How to Become Smarter (12 page)

Effects* on mental abilities
:
N/A

Whole-grain bread

Acrylamide content
:
~50 mcg/kg

Can this food deliver a neurotoxic dose?
No

Effects* on mental abilities
:
increased amount of errors, slowing, reduced impulsivity**

Toasted bread

Acrylamide content
:
~200 mcg/kg

Can this food deliver a neurotoxic dose?
No

Effects* on mental abilities
:
N/A

Crispbread***

Acrylamide content
:
1000-2000 mcg/kg

Can this food deliver a neurotoxic dose?
No

Effects* on mental abilities
:
N/A

----------------------------------
* based on my personal observations; rigorous scientific proof is not available.
**after one week of a bread-and-water diet, I have not observed any negative effects on physical health, although one study on rats showed that addition of 5% to 25% of bread crust to the diet can cause weight gain and kidney damage [
236
].
***potato chips and French fries also contain large amounts of acrylamide; raw and boiled potatoes do not contain detectable levels of acrylamide [
215
,
225
].

In people who work in chemical manufacturing, symptoms of acrylamide poisoning can manifest themselves within several months to several years. The typical symptoms include: numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, increased sweating of hands and feet, fatigue, muscle weakness, clumsiness of the hands, unsteady gait, dizziness, stumbling, and falling [
226
,
227
]. This corresponds to a dose in the range 500 to 2,000 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day [
226
-
228
]. The effects of huge doses of acrylamide (10,000 mcg/kg b.w./day) administered over several days are loss of motor coordination, tremor, drowsiness, and mental confusion [
229
,
230
]. The “no observable adverse effects level” (NOAEL) for neurotoxic effects of acrylamide is around 200 to 500 micrograms/kg b.w./day [
220
,
227
]. High doses of acrylamide, 20,000 to 30,000 micrograms/kg b.w./d, impair cognitive functions in pigeons [
231
]. These high doses can also reduce activity level and cause a state of lethargy in rats [
232
,
233
]. Long-term exposure to unsafe levels of acrylamide can damage peripheral nerves and can cause fertility problems in males [
227
,
234
].

The key, of course, is the dose, and most of the studies above involve doses that far exceed the amounts of acrylamide that can be present in food (
Table 2
). Some types of food, such as crispbread, potato chips, and French fries, contain high levels of acrylamide. Yet these amounts cannot produce a dose higher than NOAEL for neurotoxic effects of this chemical. We can conclude that the presence of acrylamide in some foods should not be a cause for concern. It is unknown if the low doses of acrylamide present in food can affect mental abilities such as fluid intelligence. Neurophysiological effects of Maillard reaction products other than acrylamide, which are present in cooked grains, are unknown. Therefore, at present, there is no evidence that cooked grains can worsen mental abilities.

My personal experience, which does not count as rigorous scientific evidence, suggests that cooked grains can cause a noticeable slowing and have a mild sedative effect (
Table 2
). This is not the case with raw grains. Cooked grains can cause a small weight gain, whereas raw grains do not. Whether this is due to the presence of Maillard reaction products in cooked grains or to something else is unknown. Regular whole-grain bread contains a safe concentration of acrylamide, according to the occupational safety standards (
Table 2
). Nonetheless, I avoid bread and any type of baked or fried food (but I never say “never” when it comes to any food). My self-experimentation suggests that bread is the most typical “dumb food.” It quickly impairs mental abilities when I eat it in large amounts daily; we will discuss this in detail in a later section of this chapter. Boiled grains have a mild sedative effect, but they do not impair mental abilities.

There are some other differences between raw grains and cooked grains. For example, raw wheat bran can accelerate the passage of food through the digestive tract, while cooked wheat bran does not have this effect [
237
]. One study showed that bread crust can cause a weight gain and kidney damage in rats. These negative effects were absent in control animals who ate equivalent amounts of raw wheat flour [
236
]. Some studies have shown that it is more difficult to digest the protein in cooked grains than in raw grains [
238
,
239
]. The Maillard reaction damages proteins, which may reduce their nutritional value [
240
]. Heating can cause curdling of some soluble proteins (albumins) that are present in cereal grains, making these proteins insoluble and less accessible to digestion. On the other hand, some studies show that cooking has no effect on digestibility of nutrients from grains, or may even improve it [
241
,
242
]. Based on my experience, raw grains are not an appetizing food. Some of them you can soak in water, which makes them edible (wheat, oats), but they are still not tasty and can cause a lot of gas. I found that water extract of some grains has a pleasant taste and is more edible than soaked raw grains. We will talk about this in later sections. Some grains, such as sorghum, may not be safe to consume raw because they contain some toxic substances. Be careful with raw grains not mentioned above. Raw grains are safer than raw animal products. In rare cases raw grains may contain bacteria, yeast or yeast toxins [
242
-
244
], and you need to verify the safety of a product in question with the manufacturer. The same is true of any raw food, including raw fruits and vegetables, which may contain pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, you should always wash fruits and vegetables before consumption.

