couldn’t break it with a hammer! The soil was near impossible to dig and the only things that grew were weeds –

In profusion – – –

The odd thing is that my childhood hero was my Grandad, who was an enthusiastic and successful gardener. He grew vegetables and fruit for our table and roses in the front yard. But I do recall he had to dig an awful lot of horse manure in to get the ground into condition.

When Wendy and I married and moved to East Fife I was astonished at how easy it was to dig our back yard and plant potatoes. But it didn’t turn me into a gardener – the non-gardener seed had been sown long before. I grew up thinking that trying to grow stuff was some kind of Calvinist punishment for past or future sins.

But there are some outdoor chores you simply can’t get away from and for me that has been trees and grass. When we moved to Big Stone Gap we found we’d inherited three heirloom apple trees, a pear tree and a peach tree. I managed to allow one apple tree and the peach tree to die and then tried to trim one of the other apple trees, nearly killing it as well. The grass became less of a problem when I purchased a used riding mower (that’s also when I really became an American!).

Our new dwelling here in Wytheville has a big backyard with four enormous walnut trees and more equally big but more nondescript ones. The walnuts aren’t near enough to pose a danger but some of the others definitely did. One was looming over our house and the garage and the trusty odd-job man we inherited with the house took care of that. But maybe it’s just because I have a rechargeable cordless chainsaw that I eyed the smaller one that was, nevertheless, encroaching on the power line feeding the house. Or maybe I just can’t see a tree without wanting to trim it!

tree

The last branch’s last stand!

tree2

Et voila!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, everywhere from New Gilston to Wytheville, Wendy and I have gotten quite good at growing tomatoes from seed, so maybe there’s still hope?