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Show 927: Grain Brain–How Gluten Could Be Harming Your Brain

Dr. Perlmutter presents evidence that gluten can contribute to cognitive decline in the many susceptible people, even those who do not have celiac disease.

What should you eat to optimize your brain’s ability to function? Dr. David Perlmutter suggests that there are many lifestyle changes we can make today to preserve our mental capacity into the future. You might be surprised that one of the first, even for people who do NOT have celiac disease, is avoiding dietary gluten as well as sugar and other foods that raise blood sugar and make insulin spike.

What kind of diet should we follow to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and especially in the nervous system? Has cholesterol been falsely demonized?

In the book Grain Brain, Dr. Perlmutter argues that a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet promotes brain health and can help stave off depression and ADHD as well as dementia. How do medications harm the brain? How can we balance exercise, sleep and diet to optimize brain function?

This Week’s Guest:

David Perlmutter, MD, is the President of the Perlmutter Health Center in Naples, Florida, and the co-founder and president of The Perlmutter Brain Foundation. He is a board-certified neurologist and a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. His book is Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar–Your Brain’s Silent Killers. His website is www.drperlmutter.com. The photo of Dr. Perlmutter was taken by Ed Chappell.

Listen to the Podcast

The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free.

Download the mp3

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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