http://undergroundwellness.com/330/
I have two small quibbles, should I write them before you listen? Oh heck why not, see if you agree with me. First of all I am thrilled this perspective is making it into the main stream, to which I say "took long enough!" (leading to quibble # 1)
1. we have known anecdotally "all disease begins in the gut" since Hippocrates, with diet oriented health care professionals of recent times reversing disease and teaching the conditions of robust health using this exact approach. Dr. Perlmutter, IMHO, does not do enough to credit the pioneers in this field who came before him, taking most of the credit for recent establishment docs and researchers learning about the importance of "gut flora". They are learning about it in more detail, a good thing, but it can also be misleading. (leading to quibble # 2)
I have two small quibbles, should I write them before you listen? Oh heck why not, see if you agree with me. First of all I am thrilled this perspective is making it into the main stream, to which I say "took long enough!" (leading to quibble # 1)
1. we have known anecdotally "all disease begins in the gut" since Hippocrates, with diet oriented health care professionals of recent times reversing disease and teaching the conditions of robust health using this exact approach. Dr. Perlmutter, IMHO, does not do enough to credit the pioneers in this field who came before him, taking most of the credit for recent establishment docs and researchers learning about the importance of "gut flora". They are learning about it in more detail, a good thing, but it can also be misleading. (leading to quibble # 2)
2. Dr. Perlmutter does not make clear enough in this interview (hopefully he does in the book) the actual cause of whole body health (including the brain) is simply a very fiber rich diet, based on consumption of predominately fresh whole ripe raw organic fruits and vegetables. Too simple? it might seem so, but in fact it is not. If all of us ate this diet (of predominately fresh whole ripe raw organic fruits and vegetables) the medical industry would undergo a relative economic collapse! (perhaps this is why Dr. Permutter is somewhat obtuse on this point?)
Let me expand on this a bit. I am not saying eating a very fiber rich diet is psychologically simple - we have long established patterns going the other direction. I am only saying this is the primary "mechanical" cause of health, and from that perspective, yes, it is quite simple. Other things are, of course, also important --- enough good quality sleep - clean air and water - physical activity - love - sunshine - gratifying work.
another quibble relating to point 2, let's call it 2a:)
2a. Dr. Permutter goes on quite a bit about "fecal transplantation". I hope it can be shown to CURE AUTISM. That would be a true miracle, and one of the best medical advances of our lifetime. But it is still treating symptom, not cause! What caused gut flora degradation to begin with? Are we going to put patients on a life long (expensive) regimen of fecal transplants? No! We're going to tell them to modify diet and lifestyle choices to HEAL and MAINTAIN healthy gut flora.
It is not expensive or mechanically difficult to consume a diet that heals and maintains healthy gut flora. That is the bottom line for you and me.
