Use Your Brain to Change Your Age: Secrets to Look, Feel, and Think Younger Every Day [Hardcover]

Daniel G. Amen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 14, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0307888541 | ISBN-13: 978-0307888549 | Edition: 1

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH IS BETWEEN YOUR EARS.

A healthy brain is the key to staying vibrant and alive for a long time, and in Use Your Brain to Change Your Age, bestselling author and brain expert Dr. Daniel G. Amen shares ten simple steps to boost your brain to help you
live longer, look younger, and dramatically decrease your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Over the last twenty years at Amen Clinics, Dr. Amen has performed more than 70,000 brain scans on patients from ninety different countries. His brain imaging work has taught
him that our brains typically become less active with age and we become more vulnerable to
memory problems and depression. Yet, one of the most exciting lessons he has learned is that
with a little forethought and a brain-smart plan, you can slow, or even reverse, the aging process in the brain.

Based on the approach that has helped thousands of people at Amen Clinics along with the most cutting-edge research, Dr. Amen’s breakthrough, easy-to-follow antiaging program shows you how to:

• Boost your memory, mood, attention,
and energy
• Decrease your risk for Alzheimer’s and
other forms of dementia
• Eat to live longer
• Reduce the outward signs of aging and
make your skin more beautiful
• Promote the healing of brain damage due
to injury, strokes, substance abuse, and
toxic exposure
• Dramatically increase your chances of
living longer and looking younger
••And much more.

By adopting the brain healthy strategies detailed in Use Your Brain to Change Your Age, you can outsmart your genes, put the brakes on aging, and even reverse the aging process. If you change your brain, you can change your life—and your age.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Dr Amen magically shows us that the aging of our brain need not match the aging of our bodies. The tools he offers to avoid injury to this most precious real estate in our body are priceless and will keep us thinking sharply throughout our progressively longer lives.”
—Mehmet Oz, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair Surgery, New York Presbyterian/Columbia and host of The Dr Oz Show
 
“If you want to think smarter, you need to have a healthier brain.  This is another incredibly helpful book from Dr. Daniel Amen for anyone who wants to increase their brain capacity.  I want to stay sharp, and that's why I read everything Dr. Amen writes, and you should too!”
—Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life
 
“Use Your Brain to Change Your Age is inspiring and practical.  Its case studies make this book powerfully impactful, both for adults and young adults in schools.  I can't think of a single reader who won't find himself or herself represented in the stories of women and men who have used Dr. Amen's wisdom and research to live healthy lives.  This is a must read for anyone interested
in the human brain and the body that shelters it.”
—Michael Gurian, author of Leadership and the Sexes and Boys and Girls Learn Differently
 
“Thorough, practical, and inspiring, this is an essential guide to reclaiming your brain—and your life!
It's never too late to start... or too early. I recommend it to anyone with a brain.”
—Hyla Cass MD, author of 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health
 
“I couldn’t stop reading Dr. Amen’s new book until I was finished.  As a holistic neurosurgeon, I found it to be the best user’s guide to optimal brain function I have ever read.  His incredible storytelling skill combined with practical information will change your life.”
—Joseph C. Maroon, M.D., Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Team Neurosurgeon, The Pittsburgh Steelers

About the Author

DANIEL G. AMEN, M.D., is a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and brain imaging expert who heads the world-renowned Amen Clinics. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and part of the
clinical faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.

He has published forty-five professional articles and a number of audio and video programs, and is the bestselling author of twenty-eight books, including Change Your Brain, Change Your Life; Magnificent Mind at Any Age; Change Your Brain, Change Your Body; and The Amen Solution.

He is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and the host of six popular public television specials. Dr. Amen spearheads the groundbreaking retired NFL player brain imaging study at Amen Clinics and is one of the architects of the Daniel Plan, a project of Pastor Rick Warren and Saddleback Church to
create brain healthy churches.

www.amenc l ini c s . com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1 edition (February 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307888541
• ISBN-13: 978-0307888549
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Amen is a physician, double board certified psychiatrist, teacher and eight time New York Times bestselling author. He is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost experts on applying brain imaging science to everyday clinical practice. Dr. Amen is the Founder and Medical Director of Amen Clinics in Newport Beach and San Francisco, California, Bellevue, Washington, Reston, Virginia, Atlanta and New York City.

Amen Clinics have the world's largest database of functional brain scans relating to behavior, totaling more than 77,000 scans on patients from 90 countries.

Dr. Amen is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and is the lead researcher on the world's largest brain imaging and rehabilitation study on professional football players. His research has not only demonstrated high levels of brain damage in players, he also showed the possibility of significant recovery for many with the principles that underlie his work.

Together with Pastor Rick Warren and Drs. Mark Hyman and Mehmet Oz, Dr. Amen is also one of the chief architects on Saddleback Church's "Daniel Plan," a 52 week program to get the world healthy through religious organizations. After the first year the church lost 260,000 pounds, but weight loss was only one of the stunning side effects of getting truly healthy. Other common effects of The Daniel Plan were increased energy, better focus and mood, and a reduction of many medications for the participants. The Daniel Plan is now being exported around the world to help churches, synagogues and all religious people get healthy.

