One very welcome Christmas present came a few days early, this year, when the highly respected magazine The Atlantic published a new article titled, “This is Your Brain on Gluten.” Written by James Hamblin, MD, this article examined the anti-grain views in the book Grain Brain.

Dr. Hamblin’s conclusion? Bah, humbug. No, he doesn’t use those exact holiday-spirit words; instead he refers to Grain Brain as “one-sided pop-science” typical of fad diet books. He says,

The recurring formula is apparent: Tell readers it’s not their fault. Blame an agency; typically the pharmaceutical industry or U.S. government, but also possibly the medical establishment. Alluding to the conspiracy vaguely will suffice. Offer a simple solution. Cite science and mainstream research when applicable; demonize it when it is not.

In Hamblin’s article, Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale Univesity’s Prevention Research Center, also weighs in. Katz says, 

I find it sad to be in a position to say that I think so much of his book is a whole bunch of nonsense. Now, he’s absolutely right that we eat too much sugar and white bread. The rest of the story, though, is one just completely made up to support a hypothesis. And that’s not a good way to do science. … again, I think it’s sad because the public is being misled.

[In another article in the Huffington Post, Katz also railed against the belief in magical nutrition shortcuts. He compares those who peddle them to hucksters who might try to lure elementary school kids to an easier way to learn to read, saying, “Hey, kid — over here. No need for the whole alphabet and all that grammar nonsense! All you really need is my especially shiny version of the letter “G.” It’s all about “G,” and I can set you right up for three easy payments…” while alternative charlatans say, “It’s just about Q; you need only avoid T; you have to combine P with D at suitable frequencies; everything will be fine if you cut out all semi-colons; and so on.” Great analogy.]

But back to the Atlantic article, in which Hamblin concludes by saying, “When a person advocates radical change on the order of eliminating one of the three macronutrient groups from our diets, the burden of proof should be enormous. Everything you know is not wrong. Perlmutter has interesting ideas that I would love to believe. I’d love it if a diet could deliver all that he promises.” Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. 

If you care about good nutrition, and hate to see the confusion sown by fad diet book authors, we encourage you to read the whole article in The Atlantic.

Hamblin and Katz aren’t the first health professionals to point out that the emperor has no clothes in connection with this much-touted book. We especially enjoyed these two articles:

Grain for your Brain, by Amanda Burton, RD
Canadian registered dietitian Amanda Burton reviewed Grain Brain in September in the St. John’s Telegram, shortly after its release, and advised that “…any diet that eliminates carbohydrates or categories of foods without medical justification or guidance can put your health at risk.” We, of course, agree completely with her statement that, 

When it comes to keeping the brain healthy as we age, the truth is that grains and many other foods are beneficial. Whole grains (like whole grain wheat, brown rice, barley, oats and rye), fish (such as salmon, sardines and mackerel), fruits and veggies, particularly cabbage, broccoli and kale, nuts, seeds, dairy, lean proteins (like meat, fish, poultry and tofu), and healthy oils rich in omega-3 (like walnut, flax and canola), will provide the brain with the nutrients needed for optimal function and protect against age-related damage. … A well-balanced diet with whole grains will strengthen blood vessels so that oxygen and nutrients can be delivered to all areas of our body, and promote the growth of new brain cells and nerve connections. Proper nutrition nourishes our brains, particularly the areas involved in speech, reasoning and learning.

Grain Brain – Take It With a Grain of Salt, by Axel F. Sigurdsson MD, PhD, FACC
Dr. Sigurdsson practices cardiology in Iceland, having trained in that specialty in Sweden and Canada. On his blog “Doc’s Opinion,” he wrote that the book is “too biased to be taken seriously.” He believes that the science lies on the side of grains and proven approaches to good health such as the Mediterranean Diet; he says,  

We don’t have to look further than the most recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition to find a paper contradicting Dr. Perlmutter’s claims. The study addresses the associations between The DASH diet and Mediterranean-style dietary patterns and age-related cognitive change in a prospective, population-based study. Higher levels of accordance with both the DASH and Mediterranean dietary patterns were associated with consistently higher levels of cognitive function in elderly men and women over an eleven year period. Whole grains and nuts and legumes were positively associated with higher cognitive functions. [Dr. Sigurdsson’s emphasis]

A big thanks to health professionals like Dr. Hamblin, Dr. Katz, Dr. Sigurdsson and Ms. Burton for their passionate defense of good sense and good grains.

We hope you’ve been able to resist the siren-song of pseudo-science and you’re still enjoying whole grains. There’s plenty of solid science to back up your decision. Just remember a whole grain cookie is still a cookie, so plan your meals around healthy choices like delicious intact grains, sourdough or sprouted whole grain breads, or a bowl of hot oatmeal. (Cynthia)