My Unremarkable Brain

A while ago, I posted some thoughts on how all of these popular diets — paleo, vegan, carnivore, plant-based, IF, low-carb, and so on — have a way of becoming belief systems.  People read about it, buy in, join a Facebook group, and soon their new way of eating becomes a complete way of life.  “I eat paleo” becomes “I am paleo.” It’s an identity, a tribe, a religion. But this is not the first time diet and religion have crossed paths in American popular culture.  Gary Taubes, in his incredible book Why We Get Fat, And What to Do About It posits that much of our belief about weight gain today comes from religion, not science.  We see obesity as the “wages” for the dual sins of gluttony and sloth .  All it takes to lose weight, we are told, is to eat less and move more.  If you’re heavy, then it means you’ve failed this simple task, given in to your base, heathen urges.  That spare tire of yours? It’s the scarlet letter that you deserve for ...

It may seem strange that diet would have anything to do with brain health or epilepsy.  But as Dr. Georgia Ede, in a talk at this year’s Low Carb Down Under conference  quipped, “studies have shown conclusively that the head is, in fact, part of the body.”  Funny, isn’t it, that we kind of forget that?  The brain, though only weighing a few pounds, consumes about 20% of our energy .  So how could our diet NOT effect our brain health?   Here’s a broad overview of the connection between food and seizures, in terms that even my unremarkable brain can understand. Your Body is a Hybrid My buddy Rich has a Chevy Volt, of which he’s inordinately fond.  It plugs into the wall, and the battery allows it to run 30 miles on electricity alone.  When the electricity runs out, it’s got a gasoline engine that kicks in as a backup.  In this way, Rich can go as far as he needs to go, using a combination of fuels.   Just li...

I recently heard an interview with Dr. Jason Fung, author of The Obesity Code , in which he explained that people trying to lose weight should avoid orange juice because of its high sugar content. "But wait," the interviewer interrupted. "What about vitamin C?" "Are you suffering from scurvy?" Fung fired back.  "If you’re malnourished, then yes, by all means drink the orange juice.  But if you’re trying to lose weight, juice is not your friend."  The question we often lose sight of, he went on to say, is this one: "What problem are you trying to solve?" I love this question.  Like Ernest Hemingway’s famous "bullshit detector," it has the power to help us navigate the muddy, manure-rich field of nutrition today.  We are constantly getting ideas and advice thrown at us, and it often conflicts with the advice we got yesterday.  Eat coconut oil, don’t eat coconut oil.  Drink coffee, don’t drink coffee.  It’s maddening...

As a middle-aged rower and “fathlete,” I’m always looking for ways to drop a few pounds, gain some performance, have more energy, and be one step closer to becoming the Men’s Health cover model that I know I’m destined to be. My meanderings to find the right diet have led me down several paths over the years.  Usually it works like this: I’ll find a new diet or program, get all excited about it, read the book, buy the materials, throw myself in, commit really hard for a while, stumble, get frustrated, give up, and then find something else.  It’s the diet merry-go-round, and I’ve taken many trips.  Here’s a little sampling of the diets I’ve tried, in no particular order: The Fat Smash Diet The Biggest Loser Diet The Three Season Diet Weight Watchers (twice) SparkPeople MyFitnessPal FitBit (not a diet, I know, but let’s throw it in for good measure) The Wild Diet The Primal Diet The Abs Diet The Calorie Myth The Fast Metabolism Diet Clean Eating...

“I like your pin,” Judy says.  “Is that… bacon?” We are sitting in a bright, modern examination room with Dr. Mackenzie Cervenka, Director of the Adult Epilepsy Diet Center at Johns Hopkins.  She is young and energetic, with a kind and welcoming demeanor that immediately puts me at ease.  She is also wearing, on the lapel of her white lab coat, a shiny pin featuring two reddish-brown squiggles. “Yep!” beams the doc.  “We love bacon around here.” She goes on to tell excitedly about her latest supermarket find: a frozen pack of mini hot dogs wrapped in bacon.  Just pop ‘em in the oven and enjoy! My eyes get wide.  The heavens open up.  Angels sing.  I have finally found the diet for me!  All these years on the pick-a-diet Wheel of Fortune.  All these years trying low cal, low fat, points-counting, meal-timing, macros-tracking, hormone-optimizing, and every other crazy thing out there.  And all along, it was right in front...