David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Dr. Perlmutter on why he wrote Grain Brain

15 Sept 2013 · 1 min

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1:24

In this brief talk, Dr. David Perlmutter explains his motivation for writing the book Grain Brain. He points out that there are currently no cures for major brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, autism, depression, and ADHD. He argues that the fundamental biological drivers of these conditions are free radicals, which damage tissue, and inflammation, which is largely driven by lifestyle choices. He stresses that peer‑reviewed, reputable science shows that the foods we eat play a crucial role in brain health, and that this nutritional perspective is an essential, often overlooked side of the story compared to the focus on medication.

Chapters

Why did I write Grain Brain? I wrote Grain Brain because it's time that you become aware of the fact that there's another side to this story, that you can't just live your life come what may and hope for that cure because oftentimes those cures do not exist. We do not have a cure for Alzheimer's, for Parkinson's, for autism. for depression, for ADHD. And yet we know that the fundamentals of these diseases are the actions of free radicals and inflammation. Free radicals are things that damage our tissue. It's the reason we take antioxidants. Inflammation is caused by lifestyle choices. And these are the 2 fundamental premises of Grain Brain. It's time that peer-reviewed, well-respected science gets seen in terms of the other side of the story. We see the peer-reviewed, wonderfully respected science used to justify medications, but in the reality of the situation, we have the best science available to us telling us that the foods we eat have a role to play in the future of our health, and nowhere is that more important than in the health of your brain.