The Healthy Brain Book: An All-Ages Guide to a Calmer, Happier, Sharper You: A proven plan for managing anxiety, depression, and ADHD, and preventing and reversing dementia and Alzheimer's

by William Sears, Vincent M. Fortanasce

Internationally renowned family doctor William Sears and noted neurologist Vincent M. Fortanasce present an accessible, all-ages guide to optimum brain health, from treating depression, anxiety, and ADHD to preventing Alzheimer's and dementia, with or without medication The brain is a complex organ, responsible for our thoughts, our feelings, our hopes and dreams. It's also vulnerable to a host of ailments that negatively impact quality of life, from disorders such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD that can strike at any time to illnesses of aging like Alzheimer's and dementia. The good news is, this diverse set of mental and emotional challenges all stem from the same imbalance in the brain. And getting your brain back in balance—without medication, or in partnership with it—is easier than you think. Whether you're experiencing "normal" mental and emotional burnout or wrestling with diagnosed illness, The Healthy Brain Book can help you thrive. It    • How what we think can change how well we think    • The role of inflammation in the brain, and how food and activity can reverse it    • What drugs enhance and suppress the brain's ability to heal itself    • Actionable advice to improve your memory, promote learning, and prevent common brain ailments    • How to personalize the book's tools for your unique brain For more than 20 years, The Baby Book author William Sears' advice has been trusted by millions across the country, and around the world. Now, he and The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription author Vincent M. Fortanasce have put together the essential guide to a clearer, calmer, and happier brain. Laced with relatable personal stories from family members and patients as well as detailed illustrations, The Healthy Brain Book weds Fortanasce's deep neurological and psychiatric expertise with Sears' sympathetic bedside manner and reader-friendly writing. Let The Healthy Brain Book help you, safely and effectively, "think-change" your brain for a happier and healthier life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Parenting

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2020

About the author

Dr. Sears, or Dr. Bill as his "little patients" call him, is the father of eight children as well as the author of over 30 books on childcare. Dr. Bill is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Dr. Bill received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto -- the largest children’s hospital in the world, where he served as associate ward chief of the newborn nursery and associate professor of pediatrics. Dr. Sears is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a fellow of the Royal College of Pediatricians (RCP).Dr. Bill is also a medical and parenting consultant for BabyTalk and Parenting magazines and the pediatrician on the website Parenting.com.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was skeptical, but this book turned out to be one of my favorite health books this year. Full review to follow.

[Karen Biegert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book and thought I’d just skim through it. This book is well-written and illustrated. I devoured the entire book. It is easy to understand with simple advice on how to care for the brain. Uncomplicated advice and does not serve as product endorsement. Well done!

[Roberto Bovina · Rating 3 out of 5]

nourish your "fathead" with eggs, safe seafood •antioxidant-rich berries, especially blueberries •rich vegetables, such as greens •a variety of nuts; The SAD diet of highly sweetened and highly processed fake foods triggers neuroinflammation, which literally shrinks your brain; brain-damaging effects of many chemical food additives, which neuroscientists have dubbed excitotoxins; artificial sweeteners are actually more harmful to the brain than sugar; neuroplasticity-right connections; Leaky gut, healthy microbiome; the nervous system; Effects of Negativity Healthful Brain Effects of Positivity, toxic thoughts; Deep breathing increases the pleasure hormone dopamine and calms your mind by decreasing blood flow to the worry centers of the brain while increasing blood flow to the relaxation centers; HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE; Good sleep, good emotional balance. For your cerebral symphony orchestra to play in hormonal harmony, your brain must have biochemical balance•Cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine. Their job is to excite the brain, revving us up and making us more alert. •GABA, acetylcholine, and serotonin: These play softly (think violins and flutes), dialing down the loudness (called “neural noise”), mellowing us out, and helping us “cool it.” •Dopamine and oxytocin: These create melodies of joyful rhythm in our cerebral symphony, invoking both calmness and pleasure. When these cerebral symphony players are in hormonal harmony, your brain is in biochemical balance

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading The Healthy Brain Book!! Reading this was both a therapeutic and eye-opening experience. I think overall this book explains the scientific aspects about brain science in a pretty understandable way - you don't have to be a biology expert to grasp the nitty gritty details because William Sears highlighted the most important bullet points nice & clear in each chapter. In addition to the clear & concise writing is the effective illustrations - they definitely worth more than a thousand words!