In conclusion, this section shows that some types of cooking of cereal grains and of animal products produce chemicals that have adverse effects on health and on mental abilities. The amounts, however, of these undesirable chemicals are negligible in foods cooked at
moderate
temperatures (for example, boiling or steaming). Therefore, these types of foods are safe to consume and you should not worry about possible negative health effects. As mentioned earlier, biological systems such as the human body are complex and exhibit complex responses to different doses of the same chemical. The response to low doses of a chemical known to be toxic at high doses is difficult to predict. Paradoxically, research shows that low doses of toxic chemicals can often have beneficial effects on laboratory animals, the phenomenon known as
hormesis
(not the same as homeopathy) [
71
,
72
]. Therefore, you shouldn’t be scared of the words “mutagen,” “carcinogen,” and “neurotoxic chemical” that came up in the discussion above. Animal products and grains cooked at moderate temperatures contain tiny amounts of these compounds and, at this dose, these chemicals may be beneficial for health, according to hormesis research.

On the other hand, it is best to avoid meat and grains cooked at
high
temperatures (frying, grilling, barbequing, microwaving, baking, and broiling). This is because the former contains significant amounts of carcinogens while the latter contain significant amounts of acrylamide and other Maillard reaction products. The small (safe) amounts of these chemicals in foods cooked at
moderate
temperatures may be responsible for the sedative effect of boiled grains and for the mood-lowering effect of cooked meat. These effects should not be a cause for alarm and are often useful, as you will see in Chapters Four and Five.

• Studies show that cooked meat can lower mood but, currently, there is no scientific evidence that it can worsen mental abilities. (I think that cooked meat does have a slight negative effect.)
  
• Cooking of fish and meat forms mutagenic chemicals, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. These chemicals are almost undetectable if you cook meat at
  moderate
  temperatures (boiling or steaming).
  
• At high doses these chemicals have neurotoxic effects and some psychoactive properties; for example, they can depress activity of the central nervous system.
  
• The safe, low levels of these chemicals in boiled meat can be responsible for the mood-lowering effect of this type of food. Rigorous proof of this explanation is lacking. The mood-lowering effect is useful in some situations.
  
• Maillard reaction products are chemicals formed by a chemical reaction of proteins with carbohydrates at high temperatures. These chemicals are present in cooked grains.
  
• Studies on humans and laboratory animals show that some Maillard reaction products have negative effects on brain function at high doses. For example, acrylamide can have neurotoxic effects, reduce activity level, cause confusion, and impair learning.
  
• Crispbread, potato chips, and French fries contain large but safe amounts of acrylamide. Regular bread contains low levels of acrylamide, but bread crust can have negative effects on health according to studies on laboratory rats. Boiled grains do not contain acrylamide but may contain other Maillard reaction products.
  
• At present, there is no scientific evidence that cooked grains can worsen mental abilities (but I think they do have a slight negative effect).
  
• My personal experience suggests that cooked grains have mild sedative properties. It is unclear if this is due to the presence of Maillard reaction products or to something else. This sedative effect is often useful.
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This section describes several useful diets, but first we will discuss a convenient way to consume raw grains. We saw in the previous section that there is a significant difference between raw and cooked meat judging by the effects on mental state. According to my self-experimentation, there is also a noticeable difference between cooked grains and raw grains, in that cooked grains have sedative properties, whereas raw grains do not. When you eat cooked whole grains as the only food for 1-3 days, they will slow you down. This can manifest itself as taciturnity, inability to keep up with conversation, and a lack of initiative. In other words, cooked grains can make you a “boring person.” On the positive side, the diet of cooked grains improves sleep and can be effective against insomnia. In my experience, cooked grains have no effect on fatigue or mood. The mild sedative properties of whole grains, when cooked at moderate temperatures, are beneficial in many situations, as we will see later in the book.

Raw grains or water extract of raw grains (described below), when tested under identical conditions, do not have the sedative effect of cooked grains. On the contrary, raw grains improve mood and reduce fatigue, based on my experience. They have a wakefulness-promoting effect and may cause insomnia. Raw grains (soaked in water) are not an appetizing food, and I prefer water extract of raw grains, which has a more pleasant taste. (Readers can skip these details by pressing the skip button or
this link
.) Most raw grains are safe, but there is a small risk of bacterial or yeast contamination. You need to verify the safety of this food with the manufacturer. I tested raw water extract of wheat (described below), buckwheat, and oats. These products have a pleasant taste and do not contain toxic substances, which may be present in some other raw grains and in raw potatoes. Thus, if you wish to test some other types of grains not mentioned above, please do some research or contact the manufacturer regarding the safety of consuming these grains raw. Also keep in mind that raw grains and raw water extract of grains are an
optional
component in all of this book’s diets.