Brain drain

When are the so-called nutritional “experts” going to learn that fat is not inherently bad for us? In fact, it’s a critical nutrient–particularly for our brains, which are made up primarily of fat. Fat and protein have been taking the blame for the problems caused by carbohydrates and sugar for way too long. Hopefully a new study from the Mayo Clinic is one more step in the right direction.

This study found that a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar–the standard American diet that’s been shoved down our throats for years by the so-called “experts”–may raise the risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the elderly. But this new research also showed that a diet high in fat and protein may reduce this risk.

I had to smile when I read it. I mean honestly–where have you heard this before? Yes folks, right here and in my books. And I’ve been saying it for many, many years.

Yet, we have the ADA, the FDA, and the AMA continually bashing what my colleagues and I have proven time and time again.

I am starting to think that the AMA, the FDA, and the ADA all need to be sued. A massive class action lawsuit, holding them responsible for all of the terrible advice they’ve doled out over the years. Their primary job is to keep the American public healthy. Yet things have gotten progressively worse with people following their advice. Obesity and diabetes have reached epidemic proportions–and kill thousands of people every year.

As far as I know, not a single person has died from my dietary advice. In fact, considering all the positive feedback I’ve gotten from patients over the years–and all the tremendous successes I’ve seen, I’m more convinced than ever that my New Hamptons Health Miracle is the optimal eating plan.

Just in the past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten more positive feedback from patients than I could even recount here. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times; “You’ve changed my life.”

It makes me so happy to hear things like that. And I want to do the same for even more people. Which is precisely why I write the Reality Health Check and my monthly Logical Health Alternatives newsletter. I simply want the message to be heard–and followed. Because I know it saves lives.

But, enough about me, let’s get back to this great new carb-bashing study.

This study looked at more than 1,200 normal, healthy adults between the ages of 70 to 89. And according to the researchers, dementia risk was almost twice as high in participants who ate the most carbohydrates. It was similarly high in participants with the highest sugar intake.

Yet the risk for MCI was 42 percent lower in people with the highest fat intake. And those who ate the most protein lowered their risk by 21 percent.

According to the researchers, “a diet with optimal carbohydrates, fat and protein, may help maintain neuronal integrity and optimal cognitive function in the elderly.” That’s all well and good, but I’m sure they have no idea what optimal anything is because they are still mired in the belief that we need carbohydrates to survive.

While carbohydrates from vegetables, some legumes, and some fruits are beneficial, the rest were never meant to be ingested by human beings.

The lead researcher reported that “A high-carbohydrate intake could be bad, because they affect how glucose and insulin function in [the] brain. If there is dysfunction in glucose and insulin metabolism, it affects [the] brain. Some people have described mild cognitive impairment as having diabetes in the brain because the sugar affects your brain in a way that is not good if you have too much of it, so with carbohydrates, we think that’s what could be happening.”

Thanks for that insight but I’ve been telling my patients and readers the same thing for years.

Sources:
“Sugar and “Bad” Carbs Cause Early Signs of Dementia,” Natural Health Advisory (www.naturalhealthadvisory.com), 10/23/12
“Relative intake of macronutrients impacts risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia.” J Alzheimers Dis 2012; 32(2): 329-339