Carb Syndrome Blog Articles
New Study: High Glucose Levels Can Fry Your Brain
Those who know me well also know that I have been harping about the adverse affects of high glucose levels on brain function for years. It’s nice to see that the researchers are finally getting around to studying this important issue. In early August the New England...
Weston A. Price Starts a Food Fight—With the Wrong People!
Overall I agree with most of the tenants of the Weston A. Price foundation and I often enjoy reading their quarterly newsletter Wise Traditions. When I read the latest addition, my jaw virtually hit the floor! In her President’s message Sally Fallon Morell decided to discuss “Myths and Truths about the Weston A. Price Foundation” and she then proceeded to slice and die the Paleo diet for various errors and imagined sins including lack of saturated fat, too much lean protein and avoidance of dairy, grains and legumes. She virtually stuck a dagger in the heart of Loren Cordain for his views on what constitutes a healthy diet. On some levels her attack almost seemed personal.
Is Your Brain Two Quarts Low?
I know, a brain isn’t quite like a car engine, but stick with me on this one. I learned the hard way what happens when you run your car engine when it’s low on oil. Years ago I somehow ignored that little red light on the dashboard and I managed to fry the engine on...
Autism and Diet: Is There a Connection?
This week my article on this topic was published in the peer-reviewed North American Journal of Medicine and Science.
Crouching Tigers, Soda, Cigarettes and the Human Brain
Our brain evolved to immediately sense hidden dangers in our environment like crouching tigers. Our ancient ancestors who failed this simple test ended up on Darwin’s short list, failing to pass on their genes to the next generation. Items in our environment that...
Honey, I Blew Up the Field of Obesity Research!
This is the statement I made to my physician wife last night after finishing this blog post. Seriously, I really did blow it to smithereens. Probably the biggest weight loss myth is the fact that there’s really no such thing as a weight problem! Remember that obesity...
JAMA: Routine Health Checkups are Worthless
A recent article in JAMA titled General Health Checks in Adults for Reducing Morbidity and Mortality From Disease throws a wet blanket on the idea that going to your doctor for a 100,000 mile checkup does you any good. The authors concluded: “Compared with usual care, offers of health checks were not associated with lower rates of all-cause mortality, mortality from cardiovascular disease, or mortality from cancer. Health checks may be associated with more diagnoses and more drug treatment. Morbidity was infrequently reported, as were most harms, such as use of diagnostic procedures.”
Playing the Race Card with Common Diseases
When it comes to common chronic diseases like insulin resistance, obesity and type II diabetes, our government is very good at compiling statistics concerning the age, sex and race of people with these diseases. They also consider these diseases to be driven by poor lifestyle choices—eating too much calorie-dense food and not getting enough exercise. This perspective also implies that people with these disorders lack a certain level of self-control and discipline, more or less making a moral judgment.
Introducing…… Dr. Wilson’s Fabulous, Incredible, Remarkable, Stupendous, Out-of-this World Weight Loss Diet
Disclaimer: As a licensed physician, I feel some obligation to tell the truth. I actually filched a lot of this information from some really smart people, including Gary Taubes, Richard Johnson, Robert Lustig, Loren Cordain, Robb Wolf, Jimmy Moore and others. If you...
Neurotransmitter Precursors and CARB Syndrome
Virtually all common brain and psychiatric disorders are defined by a set of characteristic symptoms. There is no biological test for conditions like depression, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and similar conditions. Where do these symptoms come from?...
McDonald’s Smackdown
It doesn’t get any better than this. In one corner was heavyweight Don Thompson, the CEO of McDonald’s, one of the world’s most ubiquitous and powerful corporations. In the other corner was lightweight 9-year old Hannah Robertson, whose mother is a kid’s nutritional...
Psychiatric Tsunami: 1 in 5 Children Now Have a Mental Disorder
Last week the CDC released a report titled “Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2005–2011”. For the first time the US government has taken a close look at the incidence and prevalence of common childhood disorders such as ADHD, depression,...
Does a Healthy Diet Guarantee a Long Life?
The short answer is no. I am a strong believer in the importance of following a healthy diet. In my opinion the majority of the chronic illnesses that we see in our patients are driven by years of eating a poor diet. I encourage my patients to follow a low...
Can We Prevent PTSD After the Marathon Bombings?
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over – Once the dust has settled—when the international media have headed home and the acute injuries have been treated, patients injured in this tragic event face one more major hurdle—the prospect of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This disease can turn an acute stressful event into a lifetime of anxiety, stress, disability and dysfunction. PSTD can result from any type of physical or emotional trauma and is characterized by flashbacks, nightmares, heightened arousal, mood swings, anxiety, disrupted sleep patterns and avoidance of triggers. The symptoms are usually chronic and often disabling.
Boston, You’re My Home
I usually devote this blog to health issues. Today I want to discuss a different topic—the courage, resilience and toughness of a city—my home of Boston, Massachusetts. It’s been quite a week here in Boston. Despite living in this country for over six decades, I’ve...
