You Can Fix Your Brain: Just 1 Hour a Week to the Best Memory, Productivity, and Sleep You've Ever Had

by Tom O'Bryan

For anyone worried about any type of brain ailment, ranging from the chronic conditions to simple brain fog and fatigue, this essential guide covers the full spectrum of prevention to treatment .

We've all experienced brain fog—misplaced keys, forgotten facts, a general feeling that you're just feeling  off  today. And many of us will experience that "fog" manifesting as something more permanent—either in ourselves or our loved ones. 

No matter what your current brain health state may be,  You Can Fix Your Brain  will enable and empower you to take concrete steps that will make an immediate difference in your brain’s vitality, clarity, and energy. Your memory will improve, fogginess will disappear, you’ll be less tired all the time, and much more. And, you’ll learn that these aren’t empty promises. Dr. Tom O’Bryan, author of  The Autoimmune Fix , knows how to create lasting changes in health, and he’s here to share them with you.

It’s a step-by-step approach to better cognitive function—being selective about what's on your fork, what's in your environment, and how you take care of yourself can make a world of difference. With only one hour a week of practice, in 6 months, you can say goodbye to brain fog and welcome a better long-term memory and a sharper mind.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help, Science, Audiobook, Psychology, Brain

416 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2018

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a book on working on good routines and habits.

Instead this book is about gut health, eating less sugar and small fixes. I'm sure these are all good ideas (although the science doesn't always back them up) but I have much doubt that this will dramatically improve your memory, productivity and sleep as described.

The concepts he's thrown around as "gluten' being poisonous is absurd, that everything is toxic--life is best lived gluten/dairy and sugar free with intermittent fasting apparently. Your household cleaners are killing you, apparently. You've got a leaky brain and are living in a sea of electromagnetic pollution.

1.5 stars--there's some good ideas to implement hear, but the claims are overblown and I'm not going to find happiness living this lifestyle.

[Nicole Sharigian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why does it feel as though this guy is yelling at me on EVERY SINGLE PAGE?? I gave him 2 stars for the biochem 101 lesson, (nice job breaking down how proteins and enzymes behave!) but seriously his paranoia and verbiage are more TOXIC than anything I put into my body, which inevitably ends up swimming in my brain. I was really hoping this book would help me become smarter and instead I feel more certain now that I am doomed to get Alzheimer’s. I think this guy needs to change his tone/ approach is he wants to win acolytes.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were red flags (the author has a very alarmist tone) but I continued reading. Not sure I'm glad I did. There's some really iffy science here, some absolute LEAPS to potential conclusions. The real kicker though is that the forward is written by a germ theory denialist. Like, a doctor who doesn't recognize evidence of germs, or that they cause illness.

[Deanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Potentially life changing. (If I do everything he says....) The "one hour a week" thing is a gimmick. You spend 1 hour a week learning about and planning how to follow his recommendations and lifestyle changes. But you spend a lot of time DOING the things he is recommending. It's a lifestyle overhaul. It sounds great on paper but will be hard to execute. But certainly worth the effort in the long run! It's a good introduction to the concepts of functional medicine. I really liked that. I took off half a star because he used quite a bit of correlation to claim causation type logic and he also tweaks numbers to make them sound more dramatic (like his agitated warning that Americans' shocking daily consumption of refined sugar is "52 teaspoons! 52!" When really that amounts to only a little over a cup. Which doesn't seem so horrific viewed with that perspective. So his logic and manipulation bugged me a little and made me slightly more skeptical about all his other claims. But overall it is a good reminder to try harder to take better care of myself. And it gives good step by step ideas on how to accomplish it.

[Iain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version, which was narrated by the author, himself.

The trouble with this book, is it is a mixture of good advice, bad science and outright quackery. I hadn't come across "Functional Medicine" before, and if I had, I would not have chosen this book. The basic premise is that lots of problems are down to auto-immune disease caused by a "leaky gut" or a "leaky brain", which means lesions in the lining of the intenstinal wall or the blood-brain barrier and gluten. milk and sugar are all evil, especially gluten. "Molecule mimicry" causes the auto-immune system to attack things which seem bad, even though they aren't.

