America’s leading low-carb brain health expert, Dr. Larry McCleary
One of the emerging areas of health that people are beginning to pay more attention to in recent years involve neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, for example. In fact, some have even gone so far as to refer to these brain health concerns as “Type 3″ diabetes since many of these conditions are due to excessive glucose and insulin. My podcast interview guest today has devoted his life to treating brain health metabolically by implementing a nutritional plan of action to produce the preferred fuel for brains to function at optimal level.
In Episode 229 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” it’s such a pleasure to welcome Dr. Larry McCleary, author of The Brain Trust Program, to discuss the undeniable connection between carbohydrate consumption and neurological diseases. Dr. McCleary gets into the specifics of the negative impact carbohydrates have on neurological health, discusses what it takes to maintain a healthy brain, explains why brains prefer ketone bodies for fuel, the supplements that you should be taking for brain health, and how a low-carbohydrate diet can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, aka “Type 3” diabetes. If you or someone in your family is dealing with sort of brain disease or disorder, then you owe it to yourself to listen to this 60-minute podcast interview with America’s leading authority on brain health.
There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 229:
1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:
2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:
3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 229 [62:42m]:
4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
Subscribe to the RSS feed or you can click on the “Subscribe” button at iTunes. If you are having trouble, then watch this video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien.
Are you convinced that your brain needs ketone bodies to function as well as it is supposed to? Did Dr. Larry McCleary make the case for livin’ la vida low-carb for taking care of your brain? Share your reaction to today’s podcast by leaving a comment in the show notes section of Episode 229. Pay a visit to The Official Web Site for Dr. Larry McCleary, and get your own copy of The Brain Trust Program. You can read my September 2007 blog interview with Dr. McCleary for even more information on low-carb brain health and this emerging epidemic of Type 3 diabetes of the brain.
The podcast schedule next week looks fantastic starting with T.S. Wiley on Monday. She wrote a rather compelling book on sleep and the weight loss connection entitled Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival. If you’re one of those people who thinks you get plenty of sleep to function properly during the day, then you might be surprised by what you hear in this interview. Then on Thursday, we’ll hear from Tanya Attebery who wrote an autobiographical teen fiction novel called Fat-Haters’ Club to share what it was like transforming from the picked on fat kid into one of the most vocal critics of her “fat” classmates. It’s an encouraging message of hope for those who are looking to overcome the demons that have plagued obese kids long into their adulthood. That’s all coming up next week on “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.”
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The Mayo Clinic Brothers founding partner, I’m sorry I don’t know his name but his studies centered on the Thyroid Gland and Thyroid Diseases, Hypothyroid and Hyperthyroid Disease, often called Graves Disease and named for it’s discover Dr. Graves. — Mayo dates from the late 1850’s and early 1900’s. The Mayo Brothers themselves Operated extensively on the Thyroid Gland from early on and treatment and research and studies have been ongoing ever since.
From day one The Mayo Clinic has been dealing with Thyroid Disease and it’s effect on our brains and mental disease as well as organic brain disease.
To this day The Mayo Clinic remains the eminent source of Thyroid Disease Treatment.
From roughly 1850 until 1950 the prevalence of thyroid disorders throughout the Midwest Region of The United States as opposed to Coastal Regions near salt water was thought to be linked to a lack of Iodine in our diets because of the distance from the central United States to the oceans and salt water fish and seafood which has always been a mainstay for coastal tribes and nations and people and has lots of iodine.
Iodine was thought to be far less a part on the inland diet as the ocean peoples diet. — So they added Iodine to salt to help this problem as well as Rickets if I’m not mistaken as well as Scurvy.
This was then thought to be wrong and pretty much disproved from about 1950 through to our present time. — It is now again, an unknown as to the cause of these Thyroid Disease’s.
According to this Doctor you are interviewing Omega Three’s and cold water ocean fish have profound effects on our brains and glands and hormones.
Could this be the thing that was lacking and making what appeared to be more Thyroid Disease throughout the Midwest, rather than lack of Iodine?
http://www.mayoclinic.org/graves-disease/research.html
http://www.emro.who.int/publications/EMHJ/1103/article24.htm
Different day, same question. Wonder why the Japanese have lower Alzheimers rate than we do even though they eat polished rice all day long.
I doubt if it’s genetics since when they move here they have as much Alzheimers as we do, and in some places, like Hawaii, they have more than we do. And supposedly the lowest Alzheimer’s rate seems to be in places in India where they don’t have a word for low carb.
I don’t have any answers, it just doesn’t seem as simple as carbs are bad for your brain, just like Taubes’s law: carbs drives insulin drives fat accumulation doesn’t seem to apply to Asians either, except the ones that move here. His explanation, ITSS(it’s the sugar,stupid), might be right , though I can’t find any data. It used to be the Japanese ate brown rice and couldn’t get enough to eat as Taubes points out in his book, but my impression is those days are long gone and they still have a 2% obesity rate.
Still, very interesting show. Thanks, Jimmy,
Stumped in Oregon.
How about I ask Dr. McCleary to respond on the brain function and carbs question, Peter?
–Jimmy
Yes, I would love to know what he thinks. Peter
Okay, Peter, I just heard back from Dr. McCleary about your question:
I think that there are several potential factors. They include activity, calories, and quality of carbs. In this instance I believe the main factor is the lower level of fructose in their diet. Starchy foods raise insulin levels and can lead to metabolic problems. When this is the only factor and calories are not excessive, the body can deal with it fairly well.
However, if you mix in fructose (HFCS and sucrose) the combination of elevated insulin levels, insulin resistance and a persistent dietary consumption of fructose makes the metabolic situation much worse. For example, if one looks at brain atrophy (shrinkage), hypertension and smoking are major contributors.
However, fructose consumption surpasses them both as a risk factor for brain atrophy! Brain atrophy is a consistent finding in Alzheimer disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. I believe that fructose plays a role both by its peripheral metabolic effects as well as its unique ability to glycate proteins and cause oxidative stress. It does this 10X as efficiently as glucose does. Glycation is linked with brain atrophy and inflammation.
If you mix in the impact of elevated insulin levels and insulin resistance, then the brain is more severely impacted. I believe this (lower fructose consumption) is the primary factor for the lower incidence of AD in Japan in the face of a high rice diet.
Thanks,
Larry
Another excellent program! I’m almost through all of your podcasts….and just when I think “my brain is full”, you pull out another great episode.
Thanks so much!
Glad you enjoyed it, Angela! There’s more where that came from too for the rest of 2009!
–Jimmy