The Mexican Paleo Paradox
We are spending three weeks at our condo in Mazatlan, Mexico. One reason we love staying here is because in addition to the great weather and friendly people, it’s extremely easy to eat Paleo in Mazatlan. At our home in Beverly, Massachusetts it’s sometimes...
The Curse of the Mummy: Heart Disease
A recent Lancet study titled “Atherosclerosis across 4000 years of human history: the Horus study of four ancient populations” purports to show that our ancient ancestors suffered from arteriosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries” just as we do. They concluded: “The...
Sugar: The Trojan Horse in Our Diet
When it comes to metabolic health, excessive fructose mainly from sugar and HFCS has certainly shown up on the radar screen over the past few decades. "Sugar Blues" was published in 1975, and since then sugar has periodically ended up on the “most wanted” list of bad...
Environment Trumps Genes Every Time
Those of you who have spent some time learning about the new disease Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome already know that I believe many common brain disorders are connected through a shared pathology. As a clinician, this is what I see...
Adderall and College Students – Performance Enhancement or Nightmare?
A recent story in the New York Times titled “Drowning in a Sea of Prescriptions” by Alan Schwarz outlined the sad story of Richard Fee, a 24-year old pre-medical student who hung himself after getting hooked on the prescription stimulant Adderall. It is truly a tragic...
Eating Disorders and Obesity – Are They Two Sides of the Same Coin?
On the surface eating disorders and obesity seem to be conditions that are polar opposites. A person with anorexia can die from lack of nutrition while a morbidly obese person can die from over-nutrition. The treatments for both conditions also seem to opposite from...
Obesity and Brain Dysfunction : A New Study Documents the Connection
I recently came across an important new study showing a strong association between obesity and poor overall health in adolescents. In this study obese adolescents had problems functioning in many settings including school, and the study also found that attention...
The Bottom Line on Booze: Alcohol and CARB Syndrome
Recently a visitor to this site submitted a question about alcohol consumption and CARB syndrome. It seems that her husband enjoys consuming alcohol beverages mixed with beverages like orange juice and sugary sodas and she has noticed that he seems to have developed...
We’re Not in Westwood Hills Anymore
When I was growing up in the Westwood Hills section of St. Louis Park Minnesota in the 1950s, my two best friends were Jimmy McNulty and Dale Erickson. From dawn to dusk we did virtually everything together. Riding our bikes for miles, sleepovers in tents in the back...
Newtown: Can We Make Sense of the Senseless?
When an almost unspeakable tragedy occurs like the recent murder of 20 innocent children and seven adults in Newtown, Connecticut, our first task is to absorb the event and then mourn for those lost and for their families and friends. Because of the nature of this crime, this process will take some time. Before the tears begin to dry, it’s also important to start asking the Who, How, Why and What questions in the important effort to try to prevent similar events in the future.
The Demise of the Twinkie
And What It Tells Us About the Addictive Properties of Fake Food Years ago when I was a nutritional virgin and life novice, I admit that I consumed my share of Twinkies and similar fare. No, they certainly weren’t ever a mainstay of my diet, but I was like most kids...
Are “Safe” Starches Really Safe?
Those of you who have spent some time on my web site know that my dietary recommendations for most people can be summarized in a short paragraph. Eliminate sugar and HFCS from your diet, keep your fructose intake below 25 grams per day, greatly reduce or eliminate...
Did a Sandwich Determine Our Next President?
I happen to be a staunch independent so please don’t interpret this blog as supporting one party or the other. Because my focus in on the relationship between food and brain function, I’m always a little curious about what the people at the top of the food chain are...
Can You Change Someone’s Life in 20 minutes?
Many of the patients I see in my work as a Hospitalist have spend the better part of their lives doing unhealthy things to bring them where they are today. Whether it’s smoking, drinking, eating a poor diet or lack of exercise, over time they all lead down the same...
The SPECT Scan Scam
Can You Really Diagnose Psychiatric Illnesses With a Scan?
Daniel Amen is a Psychiatrist who has made quite a name for himself—and a ton of money, by using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans to diagnose and manage patients with brain disorders. He claims that these expensive scans help him to make more accurate diagnoses and guide him in making proper treatment decisions. He is also a very good salesman, promoting his approach on late night Infomercials.
Fourteen Ways to Supercharge Your Brain
If you want to prevent or reverse food-induced brain dysfunction or CARB syndrome or if you are healthy and just want to perform at a higher level, you need to focus on enhancing your brain function. CARB syndrome is a new disease model based on the concept that...
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – Can You Have the Stress Without the Disorder?
PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder associated with severe stress, often generated by exposure to events such as war, sexual assault, abusive relationships and other types of mental and physical trauma. Certainly these events are stressful and traumatic to anyone that...
Gastric Bypass Surgery
Perhaps it’s More About Re-connecting with your Brain(s) Rather than Bypassing Your Stomach A recent article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled “Gastric bypass surgery for obesity decreases the reward value of a sweet-fat stimulus as assessed in a...
Why You Get Addicted to Sugar—And What to do About It
Over the years I noticed that many of my patients seem to be addicted to sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Despite my efforts to get them off these harmful substances, they often have a difficult time staying away from them. Addiction is defined as the...