I am on board with why sugar can be bad. We eat far too much of it and there is evidence that fructose, in particular, causes fat to be deposited around the liver in the same way alcohol does. The book doesn't go into that, though, and doesn't cite papers or research, except in the vaguest terms. Interestingly, the author seems okay with aspartame (which my natural remedy friends aren't).

I can't remember well enough to quote the book verbatim, but it does contain some gems about how it won't work if you are too sceptical, how "his angels" had plans for him to communicate these ideas. He keeps the faith-based content relatively low, fortunately.

If you enjoyed "Wheatbelly", you'll probably enjoy this. There must be far better books out there on research into a healthy brain, though.

[William Schram · Rating 2 out of 5]

You Can Fix Your Brain addresses brain health through a holistic lens. Rather than recommending powerful drugs or surgery, the book shows different environmental factors that affect brain health. These factors trigger autoimmune responses in the body, and these responses can influence your overall health.

The first third of the book discusses triggers for these autoimmune diseases, and the final two-thirds discusses solutions for these diseases.

While the book is well-written, the author promotes products that you can buy on his website. I might be paranoid or suspicious of such things, but that raises a red flag for me.

The man also talks about electromagnetic fields and how to avoid them. These pieces of advice make him sound like a nutcase, but he doesn't recommend tinfoil hats, so he has that going for him. In conclusion, the book is good, but not great. To be more specific, it wasn't what I was expecting.

[Micah Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much great information. The first 4 chapters are just scary, and if you're already worried about your health or have stress issues, you can probably skip those and go right to chapter 5 where the solutions really begin. I'm already trying some of the more simple "base hits" that he recommends to see if they make a difference, and I'll probably be trying more over the coming months. Highly recommend the information in the book, and can't wait to get more into the recipes.

[Barbara Cross-krauz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. Lots of science. My only complaint is the author kept trying to get us to buy his products from his web site. Other than that, this was an eye opener to all the toxins and poisonous chemicals in our daily life.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable and informative, but that’s based on the first 200 pages (it’s front loaded; the latter 150 left some contradictions i couldn’t ignore). There were definitely parts where I felt the writing was a bit too alarmist, but I think thats probably because the author is a strong enneagram 6 (who have a propensity to foresee problems everywhere with a healthy dose of suspicion, which can be a real asset in the healthcare realm....as long as your readers don’t become completely overwhelmed by fear and anxiety from the way you present your content!)

I happened to read this the same week Dr. Gundrys new book came out (The Longevity Paradox- which is excellent) and I will say they make good companion pieces, mostly in tune with each other- meaning that the author’s research on how to improve your brain function contributes greatly in extending your longevity, providing some interesting overlap to think about. O’Bryan did present some practical life changes we implemented in our household that I had not come across in similar research such as how much I was still exposing myself to BPAs, realities surrounding tattoos, and more specific information about the spine that made me reconnect with my chiropractic care, etc.

I’m still lost on where the pithy/grabby subtitle is present in the book at all- what is the “1 hour a week” suppose to be? this book is about a vast lifestyle change, not some quick fix recipe. It’s much “bigger picture” / whole body rather than about “how to fix your brain”. While this is still worth reading, I would also recommend “memory rescue” by daniel amen if you’re looking for a resource with more neurological specificity.

