Eat for your mental health and learn the fascinating science behind nutrition with this "must-read" guide from an expert psychiatrist (Amy Myers, MD). Did you know that blueberries can help you cope with the aftereffects of trauma? That salami can cause depression, or that boosting Vitamin D intake can help treat anxiety? When it comes to diet, most people's concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. And recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia and beyond. A triple threat in the food space, Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and professionally trained chef. In This Is Your Brain on Food, she draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health, and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues. Packed with fascinating science, actionable nutritional recommendations, and delicious, brain-healthy recipes, This Is Your Brain on Food is the go-to guide to optimizing your mental health with food.

Draws on new research to answer questions about the effects of specific drugs and foods on the brain, in an updated edition that discusses the role of biorhythms and how drugs interact with the body's biochemistry. --Publisher's description.

An internationally renowned neuroscientist, Dr. Wenk has been educating college and medical students about the brain and lecturing around the world for more than forty years. He has published over three hundred publications on the effects of drugs upon the brain. This essential book vividly demonstrates how a little knowledge about the foods and drugs we eat can teach us a lot about how our brain functions. The information is presented in an irreverent and non-judgmental manner that makes it highly accessible to high school teenagers, inquisitive college students and worried parents. Dr. Wenk has skillfully blended the highest scholarly standards with illuminating insights, gentle humor and welcome simplicity. The intersection between brain science, drugs, food and our cultural and religious traditions is plainly illustrated in an entirely new light. Wenk tackles fundamental questions, including: · Why do you wake up tired from a good long sleep and why does your sleepy brain crave coffee and donuts? · How can understanding a voodoo curse explain why it is so hard to stop smoking? · Why is a vegetarian or gluten-free diet not always the healthier option for the brain? · How can liposuction improve brain function? · What is the connection between nature's hallucinogens and religiosity? · Why does marijuana impair your memory now but protect your memory later in life? · Why do some foods produce nightmares? · What are the effects of diet and obesity upon the brains of infants and children? · Are some foods better to eat after traumatic brain injury?

From the author of The Changing Mind and The Organized Mind comes a New York Times bestseller that unravels the mystery of our perennial love affair with music ***** 'What do the music of Bach, Depeche Mode and John Cage fundamentally have in common?' Music is an obsession at the heart of human nature, even more fundamental to our species than language. From Mozart to the Beatles, neuroscientist, psychologist and internationally-bestselling author Daniel Levitin reveals the role of music in human evolution, shows how our musical preferences begin to form even before we are born and explains why music can offer such an emotional experience. In This Is Your Brain On Music Levitin offers nothing less than a new way to understand music, and what it can teach us about ourselves. ***** 'Music seems to have an almost wilful, evasive quality, defying simple explanation, so that the more we find out, the more there is to know . . . Daniel Levitin's book is an eloquent and poetic exploration of this paradox' Sting 'You'll never hear music in the same way again' Classic FM magazine 'Music, Levitin argues, is not a decadent modern diversion but something of fundamental importance to the history of human development' Literary Review

“This Is Your Brain on Joy is a thoughtful, practical, life-changing book that will help you take advantage of the latest neuroscience research—combined with biblical insights—to bring more joy and love into your life.” —from the Foreword by Daniel G. Amen, MD Author and speaker for the PBS special Change Your Brain, Change Your Life What does your brain have to do with experiencing joy? A lot more than most of us realize. In this breakthrough book, Dr. Earl Henslin reveals how the study of brain imaging turned his practice of psychotherapy upside down—with remarkably positive results. He shares answers to puzzling questions, such as Why isn’t my faith in God enough to erase my blue moods? Why haven’t I been able to conquer my anger? Pray away my fear and worry? Why can’t I find freedom from secret obsessions and addictions? Using the Brain System Checklist, Dr. Henslin explains what happens to the 5 Mood Centers in the brain when any of those areas are out of balance. This is great news, especially for those tortured by the fear that something is fundamentally wrong with them when the problem actually lies between their ears. Read this practical, easy-to-understand, and often entertaining book, and you’ll know exactly how to nourish your mind, balance your brain, and help others do the same. After all, the capacity for joy is a terrible thing to waste.