What I found particularly eye-opening is that The Healthy Brain Book provides some smart tweaks that I could consider introducing in my daily lifestyle & how these tweaks are backed by science. While brain science & mental health isn't a one-size-fits-all thing, I think this The Healthy Brain Book is nevertheless a pretty accessible self-help book that discusses & summarises different topics coherently. It definitely gave me plenty food for thoughts!

N.B. Content warnings: mental illnesses & physical illnesses

[SeaShore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very easy straightforward book, which can serve as a good reference and student text
The illustrations/cartoonish, well-labeled include various parts of the brain with key words/names with titles, such as Healthful Sleep at a Glance.

Good things to know:
Cancer cells feed on high blood sugar.

The sensory gate of your brain is the thalamus.

REM sleep dreaming removes the emotional sharp edges of our daily lives. Dreams heal and tell us: Don't worry, be happy.

Sleep disruptors include blocked airways and energy drinks, paying bills.

When you move your body throughout the day, biochemical sleep prompts are stronger.

It is important to give thanks and say a prayer of meditation.

Turn off your LED lights.

Watch a feel good movie.

You can manage anxiety and depression. Bipolar is NO fun -listen to your doctor's guidance.

Some times a therapist is a necessity to healing.

[Amy Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! 4.5 stars. So good and covers so many topics I got the Kindle book to use for our health book for high school homeschool. It covers not just brain health, but gut health, not just diet but fitness and movement, not just physical, but emotional and spiritual as well. The latter is the weakest point from a Christian perspective. But it’s so interesting to see how much of his advice could easily confirm Bible passages like 1 Thess 5:12-18 and Philippians 4:4-9. If only we would really believe and obey the Bible! Another weak point is that many will be incapable financially of pursuing some of the recommended testing and diets suggested. I very much liked their skills before pills mindset. And it was not so negative towards ADHDers as the other book I read. He seems to think these things (including even Ahlzeimer’s) are curable or reversible.

[Hal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative and useful book for anyone who cares about their brain. And to be honest most probably don't think about it. But as the good doctor points out it means everything to us. The supercomputer that can't be replicated. And if goes out through maltreatment that's it.

Dr. Sears covers many aspect of how the brain functions and what it needs to function properly. And as we age the more attention we put to keeping it up to par the longer we will go. In these times where such a high percentage face the ravages of Alzheimer's.

But the good news is there is much we can do each day to give us an advantage to stay ahead of the game, and this book offers many ways to do so and well worth the read.

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 on weight. 2 on research. 2 on style. 2 on logic. 1 on affections. 9 out of 10

This book is very well written for was it is intending to do. They want us to be aware of the great benefits of and ways to improve the brain. I loved the skills before pills approach. After all, why would we try to solve something that is primarily abstract (the brain), with something that is primarily physical (a pill)? Their food choices were a little bit undoable, but other than that, it really was brilliant. I especially loved his sections on how motion is good for the brain, how believing in God is builds you mental ability, conversely how drinking alcohol damages the brain, and how ADHD can be overcome/ made an asset. Very interesting overall. I'd recommend to anybody studying the brain.

[Ratchet child · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good info but I have to take a few stars for making claims that could be iffy. Some topics in this book that make me question the validity. “Eat organic”, why? “Do not take pills for mental problems”, it’s explained how it doesn’t work for some people but not why it’s bad. “Artificial sweeteners bad”, maybe but the science is not there yet. Some other stuff idk. Some stuff in this book directly contradicts other health information I have read so now I have to dive into that. You can find science for or against everything so I’m a bit more aware now to not take everything as 100% true

[Ripley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This was a well-written book, especially with making it easy to understand. I loved all the tips. It was super interesting with how everything works together.

I felt like the food ideas and organic ideas were written for people who could afford that. Maybe some cost friendly alternatives as well? Pacific wild-caught salmon is $10 a lb.

Overall, strong book with great insight. Loved that mental health was a big portion.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook. First off, the narration was not great. As for the book - I appreciate and mostly agree with the ideas but they were often not realistic from a financial or logistic standpoint. I work with kids who are often from large low income families and so much of this could never be a part of their lives. This is true of adults as well, particularly older ones. It’s too bad but true

[Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5.