Weight loss starts with brain health. Everything your body does depends on it. You might be surprised how good life can be, even in the face of major diseases, by following a few simple suggestions on how to eat right for your brain.
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How to Lose Weight
Hundreds of weight loss diets and exercise programs have been successful for someone, somewhere. Almost all of them have major flaws that lead to rebound weight gain in the long run. In my opinion, those with the fewest flaws, and therefore the greatest chance for success, are the Slow Carb Diet and the Paleo (Caveman) Diet.
It strikes me, however, that focusing on weight or fat is of secondary importance to the role of the brain. Ignoring brain health is like considering the body as a mindless blob that responds to chemical stimuli from food all by itself. Nothing could be further from the truth. The brain is the Great Wizard behind the curtain, in control of everything from the get-go.
A Not So Radical Suggestion
Our brains shrink and lose function as we age, probably faster than they should. Indeed, the growing incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, and similar brain failures is a good indicator of sped-up brain degeneration in modern times. This is NOT normal. Indeed, these disorders are completely unknown in some societies, even in the face of aging beyond 90 or even 100 years old.
It is abundantly clear that brain health has to do with diet. Our local PBS station made a big deal of that point during a membership drive recently, by hosting the brain expert, Dr. Daniel G. Amen, not too long ago. Although his purpose for appearing was mainly promotional, what he had to say about brain health was spot on.
The not so radical suggestion, based on all the information that I could gather about brain health, is that diet is the key. Gee, where have you heard that before?
The question is, which diet?
The Doctor Who Would Not Die
As dramatic as that sounds, it reflects the experience of Dr. Terry Wahls. She suffered from multiple sclerosis that was accelerating to total debilitation and an early death. She not only stopped the progress of her MS, she reversed it — by eating right for her brain.
The reason that Dr. Wahls’ story caught my attention, and why I thought it appropriate to tell you about it here on this particular blog, is that it provides the clearest evidence that I have ever seen for what we should all be eating (and not eating) every day of our lives. Eating for brain health is the key to everything.
Dr. Wahls’ story is summarized in a video that is nothing short of phenomenal. It is longer than the usual public video (almost 18 minutes), although it is worth watching in its entirety — for inspiration and for crucial advice about diet. Take a look for yourself and see what I mean. I have a few comments for you below that may also be of interest.
It’s All Paleo
Eating right for your brain IS eating right for your body. And what Dr. Wahls discovered is essentially the power of a Paleo Diet, starting with the brain.
There is really not much else that I can add to her experience and advice. Oh, I might quibble with some of her explanations about mitochondria and her focus on them. That’s what we scientists do. The bottom line, however, is results. Specifically, health results. Real health results – not trumped up biochemical results like cholesterol levels, hormone balance, or blood glucose spikes. These have limited applications. The only results of any importance are good health, and Dr. Wahls makes a clear case for what it takes to achieve it.
Tying weight loss to brain health,
Dr. D
Wow that is amazing, when I first started watching it I thought she was crazy for doing experimental treatment on herself but then it dawned on me that she really had nothing to lose in doing this experiment so I would probably do this myself. This was very , very interesting and I am going to have to follow some of the research that she did. This food plan isn’t that bad either.
This was amazing and it really surprised me how much it made sense to me. I never really thought about vitamins and minerals until a few weeks ago when our doctor told my husband he was low in vitamin D and then told him how to get more. I had no idea that they even monitored that for anything but I guess it is in the blood work.
I believe this for more than one reason but the most important reason I believe is because your mindset about food is what will help you control what and how much you eat. If you eat simply because you have to then you are not going to eat as much as you normally would if you were eating because you liked the taste of the food.
This sounds so great and it makes perfect sense it amazes me that it takes someone fighting for their own life with nothing to lose in order to find something like this. What are paying all of these scientist’s for that are studying weight loss and thing if they aren’t going to come up with something as simple as this to take care of the problem.
If your brain isn’t healthy how are you supposed to trust your brain to tell you that you are hungry? Or when to stop eating because you are full. Your brain runs the body and the body does what the brain says so maybe if your brain was healthy your body would be too. You have done a great job with this and I look forward to reading more about it.
That was an amazing video and she is an amazing lady, she took her time and really made sure that the presentation was done well. It completely makes sense what she was saying as well and it amazes me that she took it upon herself to find this stuff out. I am also shocked that some scientist didn’t igure this out a long time ago. Thank you for posting this I appreciate it.
Not only does weight loss start with brain healthy but it also starts with brain balance, if you think you are hungry all the time you are going to be hungry all the time. You have to have mind over matter or you are going to let your emotions rule what and when you eat. Emotional eating is very bad and will lead to over weight.
It is a scary thought that brain degeneration is almost inevitable. I have heard time and again from various medical experts that fitness (or lack there of) is linked to these degenerative brain diseases. My own mother is suffering from increasing memory loss and I fear for her. She also happens to have a somewhat fat belly and I don’t think that is mere coincidence. I try to tell her that she needs to exercise.
In the mini documentary series, History of Mankind: The Story of All of Us, it indicates that early hunter-gatherer humans began to advance mentally as their nutrition improved because better diets resulted in the massive growth of neurons in the human brain. So I can only presume that the brain and the body work hand in hand by affecting each other, which would be consistent with the point of this article.