David Perlmutter is a

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

–based American

celebrity doctor Celebrity doctors include physicians, medical professionals, people with the title doctor, and some with the nickname "doctor" who have extensive media exposure. Some may have a secondary role as an entertainer. Examples of celebrity doctors inclu ...

and author.

Early life

Perlmutter's father Irwin was a Miami neurosurgeon. David Perlmutter received a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine. He is also a fellow of the

American College of Nutrition The American Nutrition Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization established to encourage the scientific investigation of nutrition and metabolism. The ANA publishes the ''Journal of the American Nutrition Association'' ...

Career

Perlmutter is the author of health books, and is known for advocating a

functional Functional may refer to: * Movements in architecture: ** Functionalism (architecture) ** Form follows function * Functional group, combination of atoms within molecules * Medical conditions without currently visible organic basis: ** Functional sy ...

and

holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...

approach toward treating

brain disorders A neurological disorder is any disorder of the nervous system. Structural, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weak ...

and for advocating for the importance of dietary changes. Perlmutter serves as a medical advisor for '' The Dr. Oz Show'' and

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

''.'' Perlmutter wrote the book ''Grain Brain,'' released in September 2013, promoting the concept that

gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grain ...

causes neurological conditions, which was on the

New York Times bestseller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

for several weeks. The book was cowritten with Kristen Loberg, a ghostwriter known for working with other celebrity doctors such as

Sanjay Gupta Sanjay Gupta (born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, associate professor of neurosurgery at t ...

and

David Agus David B. Agus () is an American physician and author who serves as a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering and the Founding Director and CEO of th ...

. In 2023 it was discovered that ''Grain Brain'' contained passages plagiarized from Agus' 2012 ''The End of Illness'', which was also cowritten by Loberg. In 2022, Perlmutter published ''Drop Acid'', which advocates for a theory that excess levels of

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the metabolic breakdown of ...

has negative physiological and neurological health consequences. Although not primarily a medical researcher, he has published in the medical literature. He was the president of the Perlmutter Health Center until its sale in 2015. He is also a contributor to publications such as ''

Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', ''Mind Body Green'', and ''Staying Alive''.

Awards

Perlmutter has received the 2002

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific top ...

Award (of the Institute for Functional Medicine), and 2006

National Nutritional Foods Association The Natural Products Association or NPA (formerly the NNFA, or the National Nutritional Foods Association) is the largest and oldest nonprofit organization representing the interests of manufacturers and retailers of the natural products industry, ...

Clinician Award. In 2015, Perlmutter was awarded the "Communications and Media Award" from the

In 2019, Perlmutter was awarded the Leadership Award from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium.

Criticism

Perlmutter and his books have faced criticism from other physicians and commentators.Nash DT, Slutzky AR. (2014)
''Gluten sensitivity: new epidemic or new myth?''
Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent) 27 (4): 377-378. His endorsement of

gluten-free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclus ...

and

paleolithic diet The Paleolithic diet, Paleo diet, caveman diet, or stone-age diet is a modern fad diet consisting of foods thought by its proponents to mirror those eaten by humans during the Paleolithic era. The diet avoids processed food and typically incl ...

s has been criticized by physicians and is not supported by anthropological research on the Pleistocene human diet. For example, Nash and Slutzky (2014) have written that "according to ''Grain Brain'', much chronic disease originates in the widespread ingestion of carbohydrates, and these foodstuff, rather than cholesterol or saturated fats, are the premier contributor to an unhealthy individual. Numerous recent studies, however, have provided high-level evidence to the contrary." Epidemiologist David Katz, founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center at

Griffin Hospital Griffin Hospital is a 160-bed community hospital founded in 1909 and located in Derby, Connecticut. The hospital serves more than 130,000 residents in the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Griffin Hospital is Derby's top employer and one of New Haven County' ...

Derby, CT Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. It borders the cities of Ansoni ...

, has criticized ''Grain Brain'', calling it a "silly book" and saying that "Perlmutter is way ahead of any justifiable conclusion". Perlmutter's opinion that

hormonal birth control Hormonal contraception refers to birth control methods that act on the endocrine system. Almost all methods are composed of steroid hormones, although in India one selective estrogen receptor modulator is marketed as a contraceptive. The original ...

has long term negative effects on women has also been criticized by medical experts. Microbiome expert

Jonathan Eisen Jonathan Andrew Eisen (born August 31, 1968) is an American evolutionary biologist, currently working at University of California, Davis. His academic research is in the fields of evolutionary biology, genomics and microbiology and he is the ac ...

criticized ''Brain Maker'' in blunt terms. "To think we can magically heal diseases by changing to a gluten-free diet and taking some probiotics is idiotic... It resembles more the presentation of a snake-oil salesman than that of a person interested in actually figuring out how to help people." Perlmutter's advice to parents that they should ask their pediatricians about scheduling childhood vaccinations separately is contrary to advice from the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

and the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

. David Perlmutter is listed by

Quackwatch Quackwatch is a United States-based website, self-described as a "network of people" founded by Stephen Barrett, which aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and to focus on "quackery-related information tha ...

as a promoter of questionable health products.

Personal life

Perlmutter is the father of artist Reisha Perlmutter.

Books

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References

External links

* * * http://www.autismspeaks.org/resource/perlmutter-health-center * http://www.hayhouse.com/authorbio.php?id=621 * http://www.abihm.org/doctor-details * http://pilladvised.com/2012/03/dr-perlmutter-lecture-at-nyu-medical-school/ * http://www.functionalmedicine.org/about/ourteam/faculty/ * http://www.doctoroz.com/medadvisoryboard/david-perlmutter * http://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/jns.1976.45.3.0259?prevSearch=%2528David%2BPerlmutter%2529%2Band%2B%255BFulltext%253A%2BDavid%2BPerlmutter%255D&searchHistoryKey= * http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Citation/1985/11000/_Hidden__Disks_and_Computerized_Tomography.20.aspx * http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=585908&resultClick=3 * https://www.functionalmedicine.org/about/history-founders/Linus_Pauling/ * http://www.npainfo.org/NPA/AboutNPA/AnnualAwardsPastWinners.aspx * http://208.106.230.67/Default.aspx?tabid=142 * http://www.hindawi.com/crim/immunology/2013/248482/abs/ * http://www.imjournal.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/archives.main&mode=issue&issueid=7284 * http://www.liebertpub.com/editorialboard/brain-and-gut/628/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Perlmutter, David 1954 births American neurologists American health and wellness writers Living people People from Naples, Florida Writers from Florida Lafayette College alumni Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine alumni Pseudoscientific diet advocates Celebrity doctors