The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan: Boost Brain Performance, Lose Weight, and Achieve Optimal Health

by David Perlmutter, Kristin Loberg

The official guide to Dr. David Perlmutter's revolutionary approach to vibrant health as described in his New York Times bestsellers Grain Brain , The Grain Brain Cookbook , and Brain Makeri>.

With more than a million copies sold worldwide, Dr. Perlmutter's books have changed many lives. Now, he's created a practical, comprehensive program that lowers the risk for brain ailments while yielding other benefits, such as weight loss, relief from chronic conditions, and total body rejuvenation. Science-based and highly accessible, The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan expands upon the core advice from Dr. Perlmutter's previous works, and introduces new information about the advantages of eating more fat, fewer carbs, and nurturing the microbiome. Including original recipes, tips and tricks for common challenges, meal plans, and advice on everything from sleep hygiene to stress management, exercise, supplements, and more, The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan shows how to live happily and healthily ever after.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Food, Nutrition, Self Help, Science, Brain

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2016

About the author

Dr. Perlmutter is a Board-Certified Neurologist and four-time New York Times bestselling author. He serves on the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition.

Dr. Perlmutter received his M.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine where he was awarded the Leonard G. Rowntree Research Award. He serves as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals including Archives of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and The Journal of Applied Nutrition. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at symposia sponsored by institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, Columbia University, Scripps Institute, New York University, and Harvard University, and serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

His books have been published in 34 languages and include the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain, The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar, with over 1 million copies in print. Other New York Times bestsellers include Brain Maker, The Grain Brain Cookbook, and The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan. He is the editor of the upcoming collection The Microbiome and the Brain that will be authored by top experts in the field and will be published in late 2019 by CRC Press. He has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated television programs including 20/20, Larry King Live, CNN, Fox News, Fox and Friends, The Today Show, Oprah, The Dr. Oz Show and The CBS Early Show.

Dr. Perlmutter is also the recipient of numerous awards, including: the Linus Pauling Award for his innovative approaches to neurological disorders; the National Nutritional Foods Association Clinician of the Year Award, the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American College of Nutrition, and most recently the 2019 Global Leadership Award from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium.

Reviews

[Lisa of Troy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed by a Celiac and Gluten Intolerant

The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan is an overall health system covering diet, exercise, sleep, and supplements.

My favorite Celiac (aside from myself) recommended this book, and I was so excited to hear about how gluten can cause other problems. However, this book was very misleading.

My major complaints:
*This book is poorly referenced. The author has a list of references in the back of the book, but there are no footnotes.
*The author is a neuroscientist. He is not a nutritionist, sleep doctor, physical therapist or GI doctor. I am just as qualified (if not more so to give advice).
*The author talks about the microbiome. The microbiome can be impacted by poor quality sleep and stress.
*The author states to cut out gluten immediately. Please do not do this! Again. Please do NOT just cut out gluten. I am both gluten intolerant and Celiac. For gluten intolerance, there is a very simple blood test. However, it will not be accurate if you stop consuming gluten. Celiac Disease is actually genetic. It is caused by 2 genes (you only need one to be Celiac). However, even if you have one or both genes, it does not necessarily mean that you are Celiac because the gene has to be triggered or activated. Activation usually occurs through a stressful event (such as pregnancy or experiencing boot camp). The gene test is not considered definitive by the medical community. The definitive test is taking a small stomach biopsy. Again, it can only be performed if you are still consuming gluten.
*The exercise plan is a JOKE! Again, this gentleman is completely unqualified. Celiac Disease is actually HIGHLY correlated to POTS and EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). For POTS, there is a prescribed exercise plan called The Levine Protocol. It is designed to very slowly recondition your heart. Here is the link to the Levine Protocol:
https://www.dysautonomiainternational...
If you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I would highly, highly recommend the book "Living Life to the Fullest with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Guide to Living a Better Quality of Life While Having EDS." That book is actually written by a physical therapist, someone who is actually qualified to give this advice. The composition of one's body is completely different with EDS (collagen production and elastic materials are different). Please, please don't rely on the author's recommendations and get yourself hurt.
*Going gluten-free will NOT cause weight loss. Studies have shown that most gluten-free food actually contains higher calories. One study said on average 20% more calories! So if you eat a sandwich every day and just swap out the bread for gluten free bread, you will put on additional pounds. The author kept saying how much weight you can lose. That isn't true. How you lose weight is instead of eating that sandwich, you will have to start skipping the sandwich and eating salad. Or eat half a sandwich and a small salad.
*The author talks about Keto. This diet doesn't even follow his own diet plan. Perlmutter kept talking about low-carb, but then he talks about covering 75% of your plate in vegetables. Ok. Let's back up. All food is composed of either fat, protein, or carbohydrates (or usually a combination of all three). Vegetables are largely composed of carbohydrates! Most people on the Keto diet cannot eat that many vegetables because it is too much in carbohydrates. So Perlmutter is advocating a diet that is in direct opposition to his own diet plan.
*Alzheimer's Disease - The information was extremely misleading. Alzheimer's Disease is cased by plaque accumulating on the brain. When we sleep at night (for a full 8 hours), that plaque gets removed, thus, lowering our risk of Alzheimer's.
*The author was trying to argue that the use of antibiotics causes diabetes by showing two graphs showing that the use of antibiotics is correlated to getting diabetes. What the author fails to realize is that the overuse of antibiotics is in the more economically depressed regions of the US. Antibiotics are used to treat infections. If a person goes into the ER and has a urine catheter put in, the odds are very high that antibiotics will be used. The poor are more likely to develop infections. The poor are also more likely to develop diabetes (good quality food is more expensive). Therefore, taking antibiotics does NOT mean that you are going to develop diabetes. It just like carrying an umbrella doesn't mean that it causes rain.
*Perlmutter talks so much about his website that it comes off as slimy. I felt like I was reading a Tony Robbins book.

