It’s time for Five Snouts Up: March Edition. My loyal readers may recall that I use a snout-based rating system: (:)(:)(:)(:)(:) is the best — unlike the standard Google and Yelp ratings, I only give five snouts when I find that which I’m reviewing to be outstanding, (oops, except in the movie below 😅)
Book: In Grain Brain, by David Perlmutter, M.D. Perlmutter, a well-respected neurologist, walks us through the cause of an atmospheric rise in dementia and what we can do to stave it off. Since we recently saw a biological parent through a 10-year journey into dementia, I am particularly keen to improve my chances for a different experience. This book changed my eating and possibly the trajectory of my life.
According to Perlmutter, what corresponds with the rise of dementia, particularly in the United States, is the increase in corn syrup, other sugars, and gluten in food production. The author’s solutions to stave off dementia are, therefore, mostly dietary and highly recommended (particularly if we suspect we have a genetic predisposition to the disease). His recommendations are, in this order and depending on genetic heritage, to eliminate from our regular diet all corn syrup, all other sugars, including “natural” sugars such as fruit juice, maple syrup or agave, gluten, and, finally, grains of all kinds. Since most, if not all, alcohol is derived from fruit or grain, and much of it contains gluten, this includes alcohol.
Puts me to mind of the guy with 6 months to live. He asks his doctor,
“Doc, isn’t there anything I can do?”
The doctor says, “you can give up wine, sex and dessert.”
The guy says, “will this make me live longer?”
And the doctor says, “no. but it’ll seem like longer.”
Since the publication of the book, evidence for the nexus between sugars and grains and dementia symptoms is so strong that many health systems are now referring to and treating dementia symptoms as “type 3 diabetes” rather than as neurological diseases.
Ever since I read the book, my family background, coupled with my early history of overconsumption of sugar and carbohydrates, has convinced me to give up all regular consumption of corn syrup, sugars, gluten, and grains. To hedge against dementia, I now sweeten things with monkfruit, and swap cooked quinoa (a seed), pasta made with lentil flour, “Against the Grain” products, and Caulipower grain-free pizza crusts for rice, pasta, bread, and pizza. Bonus points: this approach also helps me to eat healthy amounts as the substitutions haven’t been engineered to trigger cravings (see The End to Overeating by former head of the FDA Dr. David Kessler)
Series: If you haven’t seen Julia, the 2022 series on (HBO) Max, you must. Starring Sarah Lancashire, OBO as Julia Child, the cookbook author who develops and stars in The French Chef, a pioneering cooking show, this series has it all. (BTW, run, don’t walk if you don’t yet know Lancashire as the cop from the British crime drama Happy Valley)
This feminist sleeper hit series features smart writing, a posse of women, old and young, taking over in a time when they aren’t supposed to, not to mention great costumes. Relative newcomer Brittany Bradford is crucial as Julia’s behind-the-scenes producer and strong black character leading her own powerful, relevant storyline. Other excellent performances include veteran actors David Hyde Pierce as Julia’s husband, Bebe Neuwirth, and Fiona Glascott as Julia’s crucial crew of besties – none of whom are to be messed with.
Movie: Wonka, starring Timotheé Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, and Paterson Joseph and directed by Paul King is not by any means worthy of a 5 snout review. It is an unabashedly formulaic, predictable movie. However, it is a formulaic, predictable movie that we can get behind. Chalamet is so beautiful and charming that it is difficult to look away from the screen. The script is quite clever and well-written. The musical numbers are catchier than several “hits” I’ve seen brought to Sacramento from Broadway recently. And I laughed and related as I watched Keegan-Michael Key growing fatter and fatter as a corrupt chocoholic police commissioner.
Wildly stealing the best of Dickens and Mary Poppins, this movie is a nice escape from the real world.
