5 comments about Your Miracle Brain: Maximize Your Brainpower, Boost Your Memory, Lift Your Mood, Improve Your IQ and Creativity, Prevent and Reverse Mental Aging.

1. A main thesis of this work is that food can impact the brain
   either favorably or unfavorably. The author explains that
   men have brains that tend to shrink faster than women.
   In addition, high blood pressure tends to reduce brain size.
   Stress also damages the brain. There are juices which have a
   positive impact on brain chemistry; namely, grapefruit,
   tomato, orange and blueberries. Cranberry, spinach, kale,
   strawberries and plums have maximum ORAC units. Raisins and
   prunes are top anti-oxidants. Spinach, beet greens, tomato,
   orange juice, cantaloupe, squash, sweet potato and avocado help
   to minimize strokes. B vitamins and Vit C help to keep the
   brain young and preserve cerebrospinal fluid. Selenium
   boosts the brain and a deficiency can upset brain function.
   The stone age diet is best for people. It consists of 65%
   veggies, fruits, nuts and honey with 35% lean meat, eggs and
   fish. DHA is found in seafood and EPA is found in a fish diet.
   Linoleic acid is found in leafy green veggies and olive oil.
   Brain fat busters are saturated animal fat, whole milk, butter
   and cheese. This book will be a good addition to any personal
   health library



2. This is an excellent book. It is a "must have" item for anyone wanting to improve the functioning of their brain. I purchased one copy of his book for myself and another copy for my best friend. I feel certain that I made a vey wise choice in purchasing "The Miracle Brain"



3. Let me cut to the chase, there are numerous supplements you can take to keep your mental facilities in top working order, but if you are looking for the ONE thing you can do that will provide the best overall results - take a multivitamin daily.
   
   Ms. Carper has provided another fine study of the current research (circa 2000) related to the human brain and the effect of various supplements or lack thereof. If there is one complaint that I have about the book, it is that it is dated, continued research in the field would argue for an updated edition of the book.
   
   The four sections of the book cover the workings of the brain, what to eat, what supplements to take and how to prevent vascular problems from affecting your brain. True to her usual form the author presents the research for each topic, broken up by nutrient or supplement, further broken down by details of the impact on the brain of a shortage and the research data to support claims that the nutrient or supplement may correct the problems, and how much to take for full effect.
   
   The discussions are intriguing in that the author's conclusions require so little action on the reader's part to correct or prevent the stated neurological problems (topics range from depression to aggression to forgetfulness to age related problems like Alzheimer's).
   
   One of the reasons I bought this book was because I was heading back to grad school (in my 40s), and I wasn't quite sure I was up to it. Having completed 13 semester credits in biological and chemical sciences over two 6 week summer sessions with a flawless 4.0 grade average, I can say that I feel at the top of my mental game and ready for admission to grad school. My current set of supplements include: a multivitamin with minerals, coenzyme Q10, Omega 3 fish oil, ginko biloba and grape seed extract.
   
   Getting back to my initial statement, unless you have a perfect diet (be honest), you need a multivitamin with minerals to ensure that you are providing the basic nutrition for a healthy brain, once you are there you can look into the other supplements for further improvement. P-)



4. While there may be a lot of good information here, it is inseperably mixed with a lot of personal opinion and drum-beating. Instead of just compiling reports from qualified MDs, PhDs, etc., Carper regretfully goes one level further and INTERPRETS these studies for us. Unfortunately, she is not qualified to do that. Her background is not in medicine or health, she is just a writer. She wants to sell books, so she becomes super-positive with all her "analyses". Sorry, Ms Carper, your embellished opinions are not objective, are not scientific, are often flat WRONG, are not separated from the factual information, and thereby destroy what might have been an informative book. I suggest Holford's "Optimum Nutrition for the Mind", or Stoll's "Omega 3 Connection" for those interested in more science and less hype.



5. I thought I knew a little about nutrition before I purchased this book, however I was blown away with the amount of new material I discovered in this gem. I noticed my energy level and concentration ability increase like I never experienced before. Bravo to Jean Carper for the amount of important information that has changed my life for the better!

No comments about Brain Building Games: With Words and Numbers.

5 comments about Brain Longevity: The Breakthrough Medical Program that Improves Your Mind and Memory.

1. Refreshing to find an MD who is open to scientific knowledge not controled by the AMA and the Pharmaceuticals. The author does a good job of summerizing the efficacy of drugs available and safely used in Europe by the anti aging crowd for years but denied by the FDA. A Google search will take you to the sources to buy via the internet. Yoga, nutrition, exersice and vitimin/mineral supplement info and effect is artfully presented with a scientific explaination as to why it works. Clinical evidence is presented as necessary for credibility.



2. Book was received in the condition promised and in the time frame promised. Would definitely order again from this seller.