[Oskar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okładka wita nas opisem obiecującym poprawę pamięci, produktywności i jakości snu poświęcając godzinę tygodniowo. Czy rzeczywiście tak jest?
Lektura jest poradnikiem, mającym na celu poprawę efektywność naszego mózgu, zapamiętywania i unikania chorób immunologicznych. Początek książki to stricte teoria - opis działania mózgu itp. Następnie autor przedstawia konkretne sposoby na poprawę funkcjonowania mózgu, począwszy od wyeliminowania podstawowych rzeczy, które nam zagrażają jak choćby pleśń czy inne związki, na które jesteśmy narażeni. W kolejnej części płynnie przechodzimy do zmiany diety i nawyków żywieniowych, opisuje przepisy na zdrowe dania i sposoby na eliminację niezdrowego odżywiania. Książka jest po części również reklamą produktów, które autor niekiedy sugeruje nam kupić w jego sklepie.
Wracając do pytania zadanego na wstępie, czy da się w godzinę tygodniowo poprawić stan naszego mózgu? Trzeba przetestować na sobie :) Ja taki plan podejmę (głównie zmiana nawyków żywieniowych) i sprawdzę efekty po pewnym czasie.
7/10

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely food for thought. Literally, and figuratively. O'Bryan spells out the various aspects clean and healthful living can have on the body and mind. Gives you the tools to implement these methods, and accentuates the important things to do immediately. I would hope to be able to implement one of these methods into my daily life every month before I retire so I can get the most out of my retirement. Will I remove the drywall in my home and replace it with gluten free drywall? No. But I've stopped touching receipts, cut out gluten, dairy and sugar 99% from my life, so as long as you treat this book as a guidebook of suggestions to healthy living and don't take it as gospel, it makes sense and becomes thought for food.

[Rory · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whether or not you can fix your brain is something I'd love to sit down and discuss with you, at length, over beverages of our choice. I'm not down to discuss this book, though. Utter claptrap.

Best thing about it was this chapter subheading: STOPPING LEAKY GUT AND LEAKY BRAIN IN YOUR MOUTH.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new or exciting that I have nt learned before. My best resource is still Dr Mark Hyman!

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Yet another book advocating avoiding gluten and sugar. Yawn.

I might try the recipe for the lentil and beet soup, though.

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm probably going to need to listen to this again, maybe a few times, in order to get a better grasp of it. There were a lot of things I'd like to check into more. There are things he brings up that I can totally believe in. But there are other things that he references that have no actual basis in the scientific method. He is probably just trying to be helpful, but all of his references about testing that your doctor might not approve and following the link on his website to order directly came off as a little bit of hard sell/used car salesman.

I bought this audioBook because I've been having some issues thinking quickly and multitasking since my cancer surgery in November. There are certainly things I want to delve into deeper here that he pointed out. But I also want a couple of other perspectives about it. So in addition to listening to his book again, I'll be checking into some other sources as well. The explanations he gives for our various maladies are plausible, I just need more info. I do know that our epigenetics seem to be changing over the last century. Things that our recent ancestors did don't seem to be having the same effects on our bodies today. And all the extra pollution of certain kinds could be affecting that. But the jury is still out on if that's the case and if it is, why.

The audioBook was well formatted and well paced. The narration was clear and easy to understand.

[Suz BB · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the title may hook you (only one hour a week?), I thought this book had a lot of helpful insightful advice to live a healthier life and pinpoints specific causes for problems. The author often references smaller studies and points you to his own website and products which can be a bit much, but if he didn't, I'd imagine we'd be searching for it. I thought there were enough helpful ideas, that I bought the book after first checking it out from the library. There were a few items that seem to be in conflict. Throughout the book he mentions avoiding gluten, dairy and sugar. And yet later he mentions how beneficial colostrum (which one can get from dairy milk) is. In general, there is an emphasis on eating foods that benefit us and yet one recipe has one pound of bacon in it. How did the editors miss that? In some cases (electromagnetic fields, e.g.) where seeds were planted prior to me reading the book, his information on them made me want to pay closer attention on how it can affect health. I appreciate the comprehensive information on all things that can affect the brain and thus, one's health.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

The Cover of the book claims, "Just 1 hour a week to the Best Memory, Productivity, and Sleep you've ever had" but all this book delivered was stress, a headache, and depession. 

Never did I find out what we are to do in that hour. 

Filled with all kinds of tests we are supposed to ask our Dr. to order. 

347 pages I thought surely he would have answers in it. 

