Brain Boosters : Foods & Drugs That Make You Smarter (Paperback)

by Beverly Potter (Author), J. Sebastian Orfali (Author) "Several trends intersect to create the smart phenomenon: the use of smart drugs, mind foods, and brain boosters..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Andrew Weil, Durk Pearson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
This book has some good points: it calls alcohol a "Make-You-Stupid" drug and gives Gerovital low marks. But mostly it promotes the rapidly growing fad fueled by the likes of a product line called Designer Mind Foods and individual products such as "Go For It," "Memory Fuel," and Earth Girl's "Psuper Psonic Psybertonic." The idea behind it is to get people to patronize smart bars and to down such conglomerations, which are said to improve memory, fight off diseases, and, best of all, give the energy to dance 'til dawn. Potter and Orfali point to many benefits from such programs, including less institutionalization and higher profits for drug companies; the latter point is certainly inarguable. A veggie cocktail provided "for preventing Alzheimer's" should sell like hot cakes, as, provided the publicity hits the target, might the whole book. An appendix gives the addresses and phone numbers of physicians who engage in "life extension," one-fifth of whom are in California. William Beatty

Review
In many cities, and at rave parties, you'll find "smart bars" serving brain cocktails. "Smart drugs" and foods which enhance learning, thinking and memory by heightening the chemical processes of the brain and body have become very popular. If you're looking for some solid information on what it's all about, Brain Boosters is a good place to start. Along with the details of various pharmaceuticals such as nootrophics (learning and memory enhancers), vitamin brain boosters and herbal supplements, there is an overview of how the brain functions and how factors such as environments, diet and aging can adversely affect your ability to think. Also discussed is the smart drug industry itself and the FDA's war on vitamin supplements, along with how to locate a doctor who will administer smart drugs requiring a prescription. So, do they work? A great number of people say they do, and with far fewer side effects than caffeine, this country's current drug of choice. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by Ilene Rosoff

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Product Details

• Paperback: 257 pages
• Publisher: Ronin Publishing (July 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914171658
• ISBN-13: 978-0914171652
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #497,237 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambrosia - Food for the Gods, July 10, 2009

By	Curtis Holliman "MnemonicsExpert" (Hollimanville, Ill) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read every single book on Memory enhancement currently in print, which has enabled my project The Mnemonics Book: 30 Ways in 30 Days to Maximize your Memory. This book will be for sale at Amazon sometime in August. I utilized Brain Boosters as a reference guide to memory nutrition, and found it to be of very high quality. Millions of people are taking vitamins in the hope of making their minds, memory, and intelligence function better. People wonder if nutritional benefits are real, or just hype to sell more vitamins. Cognitive enhancement nutrients are definitely "for real." Mark Rennie "When I take smart drugs, I feel like I am upgrading my performance." Dr. Dieter Bonke of Merck Pharmaceutical has documented the correlation of the ingestion of B vitamins and improved scores of marksmen shooting at targets. The brain constitutes only 2% of your body weight, but consumes 25% of all metabolic energy. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in memory. The creation of memories is like the creation of a hologram, in which the memory is recorded in numerous places. It can be viewed or retrieved from numerous places. Think of a memory as similar to a picture in the Wall Street Journal made up of dots. The more dots, the sharper the picture. As the dots fade or are lost, the memory weakens. Lecithin improves memory ability. Vitamins are the key to a better functioning memory. Research has shown that vitamin C increases mental thinking and intelligence. Stimulants like caffeine create alertness, but do not fuel metabolism. Gingko is a must have nutrient. I have purchased and read over 2,000 memory enhancement books from Amazon.com. I have a library of over 14,000 memory books. This book is really good.