Your Miracle Brain

by Carper, Jean

• ISBN13: 9780060183912
• ISBN10: 0060183918
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-10
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

One of the country's leading authorities on health and nutrition reports on exciting new scientific discoveries showing how to change the structure and wiring of the brain for maximum achievement and happiness at any age. Carper bases "Your Miracle Brain" on a new recognition that the brain is not fixed and static but infinitely growing and changing, as dictated by what it is fed and how it is treated.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction: Nutritional Neuroscience--the New Frontier	p. xvii
Welcome to the Age of the Miracle Brain
Good-bye, "Brain as Machine"	p. 1
Fantastic Pictures of the Living Brain	p. 3
Enter the New Biology of the Brain	p. 5
The Amazing Nerve Cell	p. 6
The Neurotransmitter Revolution	p. 8
Serotonin: One Mighty Messenger	p. 10
Old Brains Don't Die: They Just Lose Power	p. 12
So Your Brain Shrinks, So What?	p. 15
Old Brains Don't Shrink Faster	p. 17
Men's Brains Shrink Faster	p. 18
Prime Enemy: Free Radicals	p. 19
Is It Aging or Alzheimer's?	p. 21
It's Never Too Early to Save Your Brain	p. 22
Some Brains Don't Quit	p. 24
Proof of the Unthinkable: Regeneration	p. 25
When Dead Is Not Dead	p. 26
The Genetic Turn-On	p. 27
Stress Can Damage Your Brain	p. 27
Estrogen: The Memory Molecule	p. 29
Use It or Lose It	p. 30
Educated Brains Are Stronger Brains	p. 32
Exercise Expands Brains	p. 35
What to Eat for a Miracle Brain
The Ancient Diet Your Brain Most Craves	p. 39
From Wild Greens to Big Macs	p. 41
Here's the Diet That Formed Our Brains	p. 42
A Guide to Our Ancient Brain-Boosting Diet	p. 43
How Fat Can Make and Break Your Brain	p. 48
Bad Fat, Brain Breakdown	p. 48
The Fat That Stunts Your Brain	p. 49
Good and Bad Brain Fats at a Glance	p. 50
Discovering the Enemy	p. 53
Alarming Epidemic in Children	p. 55
Processed Oil as Brain Buster	p. 57
When Bad Omega-6s Rule Your Brain	p. 58
Inflammation: The New Menace	p. 59
More Omega-6 Fat, More Memory Loss	p. 62
Vegetable Oils: New Killers in Japan	p. 63
How Much Is Too Much?	p. 64
Olive Oil Saves Memory	p. 65
Oils with the Most Brain-Busting Omega-6s	p. 66
Seven Ways to Keep Inflammatory Fats Out of Your Brain	p. 66
Amazing New Ways Fish Oil Saves Your Brain	p. 67
Up from Eden: Why Your Brain Demands Omega-3 Fat	p. 67
How Fish Oil Creates Smarter, Happier Brain Cells	p. 69
How Fat Manages Messages	p. 70
Fish Secret: Feel-Good Serotonin	p. 72
A Guide to the Mighty Brain Fats	p. 74
Ten Fish with the Most "Smart Fats"	p. 76
How the Japanese Build Better Brains	p. 77
DHA for Test Takers	p. 77
Fish: A Powerful Antidepressant	p. 78
The Brain-Heart Connection	p. 79
Natural Lithium: A Cure for the Highs and Lows	p. 79
Flaxseed Oil: The Other Antidepressant?	p. 80
The Case of the Four-Week Depression Cure	p. 81
Feel Hostile? Aggressive? Stressed Out? Try Fish Oil	p. 82
Think Faster, Concentrate Better	p. 83
DHA Speeds Up Brain Waves	p. 84
DHA-Fed Rats Learn Better	p. 85
Fish Eaters Stay Smarter Longer	p. 85
How Much Omega-3 Do You Need?	p. 86
The Alzheimer's Connection	p. 87
Schizophrenics Lack the Right Fats	p. 88
The Incredible Non-Shrinking Brain: A Case History	p. 90
Fish Oil Blunts Brain Damage	p. 91
Is Attention Deficit Disorder a Fat Deficiency?	p. 92
Lots of Testimonials, Little Proof	p. 93
How to Spot a Fatty Acid Deficiency that Can Affect Your Brain	p. 95
Dyslexia: A Brain Fat Deficiency?	p. 95
Dyslexic Brains Are Different	p. 96
How to Create a Better Brain for Your Baby	p. 96
A Diet for Dumb Baby Rats	p. 99
Breast-Feeding Makes Smarter Kids	p. 99
Right Formula--More Smarts	p. 101
Formula Stunts Babies' Brains	p. 102
How to Create Brain-Building Formula	p. 105
The Two Faces of Sugar: Brain Booster and Brain Buster	p. 106
A Guide to Sugar Lingo	p. 107
The Brain's High-Octane Fuel	p. 107
Three Brain Sugar Rules	p. 109
Blood Sugar: A Key to Memory	p. 109
A Memory Boost for Aging Brains	p. 111
More Glucose vs. Alzheimer's?	p. 112
Why You Can't Learn on an Empty Stomach--Or How Breakfast Makes You Smarter	p. 112
Sugar Excess: An Alarming Epidemic	p. 115
How You Make Blood Sugar	p. 115
How High Blood Sugar and Insulin Harm Your Brain	p. 117
The Mental Ravages of High Blood Sugar	p. 117
Diabetes of the Brain?	p. 119
How to Save Your Brain from High Blood Sugar	p. 120
