Forum:Is there any truth behind the book Grain Brain?
I recently got an interesting looking book from the library called Grain Brain by David Perlmutter. Basically the book states that grains, carbohydrates and sugars are behind a lot of different psychological and neurological disorders (including, but not limited to: ADHD, epilepsy and depression). The book promotes a diet cleared of any gluten containing foods.
Now, there doesn't seem to be much obvious woo to me aside from the following:
"Antidepressants are no better than placebo" (patently bullshit and I know as a person who has been medicated for depression).
"Grains may be a causative of epilepsy" (maybe bullshit, I also have epilepsy and it runs in the family which makes me skeptical of the claim).
But I'd like to know if there are any other people here who can tell if the book is mostly bullshit or not (or at least point me to a good source of unbiased information). There is a refutation here, but I'm not too sure if that is woo as well. — Unsigned, by: Ru1138 / talk / contribs 16:32, July 13, 2014
- We have an article on gluten-free. There's mention there of using gluten-free diets for autism treatment, which were studied and found to be merit-less. Compro01 (talk) 18:26, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
- I recently saw on The Checkout that gluten-free makes no difference unless you have celiac disease. The segment is called "gluten for punishment" on this page. It's a show that I have generally found to be quite rationalist that screens on ABC1 (Australia's public broadcaster). Origin (talk) 05:00, 21 July 2014 (UTC)
- Historically speaking, grain-based agriculture brought huge changes to human lifestyles and enabled much larger permanent settlements. This led to a huge increase in social stratification and enabled political societies. In general, though, I've learned to tune out anything that seeks to link lifestyle and dietary habits with the degenerative diseases of old age. It's just too much a burden to keep up with. Eat what you like. - Smerdis of Tlön, for the defense. 15:41, 17 November 2014 (UTC)
- I recently saw on The Checkout that gluten-free makes no difference unless you have celiac disease. The segment is called "gluten for punishment" on this page. It's a show that I have generally found to be quite rationalist that screens on ABC1 (Australia's public broadcaster). Origin (talk) 05:00, 21 July 2014 (UTC)
Not to mention that gluten is only found in wheat, rye, and barley. He can't even keep his own ideas straight. --Ymir (talk) 14:28, 18 November 2014 (UTC)