Overall, do not waste your time or money on this book. Instead, I would highly recommend "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker or "Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting" by Lisa Genova. If you have any questions about Celiac Disease, please contact me or any Celiac person, and we would be happy to help. I have never met another Celiac person who wasn't eager and excited to help out.

2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities

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[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This type of diet seems to all the rage lately. I've read other books with the same push towards eliminating gluten, grains, and sugar, and other things from the diet, but they are all called by different names. What I'm grateful for is that we live in a world where research is constantly ongoing in this area. I have a friend who has done this and she lost 40 pounds but found that this particular diet was hard to sustain. While she is currently not 100% "on plan", she has made some permanent changes and hasn't gained back any of the weight.

I think the info was presented well in this book. It wasn't boring. But what I absolutely disliked, was the constant reference to the author's website. It started sounding like an infomercial for his website.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Information in this book was extensively researched. However, as a nutritionist, I'm not convinced this is something that will be incorporated into people's lives. My concerns with the program are lack of fruit and beans. Also, I'm concerned about the recommendation for fasts including a 72 hour fast. Finally, the incorporation of supplements is of concern due to the difficulty with compliance. The book is written decently and while the program is interesting, and may be effective, it's just not realistic. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

[Kari Olfert · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know you have a good book when you are convinced within the first chapter to completely change your diet and cut out sugar, gluten and carbs I don't even know who I am anymore 😁, welcome to Grain Brain Whole Life Plan. This one isn't the meal plan version, it's the tips and tricks for how to apply (make more money from a similarly themed book :)) the diet.

If you want to feel bad for your food choices and justify jumping on the gluten train 🚂 choo choo, this is your next read.

There's a chapter for how to deal with the haters, you know the evil gluten eaters that are going to try and convince you that you're crazy now that you're gluten free and want to bring you back to the dark side. They'll tell you things like mmm donuts and yummy fries but don't be fooled because you know how evolved the next 3 generations of your genes will be because of your new diet...lifestyle! Brainwashing, I mean educating at its finest.

Come join us....at the high energy, disease free, healthy table (insert button eyes, sideways head leans and identical but hypnotic smiles here).

[Ventzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A number of the ideas presented in the book I’ve found in other, much better scientifically grounded publications. It’s certainly important to take care of one’s microbiome and there is evidence out there that gluten, sugar and processed fats are detrimental to health.
I find it difficult to endorse this book, however. It’s very formulaic, dogmatic and sounds like a televangelist on steroids. I hate it when a scientist tries to convince the masses of the truth in scientific discovery through isolated personal interest stories. On top of it all, we’re to believe that all sorts of as-of-yet not understood illnesses are to be successfully cured by avoiding certain foods, taking food supplements, sleeping and exercising regularly. And, of course, if the Whole Life Plan doesn’t work for us, well, we must be truly and deeply sick and need integrative medicine to help us lest we kick the bucket prematurely. huh…
As a European, I can also rant for hours on the blinders-on US-centricity of this book. There are a few strategic references to the rest of the world sprinkled in, but largely non-Americans need not apply. There are zero comments on how the French manage to be significantly healthier than the US population, despite their love affair with croissants and crepes (not to speak of all the flour-based sauces). And what about the Italians with the mountains of pasta and fields of pizza they ingest on a regular basis? He also curiously omits to mention L. bulgaricus—a staple yoghourt bacteria and the reason behind the Japanese’s deep love for Bulgarian yoghourt and trust in its healths benefits.
Finally, I wonder about his repeated recommendation to drink coffee and tea. As a neurologist, he ought to be familiar with the available research on the detrimental effect caffeine has on the brain and the connection between caffeine and mood disorders, particularly anxiety/panic attacks for a measurable portion of the human population.

