Wendy S.
Incredible story of an entire family who benefited from this set of lifestyle changes. – Dr. Perlmutter
I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism in the fall of 2013 and my doctor prescribed Levothyroxine. I saw some improvement of my symptoms initially but as time went by, they all returned. I became very frustrated and turned to the internet for information and advice. I learned that gluten can damage the thyroid and asked my doctor if he thought I should go gluten-free. His response: “It’s a gimmick”. So, I continued to take my medication and feel miserable. The next spring, I decided to give up a carbohydrate-filled snack for Lent. Within 48 hours, I felt better than I had in a long time. It made me think about my diet, so I did some more research about gluten and decided to give it up to see if that helped. I jumped in head-first and implemented this into my diet and life. I was able to get off of the thyroid medication and my bloodwork has been great ever since.
My youngest son has always been sick. He has battled chronic asthma and a myriad of other maladies since birth. During the spring of 2014, his health took a turn for the worse. I removed the gluten from his diet but he still missed the last two months of school due to illness. Toward the end of that school year, he received the diagnosis of Reflex Neuro-vascular Dystrophy. We were able to rehab him through with a lot of physical therapy in the form of hiking. He was doing fairly well at the beginning of the 2015 school year, just as his diet slipped a bit from strict gluten-free. The next thing we knew, he was getting sickness after sickness and I knew there had to be an underlying condition. He wound up missing the last two months of that school year as well. I knew I had to force him to adapt to the low-carb, gluten-free way of eating. It was not easy with a 13 year old child. There were many difficult times as we navigated through what he could and could not have. I also found a functional medicine doctor which helped us to reach a diagnosis of Candida and a very low-functioning immune system. Thanks to his new lifestyle, he has lost an astounding 18 pounds in about 9 months! He has continued to thrive and his immune system has never been better.
My husband has also adapted to this way of eating. He concluded a couple of years before I had my issues that he had Candida and tried different strategies, including a calorie-restrictive diet. When he saw how much the Grain Brain helped me, he gave it a try and has seen a big difference in the way he feels. If he goes off of the track, he notices it right away.
My daughter has had headaches, chronic sinus infections and stomach aches for years. She thought I was crazy when I was so excited about the Grain Brain and was making so many changes in the house. I did not force her, but I spoke ad nauseam about the benefits of this lifestyle. I knew that she would not acquiesce unless it was her decision and under her terms. She came to her own conclusion a year ago to go gluten-free and realized what a huge difference it made in her life. I convinced her to get rid of all grains about 2 months ago and we are currently working on her sugar intake as she still eats more fruit than she should.
Grain Brain has tremendously helped each member of our family. This book opened my eyes to all that is wrong with our food supply not to mention the way doctors are trained in medical school. I am so incredibly thankful for this information and I will be grain-free for the rest of my life.