I wish authors would realizeif we are picking up a book to FIX our brain, it is probably already not functioning as we would like, so they need to make it simple and easy. 

Tell me what I need to do in layman's terms in like 5 or less pages at the front of the book. Then explain why. 

So frustrating

HARD PASS

NEGATIVE 12 STARS 😪😪😪😪😪😡😡😡😡

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the exception of Dr. O'Bryan's suggestion that readers avoid EMF waves, this book repeats the recommendations of most books about improving gut/general health. I take issue with the title's claim that the changes he suggests will only take one hour a week. As a person who does her best to avoid packaged food, I can attest that this one life change alone can add a significant amount of time to a person's schedule. His exercise recommendations can also add more than an hour to a person's week. I'd take the subtitle with a grain of salt.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most (80%) of this is very good information, supported by much research and the sensible idea embraced by functional medicine that identifying and healing the root cause, rather than "a pill for an ill" is the path to health.

I gave only 4 stars because:

1. I take issue with his support of the occasional use of the Keto diet, which I am hearing is harmful.

2. The subtitle claiming 1 hour a week is an exaggeration.

3. I also am not convinced of the "dangers" of emf, so I skipped that last chapter.

[Lauren Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I learned some important information, but the author’s tactic is fear-based, so I wonder how motivated I will be to maintain the changes I’ve made once the fear wears down and some time passes since I’ve finished the book. Also, he references his website a lot but none of the resources are really free; you have to pay thousands of dollars to become a client and really benefit from them. Still a worthwhile read, but read it in chunks and balance it with lighter things in your life.

[Alicia Brear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the gluten free, dairy free and sugar free diet. It works for me. I went to see Dr Tom give a talk and got the book signed. He has spent so much time on research and like his approach of taking each step towards health rather than doing everything at once.
His information on the negative health effects of flying was fascinating as I used to be a flight attendant for 12 years!
The recipes don’t look too enticing though!

[Nyssy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm...if you

It seemed that if you had this or couldn't do that or you experienced this or inhaled that you're brain was in trouble. This is not a book to read if you're prone to think you have everything under the blue skies because you'll end up in the hospital asking for every available test to diagnose yourself. It gave some good advice but it was very discrete and subtle but your problems were bluntly displayed.

[Sayuri Murrain Carlbom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had an issue with some of the statistics stated, but find interesting a lot of the science and chemical composition behind why some foods are really good for you and why some are not. The tattoo story is fascinating, it’s a shame more research wasn’t done. Overall, I appreciate what the author is saying and will be making changes to my lifestyle.

[PATRICIA FRANKE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow...

So many things that are so easy to change and that make you have a better and better healthy life, just read this and you will notice an almost immediate improvement, that makes me thank you, Dr. Tom O'Bryan for the new kind of better brain and better health I am enjoying now.

[Savannah Giannasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author really stretches the science to match his own mindset….. nothing in science is as black and white and he tries to make it seem. The author was also trying to sell his own products throughout the entire book and made me skeptical of his motives. Thought provoking at times, but overall would not recommend.

[Isabel Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent information, a lot to digest and a lot to apply.
For us that are suffering an illness it’s very helpful and complementary to what we are already doing.
This book is very recommended to all of those that are suffering an illness and that the standard western medical system cannot help with or cannot provide a diagnosis.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read any of this before so much of it seemed to make sense to me. However, I am almost 3/4 of the way through the Whole 30 challenge, which aligns with his advice about avoiding sugar, dairy, and gluten, and have not had the mind clarity I hoped for.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very beneficial for me, as it has provided me with ways that I can improve my heath. It has also given me the extra benefit of finding research topics that I want to explore further. Very glad I read this book.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found insight and hope in this book. Right away he refers a book with hope for Alzheimer's. This year I've been reading and watching PBS about brain health. The now familiar "eat your vegetables" is there with additional information.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting. Aggressive and pseudo sciencey sounding, even though all his info did provide published research-backed evidence. Contained some useful bits, but couldn’t get over the author’s tone.