In all, if you are impressionable and find science difficult to comprehend, this might be a book for you. It might not be the best advice out there, but it’s got good sides and I don’t think it would hurt you.
If, on the other hand, you—like me—get GERD from people who’d like you to trust them with your wellbeing just because they are who they are, you’d be wasting your time with this book. (Or at least get a paper copy so you can use it in the toilet.) There are many other books with a ton of hard science in them, properly citing large meta studies on the subject—you can draw your own conclusions well enough.
The Case against Sugar, The Vegetarian Myth, The Big Fat Surprise, The Omnivore’s Dilemma are just a few of the books I’d suggest.

[Konstantin Okonechnikov · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got curious about the book since it was an automatic goodreads recommendation due to my interest in brain research. It seemed to be very popular and the author has a PhD. However, during reading I immediately came across strange issues like citations without structure, repeating author’s web-page several times in each chapter (!) and making statements without confirmation. Final mark for me was anti-GMO hypothesis based on 1-2 citations and ignoring hundreds of positive research results. I googled a bit and quite fast found that the book goes forward pseudo-science. Sad to see that such work uses special tricks to become popular. At least the author tries to keep the idea that science is important.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.

Dr. Perlmutter definitely knows his stuff. If you aren't familiar with him I'd check out his podcast on Bulletproof Radio (https://blog.bulletproof.com/connecti...) before buying this book just to get a good feel for him.

This book is a great introduction to ketogenic/paleo diets. It covers the basics with much less dogma than many keto/paleo books. Dr. Perlmutter tries to use clinical practice and studies to justify his recommendations (unlike other people who merely state something is good because primal people did it).

In trying to be unbiased the author sometimes points out areas of potential conflict. That being said, there were a couple of times where he recommended things that seemed like they could cause problems in certain populations without addressing the fact that other reasonable people are recommending against what he proposes. Namely, he recommends high fiber/low carb diets even when other professionals state that these might be bad for certain microbiomes. For example, if you have dysbiosis it might be a bad idea to go high fiber as you might proliferate your bad bacteria (Dr. Grace Liu proposes this). Additionally, low carb diets when maintained long term have been blamed for killing good bacteria (along with the bad). While I agree with the bulk of the book, I would have liked for the author to have explained away these criticisms.

Part of the problem might be that this book is not as dense as I'd like, especially considering that I am familiar with most of its concepts already from other books/podcasts. The author might have explained the points I take issues with above in sections that I skipped over as I was already familiar with his proposal. I could also be misinterpreting was the author means by high fiber/low carb as his podcast seems to point to a less low carb approach than I was picturing when reading the book.

All in all people who are new to lower carb diets would be wise to pick up this book.

[Patve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Más de lo mismo....
Encima con capítulos de autoayuda espiritual... puajj !!!
Lo siento pero, puedo valorar que me recomienden cómo y qué comer con fundamentos científicos ...
pero jamás cómo y qué pensar y sentir con respecto a mi vida...

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read for a well researched and referenced book. It explains the diet along with the what, where, WHY, and how to. The inspiring quotes and stories where also great to motivate you towards your life goals. We are what we eat and we have choices, it's up to us to take control of how we want to look and feel and this book provides the blueprint.

[Irene Stanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just not sure this is the way to go. I recently read "How Not to Die" which makes more sense to me. Perlmutter isn't keen on grains and loves eggs, and that's opposite of what Gregor believes. They both advocate for eating plants and lots of them, and I'm a huge believer in that so I start there!

[Allison Coombs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this book. It was hard to make it through. A lot of the chapters contained common sense information and information that wasn’t needed. For a gluten free book, I do not need information on working g out or what to do if I was pregnant.

