Chapter 4

Winter Is Coming (For Your

Brain)

It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they
have been fooled.

–UNKNOWN

This is a story about a jilted lover. After reading the last
chapter, it may strain credulity for you to learn that I’ve had
a lifelong love affair with carbohydrates. But it’s true: if I
had to close my eyes and think of life’s greatest pleasures,
chomping down on a freshly baked red velvet cupcake
would be up there. Let’s be honest, though: not everything
that we love is good for us.
It doesn’t take a nutrition degree to realize that
confectionary bakery products are usually loaded with sugar
and refined white flour. Even the young me knew to stay
away from the obvious offenders and gravitate toward
“healthy” grains instead, especially nutty, chewy, whole
ones. Despite growing up mostly around white flour in the
form of bagels, pasta, and black-and-white cookies (a
childhood favorite), I sensed from early on that the less
processed grains were, the better they would be for me. Not