3. FOR PEOPLE OVER FIFTY THIS BOOK MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE YOU'LL EVER READ. YOU LIKELY ARE LOOSING YOU MENTAL ACUITY AND WILL NOT KNOW IT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE AND THERE IS NO RECOVERY. THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOK WILL PROVIDE CUTTING EDGE DISTINCTIONS THAT WILL KEEP YOU ALERT AND AWAKE. YOU CAN AVOID MENTAL DEGENERATION AND ALZEIMERS. I HAVE BECOME AWARE OF THE INEVITABLE BY LOOKING AT THE AGED. SOME DO WELL AND AGE WELL. SOME ARE RAVAGED. WHY? READ THIS BOOK WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A BRAIN.



4. Khalsa is very knowledgeable, describing improvements that range from 100% transformation of the individual to modest improvement, which is worth any cost.
   Scientifically sound and fascinating reading. I recommend it to everyone.



5. Easy to read and full of useful information. Dr Dharma's enthusiasm is encouraging to anyone seeking further knowledge in this complex area. His holistic approach rings true to me and I very much appreciate his emphasis on working together with one's usual medical doctor as well as other complementary health professionals. His suggested dosages of nutritional supplements are much higher than what I have found in other literature - this being more 'food for thought'.

1 comments about How to Develop a Brilliant Memory Week by Week: 52 Proven Ways to Enhance Your Memory Skills.

1. Pretty good introductin to Mnemonic techniques. He describes some of the sytems he uses, starting with the simpler techniques. Covers memorizing all kinds of thing from numbers to names to dates. Not a lot of detail on some, but a great book to get started with. I've gotten some improvement from it.

5 comments about Optimum Nutrition for the Mind.

1. Picked this up in the airport on yet another frenetic trip. I'd been having problems with memory loss: work very stressful, home very stressful - the usual. Thought, "Hmmm, Maybe all the chips and chocolate isn't the answer."

   This book put it all in perspective. It was easy to dip in and read the bits that applied to me. I made some basic changes - just one at first (gave up coffee) then more (more fish, better vitamins, less fried food). Years of poor nutrition had made me forget what it's like to feel good.

   Highly recommended - clearly written, easy to understand, this book could really make a difference in your life.




2. Like most people, I love sugar, carbs (not the good ones) and just about every other ingredient that is brain toxic. When I first purchased this book, I was absolutely dreading changing my eating habits. But once I began eating according to Patrick Holford's recommendations, I noticed results immediately. Replacing fried foods with a nice salmon steak and veggies is not as hard as I had imagined!
   
   This book is clearly written and has undoubtedly improved my life. To supplement eating right, I also joined a fitness club for the mind at Agogus.com - which is a great for your mental fitness. My mental clarity has increased dramatically, my memory has improved, and I am healthier mentally and physically. So, between eating brain-nourishing food and joining a club that literally works out my brain, I have never felt better - I recommend this lifestyle change to everyone!



3. This book and the book "Optimum Nutrition For Your Child's Mind" by the same author are fantastic. They clearly outline how your brain works and what it needs in order to function at top level. In the U.S. people tend to pop a pill for whatever ails them but all they are doing is covering up the real problems and creating new ones. These books will open your eyes to how ridiculous it is for doctors to prescribe a potentially dangerous pill without first testing your biochemistry and searching for a cause that can be treated naturally.



4. If you have tried to read other nutritional info books & got overwhelmed and frustrated, this is one for you. I've actually READ much of it and I'm retaining a lot more from this book than I could from others.
   
   Highly recommended for anyone who wants to the real scoop on all the garbage we're putting in our bodies (and our kids' bodies).
   
   Life changing.



5. The book includes numerous suggestions for providing better nutrition for one's brain and thus the mind. While I follow a fairly good nutrition program, Holford provides new nutrition facts that have allowed me to take a healthy brain to an even better level. After a few weeks of taking some of the recommended supplements I've been able to measure a higher level of problem solving and memory. I will continue to ad Holford's recommendations to my diet.

5 comments about Quantum Memory Power: Learn to Improve Your Memory with the World Memory Champion!.

1. this set of cd's is very awesome.. i've been studying it for a few weeks, and it all comes so clear after just the first cd.. it sounds like alot of knowlege to posess at one time, but when you think about it, he's teaching you how to have a photographic memory. after time it ends up being apart of your natural thinking(so to speak). i give this training course TWO BIG THUMBS UP..thanks to Dominic O'Brien for putting out such an innovative, GENIOUS program for simple joes like me to be able to keep all the knowlege i aquire from books, tv, movies, games, school, ANYTHING, INSIDE MY HEAD! I LOVE YOU !



2. Don't go to school without knowing this system!
   Don't go to parties without knowing this system!
   Don't go to work without knowing this system!
   Don't go to play smart board games without knowing this system!
   Don't try to remember names without knowing this system!
   nuff said... wish i had known this twenty years ago... Super for long drives. I listen to each cd twice - listening closely and thinking...



3. Most of the advice is beyond most of us, but every little bit helps!
   -- Louis J Sheehan



4. While the language on these discs can be identified, with close scrutiny as a form of English, It is extremely difficult to understand, especially if one's hearing is a bit below par.
   
