Let’s all eat more fat! Yea! Can this be true?

David Perlmutter, MD, a leading board certified neurologist, recently published Grain Brain, a New York Times best-selling book that teaches us all how we can feed our brains and actively work to prevent Alzheimer’s.  Sounds fantastic, but hundreds of research studies bear it out.

We are all fat heads!  60% of our brains are fat!  

Dr. Perlmutter explains that humans have eaten diets high in fat and protein for millennia.  Our brains have evolved to flourish on this kind of nutrition. So what is happening now? About 20 years ago we were told to go on low fat, high carbohydrate diets. Remember?  The biggest part of our diet was supposed to be carbohydrates.  Eat grains and ditch the fat.  Have a big plate of pasta for dinner…and so forth.  Turns out that wasn’t very helpful guidance.

What happened on this low fat, high carb diet?  Americans became much more obese, the rate of diabetes tripled, the rate of Alzheimer’s sharply increased.  

What is the connection here?  Carbohydrates turn into sugar in our bodies much faster than fats or proteins.  Carbohydates as well as sugar are harmful to our brains.

What is the evidence?  A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine explained that even mild blood sugar increases over the long term dramatically increase our risk of developing dementia.  The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published a study that showed that people who ate higher levels of carbohydrates in their diets had about an 89% increased risk for developing dementia!  People whose dietary intake was highest in fat (the “good fats” – not donut kind of fats) saw a reduction in risk of dementia of 44%.

How does sugar hurt the brain anyway?  A recent article published in Neurology notes that the elevations of blood sugar in the brain leads to compromised memory and a shrinking hippocampus.  Hippo…..what?  This is the part of the brain that is responsible for memory.  Yes, memory!  

So what are these good fats?  

• Extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil

• Eggs (preferably organic)

• Avocados

• Cold water fish (avoid tuna due to mercury content)

• Nuts – particularly walnuts, pistachios, almonds, pecans, cashews

• Butter (yes!) from organic grass fed milk

• Grass fed meats (organic)

This is just a partial listing.  Learn more about good fats from Dr. Joseph Mercola here.

If you buy just one book this year, consider making it Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter.  It may save your brain – and your life.