Experimenting with Diet - The Grain Brain Diet (Part II), One Week and Counting

My first experience with the Grain Brain Diet about a year ago helped me to loose twenty pounds that I have managed to keep off.  However, due to my other dietary restrictions and health issues at the time that experience with the Grain Brain diet ultimately proved to have consequences that were not sustainable over the long-term.  Fast forward to about two weeks ago when Ingrid announced that she wanted to go on a sugar free diet.  Sugar has been gaining a bad reputation in recent years -  being blamed for the nations obesity epidemic, being called toxic by prominent physicians, and now being blamed, in part, for neurodegenerative disease.  With the mounting evidence against sugar, Ingrid and I have significantly cut down on the sugar in our normal diets - including foregoing traditional starches at meal times.  But what does it mean to go on a truly sugar free diet?  For starters, misery.

On the Grain Brain Diet, get ready to eat a lot of these...

Savory Chick Pea Crepe

As of Tuesday of this week, Ingrid and I were at one week and counting on the Grain Brain diet.  Our alternative culinary acumen has become significantly improved since my original experience, so we pulled out all the stops.  For starters, chickpeas are allowed unadulterated on the Grain Brain Diet - so we've experimented heavily with chickpea crepes (Socca, from France, or Pudla from India) - often using it like a side or wrap but also using it like Injera, the Ethiopian flat bread, tearing pieces off to scoop up bites of stewed meat and veg.  Granted, I am still minimizing dairy, nuts, and eggs - but smart preparation this time has made that less of an issue.  I now have a tried and true recipe for sugar-free sunflower seed butter, which has provided an excellent source of fat and nutrients, and I've expanded my cooking techniques somewhat to provide added flavor in a number of ways, including using Yakitori style cooking to add quick smoky grill flavor to our chicken, middle eastern/Asian influence to make a diet friendly Fried Calamari, finally using some beef bones we've had stored for too long to make beef bone broth, and good old American Ingenuity to make a diet-friendly pizza on a cauliflower and sunflower seed crust (not shown).  Ingrid even found somewhere on the web (sorry, I have no idea where) that had a Grain Brain bread (has a lot of eggs). 

Chicken Yakitori

Sunflower Seed Butter

Fried Calamari w/ Lemon

Grain Brain Bread

The good news is that both Ingrid and I are both satiated with our meals - and on less food as advertised.  But oh the misery.  The side effects of the diet that I have personally experienced include headaches (first three days), dry mouth (no matter how much water I drink), nausea, constipation, and fatigue.  I cut out all but meat and veg for two days without improvement.  Several websites that I have consulted about these symptoms identify them as typical symptoms for people on a low carb diet - however, the recommended corrections have not produced improvements in some of most of my symptoms as of today (day nine).  On the weight front, no improvement.  I monitor my weight daily (at the same time of day) and have alternately lost and gained weight with zero net change.  As of right now, the downsides definitely out weight the perceived benefits.  I'm going to stick with it for a couple more days and reevaluate.

Incidentally, most of the recipes on the recipes page (but not all, so read the ingredients) are on the grain brain diet.  Find the recipes page on the right-hand side of the blog under "pages" or click here to be taken directly to the recipes page:  Alternative Road Recipes Page.

To read about my first experience with the Grain Brain Diet, click here.

Experimenting with Diet - The Grain Brain Diet (Part I)

Late one night, as I flipped through the TV channels, I saw a program on NPR called Grain Brain.   The speaker was a neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter who advocates a diet devoid of gluten, carbohydrates, and sugars and high in cholesterol and certain kinds of fats as preventative measures and/or treatment for a variety of neurological diseases (including but not limited to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Dementia).  A portion of his advocacy - dietary restriction - is based on scientific research that shows that the brains of patients with neurological disease show increased markers of inflammation specifically attributable to two sources - gluten and sugar (including simple carbohydrates).  The remaining portion of his advocacy - dietary inclusion and supplementation - is based on research showing that fats and cholesterol are key elements to maintaining excellent brain health and low inflammation.  The overall effect of the diet puts the body into a ketogenic state, where the body transitions from burning glucose for energy to burning fat for energy.

I tried the Grain Brain diet about a year ago while in the midst of horrible nausea.  The experience was fairly difficult and with mixed results.  For starters, eggs, nuts, and dairy - three key components of the grain brain diet - were on my do not eat list.  Without these items, the available fats were severely limited - ultimately leading to me to unconventional and unappealing methods of obtaining fats (e.g. eat coconut oil straight from the jar).  After a few days of fatigue and starvation, I ultimately added nuts into my diet, which propped up my energy level and kept me satiated but added new digestive distress.  I maintained the Grain Brain diet for two months before adding grains back.

Ultimately, I lost about twenty pounds over that span - a great success - but without improvement in the nausea (which I ultimately tracked down to a side effect of the Flexoril that I was taking at the time) or other tangible benefits.  My takeaway from the diet from this experience was ultimately indiscernible (as my existing nausea may have skewed the weight loss or prevented realization of other benefits)...which is why I jumped on the chance to joint my wife in the diet last week.  As this experiment is not yet completed, I reserve ultimate judgement for another post.  More to come in Part II.  