[Chandler Ashcraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes some interesting points but also don’t know if Dr. Perlmutter is only using data and reviews that prove his “method” works and purposely omitting the other information. Like yeah of course limiting everything unhealthy and only eating a small variety of organic food is going to cause you to feel better, this is not new information. Would need to do my own research on some components he brings up such as daily protein intake, etc. The recipes in the back of the back will be good to have when I don’t have any idea what to make so that’ll be interesting.

[Ashley Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great information in this book, perfect for someone that is experiencing brain fog and digestive disorders and those with MTHFR or thyroid conditions.

[Christopher Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Are The Most Important Person In The World

The purpose of THE GRAIN BRAIN WHOLE LIFE PLAN is to follow up on the author's prior best-seller, and show the reader how to put the doctor's ideas into practice. That is, this is a practical book--not so much a theory book as his prior book: "The main purpose of this book is to help you put my ideas into practice in the real world and to show you that living your best life is about much more than what you put in your mouth." Additionally, Dr. Perlmutter includes some updated information on more ways of "eating more fat and fiber, consuming fewer carbs and protein, evicting gluten forever, and catering to your intestinal flora."

Here's how the book is laid out: Part I of the book reviews, for those new to his program, the concepts: "Part I explains the what, why, and how of the program. I’ll detail the ground rules, present new data, and offer a 3-step framework that will help you execute my recommendations." Part II provides the details on how to use his program, and which foods to eat. Part III includes "final tips and reminders," plus snack suggestions, shopping lists, and also the 14-day meal plan with recipes.

To start, the doctor sets a backdrop to review WHY this plan is needed. Why do Americans need to change at all? The author explains the sad state of American health. In particular, a huge number of people suffer from some sort of mental illness: "The United States is among the ten wealthiest Western nations where death from brain disease, most commonly dementia, has skyrocketed over the past twenty years. . . 5.4 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is predicted to double by the year 2030!"

For those not familiar with the author's prior book explaining his plan, the doctor gives an overview of the diet. It's called a "ketogenic" diet, which means that 80 to 90 percent of calories from fat, and the rest from fibrous carbohydrates and high-quality protein. Instead of a meals having a big protein-packed entree, with small side dishes, this plan calls quite a drastic change. The main entrée is mostly "fibrous, colorful, nutrient-dense whole fruits and vegetables that grow above ground, with protein as a side dish." Other key features of the plan are: low-carb, higher fat and fiber, avoidance of gluten and sugar, and lots of "the incredible egg."

Besides just diet, the author provides a lot of tips on exercise. I actually thought the exercise tips were just as good as the diet tips. The doctor cites studies showing huge reduction in Alzheimer's for those at high levels of exercise: "Those at the highest level of exercise activity experienced an incredible reduction of risk for Alzheimer’s of 50 percent when compared to those who were more sedentary." I thought the best exercise tip was this: "Establish An Exercise Routine You Can Sustain." He points out that the problem people have with exercise is not just starting it, but continuing it.

The latter part of the book contains "Final Reminders." For example, "Drink Water Throughout the Day," and "Find a Partner" who shares your goals. In terms of eating, the author reminds us to "Make Vegetables Your Centerpiece. . . . A full three-quarters of your plate should be filled with fibrous, colorful, nutrient-dense whole vegetables that grow above ground."

Since I love to eat sweets (especially chocolate!), I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of healthy snack ideas. He suggests snacks such as "a handful of raw nuts, olives, and/ or seeds (no peanuts), a few squares of dark chocolate (anything above 70 percent cacao) • chopped raw vegetables, or hard-boiled eggs.

I was especially happy to see protein bars on the list of snacks. From the author's recipe online, here are the secret ingredients for a recommended protein bar:
• 2C almonds – soaked overnight
• 2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1/2C shredded coconut
• 1/2C nut butter or coconut butter
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2C pastured butter or coconut oil or a blend of the two (melted)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Stevia, to taste (optional)
• Cacao chips (chopped, optional)

Besides the snacks, I just had to try one of the desserts listed. (See the video.)