You Are What You Eat—And Drink
A recent issue of the New England Journal of medicine contained a triple-header of articles demonstrating the adverse effects of sugar-sweetened beverages on weight and fat accumulation in children. The first article "Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Genetic Obesity...
Do Fat Kids Really Eat Less Than Their Normal Weight Peers?
A recently published article in Pediatrics titled “Self-Reported Energy Intake by Age in Overweight and Healthy-Weight Children in NHANES, 2001–2008” reported some rather startling findings. They used questionnaires to monitor the food intake of children from ages 1...
Why Your Diet May Be Frying Your Brain — And What To Do About It
After treating thousands of patients over the past few decades, it became obvious to me that poor dietary choices can adversely affect brain function, leading to a disease that I call Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. When I talk to...
Why You Get Fat and Depressed–And What to do About It
Over the years many clinical studies have shown that obesity and depression tend to be co-morbid. That means that they tend to occur together without necessarily having a cause and effect relationship. When conditions tend to occur together, scientists naturally want...
How Similar are Toxic Sugar and Alcohol
Dr. Mercola had a nice article recently focusing on the adverse effects of fructose. It is really well written. Below are thoughts on this article: Yes indeed, fructose does seem to be one of the most potent toxins in our modern environment. With tobacco and alcohol...
Monkeys on a High Carbohydrate, Low Fat Diet
A recent letter in the Journal Nature outlined the results of a long-term study on the effects of calorie restriction (CR) on longevity in rhesus monkeys. Click to read. You have probably already heard about the supposed benefits of restricting calories on length of...
Sugars Impact on Brain Function
Dr. Mercola recently published an article on Why Half of America May Have Impaired Brain Function by 2030. The following are my thoughts on this subject: Although we don’t fully understand how excessive fructose and high levels of glucose harm the brain, it is clear...
Pregnancy and CARB Syndrome
Dr. Mecola has recently written about how the microbes in a woman's "gut" changing during each trimester. He discusses the following: [framed_box] [list style="star"] Your Gut Microbes Change During Each Pregnancy Trimester to Support Fetal Growth Mom’s Gut Bacteria...
Vitamin D and CARB Syndrome
Just about everyone now knows about the important role that vitamin D plays in our overall health and wellbeing. Vitamin D has been in the headlines for years for good reasons. Vitamin D is critical for bone health and there is emerging evidence that vitamin D helps to prevent various cancers and common chronic diseases. It also helps to reduce the risk of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, obesity and type II diabetes. That’s a lot of work for a simple vitamin!
Dr. Mercola: Viruses aren’t always in the health field
“When Eugene Kaspersky, the founder of Europe’s largest antivirus company, discovered the Flame virus that is afflicting computers in Iran and the Middle East, he recognized it as a technologically sophisticated virus that only a government could create.
He also recognized that the virus, which he compares to the Stuxnet virus built by programmers employed by the United States and Israel, adds weight to his warnings of the grave dangers posed by governments that manufacture and release viruses on the internet.
Feed the Wolf: Play with the Pups. What Food Means to your Subconscious
Our conscious brain is our awareness brain. It’s our thoughts, our plans and our stories. It’s our thinking, logical brain where we laboriously work through problems step by step. But it’s not our most active brain—that would be our subconscious brain. Our subconscious brain works 24/7 processing information, solving problems and providing us with the “gut” instinct that drives many of our decisions. It performs these important tasks in the background without us being consciously aware of the process.
The Aurora Tragedy
The recent shootings in Aurora, Colorado are so fresh on our minds it’s hard to even write about the incident. It’s hard to imagine anything more tragic, meaningless, or painful. The reason I have decided to write about it is because I have some information that might be helpful to those who survived this tragic event.
People who witness such carnage are certainly at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and we should do everything possible to help people heal and move on. In this type of situation there is often one important element that is overlooked—food.
An Olympic Tale: Can Junk Food Impede Olympic Athletes’ Performance?
I suspect that many of you have spent a lot of time over the past few days like my family—glued to the TV watching the Olympics. The question comes to mind whether diet can adversely affect athletic performance.
Do You Really Need That 5-Hour Energy Drink?
5-Hour Energy Drink is now one of the most popular of a long line of energy enhancers. Is there really anything in this product that might enhance your energy levels in a reasonable way? The answer is somewhat nuanced. The first question you need to ask yourself is why do you need an energy drink in the first place? 5-Hour Energy Drink contains caffeine, a well-known energy enhancer. If you need a little caffeine, why not just go for a good cup of coffee? After all, it’s a lot cheaper.
Dr. Wilson’s readers reply
I want to thank you docww for standing up for doctors and answering these questions. You are a very caring person.
Thank You
Mercola: Pharmaceutical Drugs are 62,000 times more likely to kill you than supplements.
Official UK and EU data reveals that you are 900 times more likely to die from food poisoning than nutritional supplements, and compared to supplements, you’re 300,000 times more likely to die from a preventable medical injury during a hospital stay in the UK.
Adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs are 62,000 times more likely to kill you than food supplements, and 7,750 times more likely to kill you than herbal remedies.