Grain Brain
 

Anyone read this? DW read it and claims it is very compelling. I haven't read it yet, but might.

Yes. Now, I had already been grain free as I am low carb but it IS very compelling. My Mom has dementia and I don't want it myself so this spoke to me. This along with Wheat Belly has cemented my decision to ditch the grains except for the sporadic indulgence once and for all.

I am not as sensitive as others, but a friend of mine bloats up within hours of feeling the effects of inflammation from eating wheat carbs.

I haven't read it. As a vegan, I know I won't be giving up grains, I just can't do it. I've looked at vegan low carb eaters and they eat SO much "cleaner" than I do. I don't think I could sustain it.

I'm terrified of Alzheimer's, though, that disease is why I cultivated a coffee habit in my early 30s even though I disliked it intensely (I don't dislike coffee any more, I love it, goes to show how your taste buds can change over time!).

I have not read it but I have read wheat belly which I imagine is similar though not focused on the mental effects. I have mostly given up wheat/grains for the last almost 3 mths and when I slip and do eat it I bloat up almost immediately. Alot of folks say "a fog lifts" but I am incredibly sleep deprived bc of my daughter so I still feel foggy, lol.

I may have too.I know I was suffering from serious brain fog, confusion, migraines and weird speech things before I gave up wheat, barley and rye. I am a whole new person since about January 15th. I gave it all up January 2nd. I am very happy with how I feel.

Thanks for the feedback, Ladies. Wheat Belly is another one I want to read. I know that when I'm "dieting", while not specifically doing low carb, I do like to limit the amount of carbs I eat. I haven't had to tweak my method any as I'm getting the desired results at the pace I expect, but I do wonder what the effect would be if I cut the grain completely and just used other kinds of starches for my carbs. I've tried Atkins before and it didn't work for me.

Andrew, just as reference, I don't do Atkins (as far as reading/following it...since I don't track I might be doing it unknowingly). I started with cutting out soda, after a successful month of that I cut out wheat and grains (mostly, I am not 100% gluten free), sugar, starches. I have slip ups now and then. I don't call them cheat days bc that implies "diet" and I think of this as lifestyle change since I am prediabetic. After slips I try to just get right back to my plan as soon as I can. I've never counted or tracked anything so far and am getting good results. I stalled in May bc of too many slips related to parties and events we had. But am back on the losing train since getting back to my new way of eating. For me, wheat products trigger cravings and increase my blood sugar so I am trying to learn to live without. I do bake alot but I use alternative flours and sugar substitutes.

Thanks, Shannon. I've been looking into Wheat Belly and while I do believe the theory is sound, there are some issues with the study he used to "prove" it. Since I haven't read it, I can't comment on that, but since you have I wonder what you thought of the conclusions he made based on the studies.

I like sound science and do a lot of my own research (and testing on myself) and spent months researching fat loss (as opposed to weight loss) before I started a couple of years ago.

I'm considering running a four week study on myself to see what the effects are on me personally. I won't have access to the blood work, etc, but I can measure other types of results. I think I'll read both books and see what makes sense. I'm due to go to the beach for a week in a month so not sure if I should wait until after to run it. I'll have to give that some thought.

Oh, and what you are doing seems to be generating great results for you so in principal, despite your "slips", the theory seems sound.

Do you eat rice?

haven't read it but I am one of those people that blows up immediately from carbs. When I gave up rice, pasta and bread for two years I remember a time when i had rice and i could actually SEE my belly rising and I felt bloated to the point of feeling sick.....I have given up pasta temporarily and rice....Bread is a hard one to give up but I know I need to in order to feel "right".

Hmmm, science in wheat belly book....well, honestly, I don't know. I have read alot of folks saying it is not sound. I enjoyed the book but more anecdotally (probably spelled that wrong) than scientifically. I honestly did not really put much thought into his science because overall I felt it meshed well with what I already knew. My scientific knowledge on the matter of carbs/fat comes from my 8 years working in upper level management in clinical research for a company focused on cardiovascular health, specifically lipoprotein testing and abnormalities. I reported to the founding scientist and therefore read bazillions of studies reported and was privvy to findings in quite a few not yet published. I scoffed at it when I worked there (because I struggled with what doctors had told me for years...low fat diet) but now am seeing it in my own self physically and in lab work, that the carbs are indeed the problem, not fat. I do believe though that sugar is as much at fault as wheat while the wheat belly book seems to point the finger primarily at wheat.

As far as rice goes, no I have cut it out of my diet for the most part. I ate a small amount on vacation. In general I don't eat bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, corn or added sugar (or processed sugary/carby foods) but occasionally I have an off plan day. Today, for example, we spent the day at a friend's house for a playdate. If I had woken up early (if my daughter would sleep!) I would have made myself a lunch to take but I didn't so I ate a sandwich there and cookies. That is not a usual day for me but sometimes it happens.

I did Atkins years and years ago (pre-vegetarian). Worked great for me, I actually loved it. My mom did it as well and did fabulous. My transition from Atkins to vegetarian was philosophical, not because that style of eating didn't work. It definitely did work for me.

The one advantage I could point to in Atkins over any other style of eating I ever tried was a pretty fast reduction in appetite, which is certainly helpful right at the beginning of a program. It took longer for my appetite to reduce eating the way I eat now. And I don't do myself any favors in that department when I eat off-plan, there is always a bump up in appetite for me when I eat junk (*sigh*).

Nothing wrong with that at all. And I think most of the readers/reviewers read it that way as well. Drawing anecdotal conclusions aren't bad either on your part or the authors. Sometimes the most obvious is actually the answer.

And I think most of us that have spent time trying to figure out how we (specifically) lose weight/fat have a "feel" for what makes sense. And I think the theory behind the book makes sense as well.

I agree with this as well. I try to severely limit my sugar intake.

I'm not a big fan of "diet" books or fad diets, though I will admit that for some people they do work at least for a time. My biggest problem with them is that they are, typically, unsustainable. Some are just dumb.

In theory, it should work for everyone to some degree. It worked very well for my FIL. Worked, but to a lesser degree for DW. But for me, not so much.

I find your comment about appetite suppression interesting and it makes sense. Takes longer for the body to digest the proteins, so I guess it would keep the insulin levels fairly even, thereby decreasing hunger. I do find the first few weeks of calorie control to be very difficult because I'm hungry a lot. But if I can fight that off for the first few weeks, it gets better and eventually my appetite decreases to account for it.

Almost got through the chapter on Sugar last night and let me tell you something, it's eye opening. I will have to check his references, but his arguments really make a lot of sense given what we have learned in the last decade about nutrition and health. It's fairly alarming the consequences our diet choices have on our body.

Keep us posted. Maybe I will check it out from the library. I'm fairly sure it will just reinforce what I've already concluded. I started watching the Fathead movie this weekend, got about halfway through, need to finish. It's sort of a response to Supersize Me but about sugar/insulin/carbs. It's free on Amazon.