Dr. Amen is also the host of 7 popular shows about the brain, which have raised more than 44 million dollars for public television.

Dr. Amen is the author of 52 professional articles, five book chapters, and over 30 books, including eight New York Times bestsellers, including Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Magnificent Mind At Any Age, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, and Use Your Brain to Change Your Age. In February 2013, Crown will publish Dr. Amen's upcoming book, Unleash the Power of the Female Brain.

A small sample of the organizations Dr. Amen has spoken for include: the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), Harvard's Learning and the Brain Conference, Franklin Covey, The Million Dollar Roundtable, Retired NFL Players Summit, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Supreme Courts of Delaware, Ohio and Wyoming. Dr. Amen's work has been featured in Newsweek, Time, Parade Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, LA Times, Men's Health, and Cosmopolitan.

Dr. Amen is married to Tana, the father of four children, grandfather to Elias, Julian, Angelina, Emmy and Liam. He is an avid table tennis player.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#82 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#82 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense, but Good Reminders Nonetheless March 24, 2012

By Christopher Alexander VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Increasingly, we are seeing more books and articles about how to prevent our brains from experiencing the natural process of slowing/deterioration that accompanies the aging process. Just yesterday, for example, one of the cover stories on the AARP Bulletin (no, I don't subscribe; they just send it to me) was on how to prevent mental decline. While there is some validity to parts of this, it also fits the pattern we often fall prey to, of wanting answers for whatever ails us at the moment.

Amen's book is fairly straight-forward, but much of the content could have been reduced to fewer pages. In the first two chapters, for example, he repeatedly gives the reader 'teasers' of what they will learn by reading the book, rather than just getting to the point. I found this to be a bit tedious, as it had the feel of sitting through a time-share lecture.

Most of what Amen recommends falls into the category of common sense. For anyone who has read books on how to avoid heart disease, manage diabetes, or deal with any other health issue, the content here isn't that new. Rather, it's the usual drumbeat---much of which we need to be reminded of---to eat right, exercise, keep our minds challenged/engaged, reduce stress, and don't do stupid things as we go through life.

In contrast to what other authors have stated, however, Amen encourages caution with respect to some aspects of diet, opining, for example, that consumption of certain foods (peaches, kale, apples, berries ... ) can have negative effects on brain function. I'm not sure I buy that.

Amen is a huge proponent of supplements (fish oil, CoQ10, ginkgo, alpha-lipoic acid, etc.) something I agree with, but also remain ambivalent about. While I support the use of supplements--and take several each day--the research on their impact and effectiveness on the human body is inconsistent and sometimes vague. Still, it appears the bigger issue is whether they actually work, rather than if they will harm you, so what the heck. As someone with diabetes, the only (!!!) thing that has helped me control my numbers is 1) diet (high protein, low carb) and 2) exercise.

This book doesn't necessarily fall into the category of pop-medicine, but at times, it does come close. Amen, for example, minimizes the role of genetics on brain function and behavior. If my work with adopted children has taught me anything, it is that genetics plays a much bigger part in our lives that we appreciate. I can see where some readers might also mistakenly believe that the approaches Amen recommends will neutralize or reverse true neurological conditions, such as ADHD and Alzheimers.

For those who have a decent command of why it's important to eat right, exercise, and maintain balance in life, this book won't provide much information that's new or novel, though the brain imaging pictures and results are intriguing. The book is an easy read, however, and if you or someone you know could be prodded toward better health by reading it, then click the 'buy' button.

76 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Scared me back to the gym February 20, 2012

By Connie Hi

Format:Hardcover

Just started Dr Amen's book yesterday. But have taken it seriously. Went to Pilates yesterday after reading chapter 1. Started at a new gym after chapter 2 (my old one closed two months ago). Will keep this exercise up three days a week like Dr. Amen recommends and add more brain healthy patterns to my life. Going to cut out cheese and sugar, then get new blood tests to see what else I need to do. His book has really scared me into taking much better care of myself. Thank you Dr. Amen. I have read several of your other books but this one has really hit home in the first two chapters. Keep up the good work.

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense Advice March 31, 2012

By Dennis2468

Format:Hardcover

Dr. Amen's book contains the usual common-sense recommendations for excellent health: mental and physical exercise, healthy eating, limiting one's alcohol intake, avoiding tobacco, and reducing the sources of stress in one's life. Sounds like a wise approach to preventing the decline in brain functions, and it is backed by plenty of true-life stories about people the doctor has treated.

There are claims that Dr. Amen's work is not backed by solid scientific studies and, accordingly, his approach is met skepticism and is not necessarily highly recommended by the existing medical establishment.

Biographical information indicates that Dr. Amen received his biology degree from Southern California College, a Pentecostal school that is now known as Vanguard University. This school's credo is "We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God". Dr. Amen went on to receive his medical degree from the the School of Medicine at Oral Roberts University.

The book's recommendations are highly consistent with the habits required to maintain excellent personal health. Thus, if this book inspires people to alter the course of their live via healthy eating and other good habits then it will will be a God-given blessing for those readers. The book has a hard-cover and a paperback edition. The paperback edition on Amazon is especially recommended for readers seeking the lowest price.