All in all, I found THE GRAIN BRAIN WHOLE LIFE PLAN to be a useful, and encouraging book. The book is easy to read and nicely laid out. From similar books, I was already aware of many of the doctor's ideas, but it was good to have them reinforced. There is a useful Bibliography at the end, containing helpful reference information; for example, links to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.
For more views like this, see: https://www.bassocantor.com

[Jason Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book expands beautifully on Dr. David Perlmutter's previous work. The great thing about this book is its practical approach for living an optimal lifestyle. Not only does he explain the science behind the low-carb high-fat diet, but also exercise and recipe tips that are very useful. I recommend this book to anybody who is overweight or has psychological issues. Once upon a time I was a vegetarian and part-time vegan, for six years actually. But over that time I didn't notice that my diet had become too intellectual and I was not listening to what my body needed. I must thank people like Dr. David Perlmutter for transforming my diet and giving me a new level of health for the last four years. A must have book for those who are health conscious.

[Renee' · Rating 5 out of 5]

A follow-up book to the Grain Brain, this book details how to live a life full of health, peace and care for your body. Dr. Perlmutter gives the science behind the research and reasoning why this lifestyle is beneficial to our bodies. Excellent book. Simple to follow, yummy recipes, encouraging.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy read and had some good information in it. However, compared to what I have been reading currently, the dietary information is already outdated. I would recommend Eat Fat, Get Thin by Dr Mark Hyman or 10 Reasons You Feel Old and Get Fat by Dr Frank Lipman as more current dietary information.

[Lauren Roemer Boehm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skip Grain Brain and the Grain Brain Cookbook as this Whole Life Plan was an awesome, more useful summary of both. The Whole Life Plan quickly summarizes the important points like how ketones help burn fat, how leaky gut impacts health and how gluten can cause inflammation. Less anecdotal than Grain Brain.

[Ryan West · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you have read Grain Brain and Brain Maker then trust me when I say you can skip this one, unless you'd like to reread passages that have quite literally been cut and pasted from the first two works. Nothing new here.

[Harold Mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting ideas, but the plan is too difficult for me to implement. I do not want to spend hours in the kitchen. I come away with a stronger resolve to cut refined sugar out of my diet. I also plan to eat more eggs. That's about it for my dietary changes.

[Jill Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably 2 1/2 stars. A lot like the previous book.

[Han Song]

I am not rating this book because I actually did not finish it. I simply dont promote evict gluten in diet unless you have celiac disease. I stopped at chapter 2.

[Maggie]

Interesting-ish. But not for me.

Also, if sugar is strictly verboten, how can dark chocolate ever be allowed?

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read Grain Brain, no need to read this.

[Kate]

Hmmm. . .not sure

[María Seijas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Más de lo mismo...una vez leído Cerebro de pan, esto es redundancia.

[Chris Torretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have all been dieting off an on for years. It's so difficult to tell when a book is going to hit the mark, especially since everyone's body is different, and when a book is going to flop completely.

To be honest, I started thinking this may be a flop. I read it with an open mind and when I got to the recipes we were honest about trying them. Right from the beginning there is a feeling of importance of of putting YOURSELF first. How many times have we been told this just to forget it two days (two minutes?) later? This is all about putting yourself first in every way!

And although it is mostly a diet book, it is about becoming your best you through your diet. My favorite meal from this, and the most different from my norm is a salad for breakfast. As strange as this sounds, it is delicious! The secret, an olive oil, lemon dressing. Omg I am in love!

Now, don't go thinking that I'm perfect by eating salad for breakfast, because I'm far from it. I just happen to love lemon so I got really lucky with this one! In all honesty, dropping out gluten is difficult but my most difficult has been dropping out sugar. Sugar is MY LIFE but sadly sugar isn't really life so I've been trying to slowly cut down on sugar, one teaspoon at a time. Hey, I eat salad for breakfast! What more do you want Dr. Perlmutter?! Well, don't answer that, because I know what he wants, for me and everyone out there to be completely cognizant of what we put into our mouths and how those choices affect our lives.

When my husband and I started on this diet we edited instead of deciding to change everything. Although the lifestyle is something that we think we can handle, it is tough. We have been watching what we eat but it is really to say that when you watch all that yummy bread going into your mouth! What I wanted to do is make a change that was satisfying as well as yummy. This just happens to hit both of those points.

Weirdly, eating the food is the easy part, finding stuff that is gluten free, not so much! I had no idea how difficult it can be to try to get out there and find gluten free anything. But since we started this we have both lost all of the weight we gained in our sedentary lifestyle last year! My hubby is down 35 pounds and I'm down 15! Although I'm surprised I didn't gain it back while on my Disney vacation. Guys, the food there!!!

