Brain Fitness: Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super Mind-Power [Hardcover]

Robert Goldman M.D. (Author), Lisa Berger (Contributor), Ronald Klatz (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 1998

Within these pages you will find all the most up-to-date, cutting-edge information on how to boost brainpower, improve memory, concentration, and creativity, and keep your mind super-fit--as long as you live.

The most important organ we possess is our brain.  It is our remarkable brainpower that sets us apart from other species and makes us special.  And like our muscles, which can be made stronger with consistent effort, our brainpower, too, can be expanded and strengthened.  In fact, each one of us is capable of developing Super Mind Power.

As cofounder and director of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, Dr. Robert Goldman has at his fingertips all of the latest scientific research on what each of us can do not only to retain all our mental powers throughout our lives, but also to actually strengthen and improve our mind power as we age.  Now he shares that information, in layman's terms, with numerous self-tests, charts, and quizzes, so that we all can improve memory, sharpen concentration, reduce stress, learn to sleep better, and--above all--ward off the devastation of Alzheimer's disease.

Goldman discusses the many nutritional supplements, vitamins, minerals, and medications that have been proved to enhance mental fitness, providing specific doses and regimens.  But he also goes beyond this, detailing particular exercises, activities, and lifestyle techniques designed to sharpen mental acuity.  Each chapter ends with a "Brief Refresher" chart of the strategies discussed, and the book concludes with an Appendix detailing an overall plan for pursuing Super Mind Power on all fronts.

As medicine continues to increase longevity, and it becomes more vital for us all to keep the mind healthy and vigorous, Brain Fitness is destined to become our bible for the new millennium.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Robert Goldman holds a Ph.D. in steroid biochemistry, founded the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and is an adviser to the Journal of Longevity Research. In Brain Fitness, he makes a valid point that's been proven by recent studies: your brainpower, like the muscles of your body, can be expanded through exercise. And with the life expectancy of humans nearly doubling in the past century, he says, paying attention to your cognitive skills and taking steps to ward off Alzheimer's is becoming more and more vital.

Through various self-quizzes, charts, and self-tests, Brain Fitness helps you determine what state your brain is in now--and helps you boost your memory power accordingly. Some of the information is surprising (such as that over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen have been shown to inhibit brain function and memory with long-term use). Some other parts, such as the section on how chronic stress can inhibit your health, has shown up in all of the numerous anti-aging books of late. But for baby boomers interested in learning about what the aging process is doing to their memories--and what they can do to boost their brain power--Brain Fitness is a good place to start.

Review

Advance Praise for Brain Fitness

"Brain Fitness provides a scientifically proven program for developing Super Mind Power.  I recommend it!"--Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., author of Brain Longevity and President, Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation

"The topic is important for the future of mankind.  Dr.  Goldman's multi-level way of looking at brainpower is innovative."        --Peter Safar, M.D., Safar Center for Resuscitation Research/ University of Pittsburgh

"Dr.  Goldman, a pioneer in the field of anti-aging medicine, comes to the forefront again with his new concept, Brain Fitness.  This book illustrates the 21st century program for preserving brain function and preventing neurodegenerative changes."        --Fredrick J.  Vagnini, M.D., FACS,
Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, Cornell University Medical Center

"Exercise, the ultimate fountain of youth, is Dr.  Goldman's precious preserve.  He gives the reader the latest information on this wonderful key to Brain Fitness.  Goldman's tips on exercise alone are worth the price of the book."        --Ronald Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA School of
Medicine's Neuropsychiatric Institute

"From leaping ten feet in a fear-produced adrenaline rush to foods for the brain to power naps to hope for Alzheimer's dementia to improving your sex life, Dr.  Robert Goldman applies his experience and expertise in sports medicine to making the brain fit.  This powerful book truly leads us into the new millennium.  Layman, physician, or scientist--don't pass up the chance to read this book if you want to be with it today--and for tomorrow."        --Robert Voy, M.D., Former Chief Medical Officer, United States Olympic Team

"The best medical, psychological, nutritional, and lifestyle advice in print for keeping your most vital organ--your brain--fit and functioning at peak levels.  Dr.  Goldman covers all bases, from making the most of your intelligence, memory, and special talents here and now to how to maintain them into advanced old age through proper sleep, diet, exercise, stress management, and nutritional supplements.  A wonderfully lucid and practical demonstration of how brain and mind go hand in glove."
--V.  A.  Howard, Ph.D., Codirector, Philosophy of Education Research Center, Harvard University

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (December 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385488645
• ISBN-13: 978-0385488648
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,081,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, discouraging, and mildly offensive, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brain Fitness: Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super Mind-Power (Hardcover)

The author needs to determine who his audience is. The book seems to be aimed at young people seeking to achieve and maintain 'super mind power'. The title (anti-aging) appeals to those of us who are experiencing 'brain fog' and want it to stop. While the tests will confirm or rebut our suspicions that something is wrong, the author suggests only the same-old home remedies - diet, vitamins and herbs, destress - that I have been using for years already. The mental excersizes are a bad joke - things I used to love doing when my mind was functional are now proposed as excersizes - which I couldn't do if my life depended upon it. There is nothing suggested in the way of medical treatment or what to tell a doctor to convince them that 'something is wrong'. Many things I have read about, found to be helpful and consider somewhat more cutting-edge - like oxygen therapy or the debate regarding the danger in dental fillings - are not even mentioned. Human growth hormone is dismissed in one sentance. If I believed this book, I would give up all hope.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fellow physician/"brain-author" agrees with premise of this., July 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brain Fitness: Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super Mind-Power (Hardcover)

As more and more research suggests, there are ways that, by altering your lifestyle and intake, as well as your basic brain activity, you can possibly curtail what we traditionally think of as an "inevitable" aging process of the brain and its function. Dr. Goldman reviews many of these tools available, a number of which in fact, (despite other reviewer comments to the contrary), DO have peer-reviewed scientific studies to back them up. May I suggest "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain" as a companion guide to Goldman's book to provide another perspective on how you can affect brain aging, and for a more general view of brain optimization right now, before aging...My congratulations to Dr. Goldman and colleagues on a book well done and easy to read!...All the best...Kenneth Giuffre'MD, author, "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain"

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A challenging, in every sense of the word, book to read., January 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brain Fitness: Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super Mind-Power (Hardcover)

As a society, we value all sorts of physical fitness and despair over the decrease in mental accuity that can occur with aging. This book addresses, in an objective manner, this disparity. An individual can come away from this book with a clear sense of the true state of their mental fitness. It is the "four minute mile" of the mind. Incidently, it is also a great read. A real page turner.