The theories of the Grain Brain Diet are fascinating.  My father, a physician, looked into the medical community's perspective on the Grain Brain theories and ultimately noted that treatment of neurological diseases (with the exception of epilepsy) through these methods has not provided consistent results. That is not to say that they have not provided inconsistent results - meaning they may be applicable to a certain percentage of the population.  If you are interested in the Grain Brain diet, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.
  

Car Talk and Alzheimer's

I have been listening to Car Talk, a radio program about (and I use the term "about" loosely) cars hosted by the Magliozzi brothers, on NPR for over a decade now (the show has been a compilation of previous shows, not live, for a few years though).  I am not a huge car guy and couldn't really hold a conversation for more than a minute or two on cars if my life depended on it, but Tom and Ray kept the program entertaining and infectious.  Just last week (on the podcast) Tom and Ray expounded on the phenomenon of high velocity nose picking (nose picking while driving) in a way that cloaked the tastelessness of the subject in pure entertainment.   

Yesterday, Tom Magliozzi, died due to complications of Alzheimer's.  To read the NPR story on his passing, click here.  Although my only connection to Tom was through Car Talk (and the one time I had my car serviced at his mechanic shop), I was saddened to hear of his passing but was also surprised because I did not know he had Alzheimer's.

I am not intimately familiar with Alzheimer's Disease.  No one in my family has had it nor any of my friends.  What I do know is that Alzheimer's is a neuro-degenerative disease without a known cause and without any significant treatment.  Some of the symptoms include (1) memory loss and or the increased need for memory aids, (2) challenges in planning or solving problems, (3) difficulty completing familiar tasks, (4) confusing time or place, (5) difficulty with spatial relationships, (6) new problems with words in speaking or writing, (7) misplacing things and loosing the ability to retrace steps, (8) decreased or poor judgement, (9) withdrawal from work or social activities, and (10) changes in mood.  I cannot help but look at this list of symptoms and identify with at least five (possibly six) just before I began to experiment with alternative medicine.  Click here to read my posts on symptoms, especially the post on Brain Fog.  

Based on my own experiences and other research that I have delved into, I am optimistic that a number of theories and alternative therapies may have some bearing on neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, including but not limited to diet, supplementation, exercise, and acupuncture.  I have suggested some of these therapies to friends with loved ones with Alzheimer's - but as experience bears alternative medicine (even as a complement to western medicine) is a difficult sell.  I, in no way, am saying that there is a proven alternative method to cure Alzheimer's or other neuro-degenerative diseases.  However, the alternative therapies listed above have little if any downside (check with your doctor for any contraindications); and, if I and the other alternative medicine advocates are right, they have tremendous upside.  If you or a loved one is suffering from a neuro-degenerative disease and have questions on plausible alternative therapies, feel free to get in touch with me. 

RESOURCES

To read more on Alzheimer's Disease click here to be taken to the Alzheimer's Association's Website.

To read more from Dr. Perlmutter, a board certified neurologist, on Alzheimer's Disease, please read his book Grain Brain.

 

If You Are Suffering From... Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects your movement. It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while a tremor may be the most well-known sign of Parkinson's disease, the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement1.

I have no personal experience with Parkinson's (aside from having friends with the Disease) so all of the suggestions herein are aggregated from other trusted sources.  That said, the rationale for trying the recommended alternative therapies can be found herein. 

If you are suffering from Parkinson's Disease and are looking for alternative and non-mainstream therapies, the following recommendations are recommended by Dr. Perlmutter and the Mayo Clinic:

Diet (See Grain Brain, by Dr. Perlmutter for specific recommendations)
Exercise
Sleep
Acupuncture
Massage
Stretching
Meditative Breathing
Dietary Supplements (See Grain Brain, by Dr. Perlmutter for specific recommendations)

Also, read the following article by Dr. Perlmutter on Parkinson's (click here)

1 Mayo Clinic

Dr. Perlmutter on Parkinson's Disease

Researching Dr. Perlmutter's approach to Parkinson's Disease for a friend, I came across a blog post called What I Wish Everyone Knew About Parkinson's Disease by Dr. Perlmutter.  Click here for the blog post.

The Goods (Recommendation) - Grain Brain

Late one night a few months ago, as I flipped through the TV channels, I stopped at the KPBS station (San Diego's PBS affiliate) to watch a show about diet and neurological health.  The speaker was Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist, who advocated a new and revolutionary approach to neurological disease (including but not limited to Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS, and Autism).  His approach, which is not mainstream but is backed by a number of scientific studies, largely focuses on diet as a means to prevent, slow down, and/or treat these neurological diseases.

Intrigued, I bought Dr. Perlmutter's book, Grain Brain.  In Grain Brain, Dr. Perlmutter discusses leading theories on the causes of many neurological diseases (primarily gluten and carbohydrate related) and scientific studies on several non-mainstream therapies for these diseases.  The conclusions are simple - stop eating gluten and refined carbohydrates and start eating brain foods.

Interested to find out if Dr. Perlmutter's recommendations could help with my issues (though they were never medically identified as neurological), I experimented with most of his recommendations with noticeable success.  Most of these experiments are already or will be discussed herein at some point, so stay tuned.  But in the meantime, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.