Grain Brain

Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are

Gluten is what I call a “silent germ.” It can inflict lasting damage without your knowing

Bloodletting was still common in the late nineteenth century. We used to think that eggs were evil and margarine was magical, but now we know that eggs are among the world’s most nutrient-dense foods and that margarine contains deadly trans fats. Doctors in the mid-twentieth century used to pose for cigarette advertisements, and later on, they began to say that baby formula was much better than breast milk for children. And while it’s hard to conceive of today, not too long ago we thought that diet had absolutely no effect on disease. We now know otherwise.

est
Ideal level
fasting blood glucose
less than 95 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)
fasting insulin
below 8 µIU/ml (ideally, below 3)
hemoglobin A1C
4.8 to 5.4 percent
fructosamine
188 to 223 µmol/L
homocysteine
8µmol/L or less
vitamin D
80 ng/mL
C-reactive protein
0.00 to 3.0 mg/L
gluten sensitivity test with Cyrex array 3 test

The idea that we can treat—and in some cases, totally eliminate—common neurological ailments through diet alone is empowering. Most people immediately turn to drugs when seeking a solution, oblivious to the cure that awaits them in a few lifestyle shifts that are highly practical and absolutely free.

According to the latest research, we owe our tremendous brains to the need to think… and the need to run.

Exercise, according to the latest science, “appears to build a brain that resists physical shrinkage and enhances cognitive flexibility.”

men, lack of sufficient sleep leads to elevated levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite. In women, on the other hand, ghrelin levels aren’t influenced by lack of sleep, but levels of GLP-1, an appetite-suppressing hormone, are. Granted, such a subtle difference may seem insignificant since the overall result of eating more occurs either way, but it goes to show how little we know about the entire biochemistry of the human body in response to sleep.

Eleven percent of Americans over age twelve take antidepressants, but the percentage skyrockets when you look at the number of women in their forties and fifties who have been prescribed antidepressants—a whopping 23 percent.

notes that people with more education have a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and that protection from age-related neurodegenerative disorders in general likely begins during the first several decades of life. To this end, Dr. Mattson points to studies that show how individuals with the best linguistic abilities as young adults have a reduced risk for dementia.