While people will go back and forth about how this diet may not be for everyone and we can debate until the cows come home (which is about 5 pm on our farm), what I have noticed is the ability to want to eat healthier. I enjoy food, not all, but I do enjoy salads more. Even in winter! Shifting our perceptions of what we should be eating from the pyramid that we've been taught the last forty years, to a healthier diet is what matters but each body is different so while I enjoy Dr. Perlmutter's expert advice you may want to take it with a grain of salt (hahahaha) but I definitely suggest at the very least trying it.

More pics and meals to come as we work further through his cookbook which we recently purchased!

[Jonathan O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book looking for a new diet plan and a focus on brain and gut health. Readers will find this book's diet plan similar to keto or Whole 30, though it's a little more relaxed on dairy and probably stricter on gluten. I like the emphasis the author places on gut health and how he links that to brain health and overall wellness. I think his plan is very workable and I am on my second day of implementing it. I am feeling very well already. I do not eat a lot of high sugar snacks or drink anything except water, coffee, and beer, so minus the beer, this is a fairly simple plan for me to implement. I am also going to do the supplements he suggests for brain health on page 122. I like the lists of things to avoid and things to stick up on and I snapped pictures of both, in addition to some recipes, before I went to the grocery store. It's a simple way to have the information you need at your fingertips. I feel like the key for me is pretty much always having a snack on hand that I nibble on if I have a craving, and he has some good ideas for snacks. Also, the recipes seem easy enough and yet complex enough to make you feel like you're eating very well. I will miss my beer, but it's nice to have cheese on the menu which is something that Whole 30 cuts out, though I have had success eating that way in the past. I feel like Whole 30 was not diverse enough for me which was likely just me not getting into the recipes deep enough, but since I am a middle-aged man, I am wanting a little different approach that incorporates some ideas for gut health and an emphasis on brain and mental health. This seems like the right fit. I have had some acid reflux lately, which is unusual for me, and that is what is driving my determination to make some diet changes, that and some inflammation in my back and shoulders, and some extra pounds that need to come off. I am planning to revisit this review and add an update on how it has gone.

[KB]

I read Grain Brain in 2016 and skim-read this as a follow-up Jan. 2024.

I found some good information in both, but I do have a few caveats:
1. Everyone's bodies/genetics are different, so in regard to what food is best to eat, I take any "one-size-fits-all" approach with a grain of salt.
2. Some of the advice seems hard-line, with little room for error and might be difficult for a lot of folks to follow religiously out in the "real world."
3. The daily schedule on page 174 does not leave much time for things outside of the daily grind.

That said, I gleaned some interesting and/or helpful tidbits of information:
p. 68-76 (Getting Started) - An overview of the plan, including a 20 question assessment quiz.
p. 88-102 - Good/Bad/Ugly Food choices - Spoiler Alert - the good consists of: Specific vegetables, Low-sugar fruits, Fermented foods, and Healthy fats (i.e. avocado, coconut, olive, sesame and their oils, MCT, nuts and their butters, seeds.
p. 129-131 - Exercises - Shoulders Basic Lifts, Triceps Ext, Bicep Curl, Classic Push-ups, Lats Wide Row, Thigh/Quad Lunges, Calves Tippy-Toes, Core Classic Sit-Ups, Core Bicycle Crunch
p. 133-136 - A great technique to relieve piriformis syndrome (aampr org)
p. 143-164 - Social Support (love) and Healthy Environment
p. 166-174 - Timing (planning the "when" of it all)
p. 196-199 - Basic shopping list and snack suggestions
p. 203-207 - 14 Day Sample Menu
p. 210-260 - Recipes!! (I'm looking forward to the Coconut Pudding on p. 258 - easy and yum!)

*** 3.5 STARS ***

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really hate books that tell you how to get your body healthy in a world that offers poison at every meal . . . temptations on every TV commercial, unknown foods at every celebration, hidden ingredients on every beautiful menu. I got tired of caring and ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted . . . I put on weight, I retired & put on more weight . . . weight has always been a safety measure for me - unattractive when I wished I were attractive but safe. I don't know how to protect myself from the abuse of the world. I stay away from most people because I don't want to have to defend myself all the time . . .
I listened to this book several times. I will not follow all the directions because every book/every doctor is selling his truth as THE TRUTH. But I will do some of the things because they make sense . . . But there is no way I can or will do it all. I have given up gluten for several years now but I've found substitutes that are nearly as bad . . . And I knew it at some level. Everyone said give up wheat and lose the weight. I didn't lose weight. I was eating the same way just without wheat . . .