Dr Oz: Dr David Perlmutter Negative Effects of Gluten
Leading gluten expert and world famous neurologist Dr David Perlmutter made the claim that not only will gluten keep you fat, but it can also cause Alzheimer’s disease and severely damage your brain. Dr. Oz brought him on the show to find out more of what Dr. Perlmutter thinks about gluten.
The last time Dr. Perlmutter was on the show, he argued that carbohydrates are poison for the brain and in his book Grain Brain, he directly blamed Alzheimer’s and other forms of brain deterioration on gluten and carbohydrates, even whole grains.
Now Dr. Perlmutter is back with what he calls new proof. One of his patients suffered from debilitating spasms and after cutting gluten for several months, the spasms disappeared because gluten was no longer interfering with his brain. Another patient, Terry, suffered from facial spasms and after cutting gluten her spasms were almost completely gone.
Dr. David Perlmutter joined Dr. Oz to explain why he believes gluten causes brain damage leading to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Perlmutter said that about ten years ago he started studying food’s connection to the brain and he began noticing that when he took patients off gluten, he noticed a remarkable improvement in things like depression, dementia, and movement disorders. He said that at that point, taking people off gluten was probably the most powerful tool in his toolbox.
Dr Oz: Gluten Causes Dementia?
So how can removing gluten from the diet cause such massive shifts in someone’s life? Because gluten is inflammatory.
Dr. Perlmutter explained that gluten challenges the immune system. Inflammation is the cornerstone for diabetes and cancer and there are also many brain issues that are the consequences of inflammation. He said we need to create a lifestyle that gets rid of the inflammation, which means getting rid of gluten.
Dr. Perlmutter also explained that peer reviewed science is validating what he’s talking about and scientists all over the world are looking at what gluten is doing to the brain. He said the most well respected institution are climbing aboard realizing that gluten effects dementia. Dementia effects 5.4 million people yet we don’t have a meaningful treatment. Dr. Perlmutter claimed that it is preventable based on our food choices.
Two different brain scans were shown. One that Dr. Oz called a normal brain and the other that was labeled as a gluten sensitive brain.The gluten sensitive brain had much more inflammation which in turn would cause memory issues, fogginess, maybe even depression and movement issues. All of which may be reversible with the removal of gluten from the diet.
Dr Oz: Gluten & Brain Healthy Fat
The two doctors explained that the brain is protected by what is called the blood brain barrier. They said you can get what is called a “leaky brain” which lets in all kinds of bad things that are not good for the brain. The blood brain barrier protects against bacteria and toxins but food such as gluten can break through the barrier causing those toxins to get to your brain. That’s when you experience problems with memories and fogginess, leading you and your doctor to think you have dementia.
As for ensuring you have a healthy brain, “butter is back” said Dr. Perlmutter.
He said we should ditch the bread and eat the butter. We need to eat more fat because the brain is 60% fat. Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, cheese, avocado, eggs, grass fed beef, and wild caught fish are all full of saturated fats. Saturated fat is good for the heart and good for the brain. Dr. Perlmutter also shared that 50% of breastmilk is saturated fat so it’s already naturally a part of our diet from birth. He said we should limit ourselves to 80 grams of carbohydrates a day and also eat more apples, grapes, berries, and brown rice.
The more fat we eat the more we stimulate our brains to grow more brain cells, a process called neurogenesis. It’s all about eating a diet with less carbohydrates and more healthy fats.
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