“Engrossing . . . [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —The Wall Street Journal Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Bookforum “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can’t wait to share.” —Scientific American “Humorous, inspiring, and macabre, this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond.” —Michael A. Huffman, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University

Did you know that blueberries can help you cope with the after-effects of trauma? That salami can cause depression, or that boosting Vitamin D intake can help treat anxiety? When it comes to diet, most people's concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. And recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia and beyond. Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and professionally trained chef. In The Food-Mood Connection, she draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health, and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues. Packed with fascinating science, actionable nutritional recommendations, and delicious, brain-healthy recipes, The Food-Mood Connection is the go-to guide to optimizing your mental health with food.

How to eat for maximum brain power and health from an expert in both neuroscience and nutrition. Like our bodies, our brains have very specific food requirements. And in this eye-opening book from an author who is both a neuroscientist and a certified integrative nutritionist, we learn what should be on our menu. Dr. Lisa Mosconi, whose research spans an extraordinary range of specialties including brain science, the microbiome, and nutritional genomics, notes that the dietary needs of the brain are substantially different from those of the other organs, yet few of us have any idea what they might be. Her innovative approach to cognitive health incorporates concepts that most doctors have yet to learn. Busting through advice based on pseudoscience, Dr. Mosconi provides recommendations for a complete food plan, while calling out noteworthy surprises, including why that paleo diet you are following may not be ideal, why avoiding gluten may be a terrible mistake, and how simply getting enough water can dramatically improve alertness. Including comprehensive lists of what to eat and what to avoid, a detailed quiz that will tell you where you are on the brain health spectrum, and 24 mouth-watering brain-boosting recipes that grow out of Dr. Mosconi's own childhood in Italy, Brain Food gives us the ultimate plan for a healthy brain. Brain Food will appeal to anyone looking to improve memory, prevent cognitive decline, eliminate brain fog, lift depression, or just sharpen their edge.

This is the ultimate guide to getting your brain in tip-top shape and keeping it healthy via the foods you eat. With a worldwide ageing population, and cases of dementia as well as severe depression and anxiety alarmingly on the rise, the need to look after your brain optimally has never been more important. It has now been proven beyond a doubt that it is possible to improve focus and memory, reduce stress and anxiety, and think more clearly simply by enjoying a diet rich in the right nutrients. In Part 1 of Feed Your Brain, Delia takes you through her 7-step program, simply and clearly explaining the science behind how the brain works, and showing how vitamins, minerals, fats, oils, carbohydrates and proteins affect brain function. Part 2 of the book features delicious, quick and easy recipes that can form the basis of your new diet while also providing you with inspiration to come up with your own ideas in the kitchen.

Exercise, a healthy diet, stress management, sound sleep: Most practitioners would agree that living well can mitigate the impact of mental disorders. Yet many are unprepared to address lifestyle factors in their care of patients. Lifestyle Psychiatry seeks to instill confidence by collating and analyzing the impressive emerging body of evidence that supports the efficacy of healthy lifestyle practices -- both as the primary intervention and in conjunction with traditional treatments such as psychopharmacology or psychotherapy -- in preventing and managing psychiatric disorders. This volume examines the impact of lifestyle interventions -- from exercise, yoga, and tai chi to mindfulness and meditation, diet and nutrition, and sleep management -- on psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and addiction. Readers can readily find data to support the use of specific lifestyle interventions for a patient presenting with a specific disorder. Detailed descriptions of the mechanisms of each lifestyle intervention also prepare practitioners to educate their patients on the specific neurobiological and psychological effects of these interventions to support their recovery. With chapters that focus on developing a robust therapeutic alliance and inspiring patients to assume responsibility for their own well-being, this guide provides a framework for lasting, sustainable lifestyle changes. Additionally, the book discusses the impact of the provider's lifestyle on clinical behavior and the implications of lifestyle medicine and psychiatry for health care systems and population health, offering a broader examination of the important role this new field can play in leading a sophisticated, holistic approach to optimizing wellness.