Your Brain – Your Choice

We live in a time when the status quo, in terms of recommendations from the medical establishment, is to pretty much live your life however you choose, and then, when you develop some form of malady, there’s going to be a magical “medical fix” for you. To be totally clear, there is no treatment for Alzheimer’s disease whatsoever. None. So what can a person do? This is an especially germane question for those of us who may be at an increased risk for this disease, now affecting some 5.4 million Americans by virtue of our inheritance.

As I described in a recent article I wrote for The Daily Beast:

The United States has now been granted the distinction of ranking first in terms of increased number of deaths from neurological diseases including dementia. In a recent report in the journal Public Health, Prof. Colin Pritchard and colleagues from Britain’s Bournemouth University evaluated causes of death in the 10 largest Western countries between 1979 and 2010. During that time period, deaths in America related to brain conditions rose an astounding 66% in men and 92% in women.

These compelling statistics are supported by what we’ve recently learned about monetary expenditures for caring for dementia-afflicted patients. In a recent RAND study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, costs for dementia care in 2010 were estimated to be as high as $200 billion, roughly twice that expended for heart disease and almost triple what was spent on treating cancer patients.

Alzheimer’s is a preventable disease. Genes play a role without a doubt, but they do not determine your destiny. Genetic expression is clearly modifiable based upon lifestyle choices – including diet. And this level of understanding is being published in our most well-respected journals, and no one is talking about it. Until now.

Empowering individuals with the knowledge that lifestyle choices can have a powerful impact in determining brain health destiny is the central thesis of my new book Grain Brain. And while there has been some push back from groups with self-interest, like the grain industry, the response to our new book has been outstanding. Grain Brain reached the New York Times Best Seller list the first week it was published and has remained on the list ever since, reaching the #1 ranking, twice. It quickly became the #1 ranked health-related book in Canada, and in 2014 Grain Brain will be published throughout Europe and South America.

Why the success? I am certain it is because Grain Brain, for the first time, has not only challenged the status quo in terms of the misguided recommendations for general health and brain health in particular, but in addition, it provides meaningful, science-based solutions in the form of actionable points that the Western world has been absolutely desperate for.

And it won’t stop here. We are working on the Grain Brain recipe book to be published in September. I will continue to update our social media platforms as the data supporting our recommendations continues to come in, and I will continue to travel the world lecturing to health care providers and general populations alike.

Get ready for 2014!

For more information, order your copy of Grain Brain today and join Dr. Perlmutter’s email list.