Brain Perils of Your Diet	p. 121
Your Brain Likes Some Carbs	p. 122
Fast Carbs and Slow Carbs	p. 123
The Hazards of "Fast" Carbohydates	p. 125
The Incredible Carrot Myth and Other Facts	p. 126
The Real Guide to Brain-Boosting Carbs	p. 127
More Carbo Wisdom	p. 130
Vinegar as Brain Food	p. 130
Olive Oil as Brain Food	p. 131
Ten Ways to Keep Blood Sugar Steady	p. 132
How Sugar Can "AGE" Your Brain	p. 135
Caution: Sugar May Damage Brain Cells	p. 136
Chromium as Brain Food	p. 138
How a High Sugar Diet Can Be Bad for Young Brains	p. 139
How Antioxidants Make You Smart, Happy, and Save Your Brain From Aging	p. 141
How Free Radicals Destroy Your Brain	p. 143
If Your Brain Goes Rancid	p. 144
Deadly Imbalance	p. 145
The Super "Network" Forces	p. 146
Antioxidants Tell Genes What to Do	p. 147
Save Your Brain: Eat Fruits and Vegetables	p. 149
Super Antioxidant Fruits and Vegetables	p. 152
Calories and Antioxidants	p. 153
Super Brain-Saving Juices	p. 154
Turn Yourself Into an Antioxidant	p. 154
How Much Is Enough?	p. 156
Stop Brain Decline: Eat Spinach and Strawberries	p. 157
Rejuvenate Your Brain: Eat Blueberries	p. 159
Carotenoids on the Brain	p. 161
Antioxidants Predict Memory	p. 162
Tomatoes and the Nun Experiments	p. 162
Where to Find Brain-Saving Lycopene	p. 164
Tea: The Thinking Humans Drink	p. 164
Beware: Tea Without Antioxidants	p. 165
Chocolate as Brain Food	p. 167
Mind-Altering Drugs in Chocolate	p. 168
Make It Red Wine	p. 169
Five Reasons Red Wine in Moderation May Benefit the Brain	p. 170
Alcohol as Brain-Buster	p. 171
The Carnivore Connection	p. 171
How Calories Steal Your Brain	p. 172
Calories Make Old Brains	p. 173
Do You Have Antioxidant Deficiency?	p. 173
Calorie Cutting Builds Stronger Brains	p. 174
Caffeine: Everybody's Brain Fix?	p. 178
Why Caffeine Gives Your Brain a Jolt	p. 179
How Much of a Brain-Kick?	p. 179
A Cup of Tea Does the Trick	p. 180
Can Caffeine Boost Memory?	p. 181
The Big Three Caffeine Sources	p. 181
More Is Not Better	p. 182
Is Caffeine an Antidepressant?	p. 183
Grumpy Without the Fix	p. 184
The Addiction Phenomenon	p. 185
What to Expect If You Quit	p. 186
Kids Are Addicted, Too	p. 186
Colas Count	p. 187
Caffeine's High Anxiety	p. 188
Caffeine and Sleep	p. 189
Caffeine and Blood Pressure	p. 190
Where You Get Caffeine: Major Sources	p. 191
Caffeine as Brain-Buster	p. 192
Brain Supplements: What to Take for a Miracle Brain
How Vitamins, Minerals, and Other Supplements Can Boost Your Brain to the Max	p. 195
Raise Your Child's IQ with Multivitamins	p. 198
Want to Keep Your Brain Young? Take Vitamins	p. 205
What's in the IQ-Boosting Pills?	p. 202
"I Owe it all to Vitamins", Dame Barbara	p. 204
Folic Acid Revitalizes Memory	p. 208
Vitamin B6 Boosts Memory	p. 215
Vitamin B12 Prevents "Senility"	p. 218
Thiamin: A Psychiatric "Drug"	p. 223
Niacin: A Universal Memory Pill	p. 228
Vitamin E: Super Brain Pill	p. 231
Vitamin C: Brain Saver	p. 244
Brain Boosting Mineral: Selenium	p. 250
Lipoic Acid: Number One Super Antioxidant	p. 253
Coenzyme Q10: Mighty Brain Energizer	p. 260
Ginkgo: A Boost for Aging Brains	p. 268
Phosphatidylserine (PS): Memory Rejuvenator	p. 277
Choline: The Brain's Memory Architect	p. 284
Huperzine: Promising Alzheimer's Drug	p. 292
St. John's Wort: Natural Prozac	p. 295
"Sammy": The New Antidepressant	p. 299
How to Keep Vascular Villains from Destroying Your Brain
Bad Arteries, Bad Brain	p. 306
Beware Homocysteine--Potent Brain Toxin	p. 307
The Stroke Connection	p. 309
Homocysteine Predicts Alzheimer's	p. 309
How to Zap Homocysteine	p. 310
Eggs and Homocysteine	p. 312
High Triglycerides Disturb Mood	p. 312
Five Ways to Lower Brain Busting Homocysteine	p. 313
How to Reduce Brain-Damaging Triglycerides	p. 316
High Blood Pressure Harms Memory	p. 317
High Blood Pressure Shrinks Brains	p. 318
Alcohol: A Blood Pressure Hazard	p. 320
Six Non-Drug Ways to Reduce Blood Pressure	p. 321
Prevent Stroke, Prevent Alzheimer's	p. 320
Astonishing Way to Avoid and Survive a Stroke	p. 323
The Amazing Potassium Protection	p. 324
Wine vs. Strokes?	p. 327
Salt, Stroke, and Blood Pressure	p. 329
Walk Away from a Stroke	p. 331
Cholesterol: Good and Bad	p. 330
Cholesterol and Alzheimers	p. 332
Postscript: Getting the Miracle Brain You Deserve--Ten Top Strategies	p. 333
Selected References	p. 343
Books	p. 361
Index	p. 363
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.