   I think customers should be warned if language used is not English or non standard English. The speaker is also unskilled, often swallowing the end of his sentences. Very frustrating trying to catch this all, and the lists that he asks you to memorize are impossible to understand. Mispronounced words can be figured out if in a sentence, but not on a stand alone basis. I have never been exposed to this form of English before. It was unnecessarily difficult and, in my opinion, a different reader should have been used.



5. Not for the car while going to work. Should use in a place you be alone to use it.

4 comments about The Healthy Brain Kit: Clinically Proven Tools to Boost Your Memory, Sharpen Your Mind, Keep Your Brain Young.

1. Dr. Andrew Weil introduces Dr. Gary Small's course in mental aerobics. He discusses the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet, why it might not be a good idea to sleep next to an alarm radio and why lifestyle strategies may have a great influence on brain health as we age.
   
   Should you take up learning a new language or learn to play a musical instrument? What will a daily walk five times a week do for your brain? Dr. Andrew Weil explains the problems of oxidative stress, trauma, toxic chemicals and stress hormones and how they affect long-term aging.
   
   Dr. Gary Small presents ideas for developing memory skills. His fun brainteasers will help you remember "to do" lists and names as well as giving you the empowering feeling when you remember things you used to forget. Through visualizations he guides you through a number of lessons to enhance memory and it makes remembering things a breeze.
   
   Since the brain does have some regenerative capacity and we are capable of learning throughout the entire span of our lifetime, all it takes is some effort in the area of learning, reading or doing something challenging like learning dance steps.
   
   2 CDs, a 52-page study guide booklet and a set of 35 brain-tuning cards to remind you to do the exercises presented. The cards include information on learning to relax, learning basic memory tricks to train the brain to remember facts and a few cards for advanced memory training.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



2. I recently ordered a number of books dealing with exercises to improve brain functioning. The most recent, and most expensive of the lot, was "The Healthy Brain Kit". A big attraction of that product was that it was "authored" by Dr. Andrew Weil, tne New Age guru of wholistic medicine, and Dr. Gary Small, Director of Aging at UCLA, and author of a number of books on research-based memory interventions. While the new kit has CD's, a workbook, and exercises, I really didn't find much in it that was different from previously published material, especially by Small, including "The Memory Prescription" which details his 14-day program at UCLA which includes nutrition, exercise, stress management, and brain stimulation exercises. If someone is just starting out with these materials, I guess the kit may be worthwhile, but if you already have previously published material, I'm not sure it's worth it.



3. The first portion of the book was fabulous! I learned which supplements and foods support the brain. I learned about the way the brain works and what activities exercize it.
   But the second portion- with the exercizes-- was really silly and very distracting.
   For instance: Dr. Small instructs to visualize a very relaxing place. But every few seconds he talks with his own ideas about what is relaxing. As if the listener doesn't know what to visualize! I finally gave up when he went into hearing ocean waves... I am not soothed by ocean waves and in fact his chatter ruined the whole exercize for me. This guy seems to think that visualizing a relazing place is a new idea to the general public.
   Also, the exercizes on the audio portion were downright silly! Really, really silly! Despite the ridiculous examples he wanted the listener to try I gave it a genuine effort. But his constant chatter just forced me out of the mood.
   The exercizes in the book could work-- but the ANSWERS ARE ON THE SAME PAGE!! sorry about the caps but Come On! Who puts the answers to a puzzle on the same page as the puzzle itself?? I had to cover them, trying not to see them while I covered them, and then work from the book with half the space intended.
   All in all this kit is Not of very good quality.
   
   Final thought: It genuinely feels like this was slapped together and there was NO quality control.



4. I agree with one of the other reviewers in that you can probably find a lot of the material from this kit on the internet for free. The material is good and the presentation is nice. There would be more stars if the price was a little lower.

4 comments about Brainfit: 10 Minutes a Day for a Sharper Mind and Memory.

1. It is rare that vitally important information is presented in such a fun,easy, and friendly style. Corinne Gediman's book, Brainfit, is a personal trainer for your brain. Not only will I enjoy making it part of my weekly fitness routine; I'll recommend it to my customers at the bookstore.



2. I found this book a great read. The information on memory is very interesting, and the exercises are easy, stimulating and effective. Following the program Gediman outlines really works.



3. I like a challenge and this book is just that. I feel ready to go after my exercise.



4. Brainfit is a great course of mental workouts to help you improve your skills to remember names, dates, places and many other things. The book offers a 9-week course with mental activities that focus on different themes. We all have some area we'd like to work on and this can help you do it. Another great book that comes at brain fitness from a different perspective is BrainFit For Life. This book goes beyond mental workouts to also detail brain healthy nutrition, physical exercise for the brain and how focus on optimal sleep helps improve memory and learning. Together these two books make a great pair.

5 comments about Deep Learning.

1. I cannot sit and study without having this CD playing through my headphones. I swear this will help you read smoother, understand what you're reading while your reading it, retain information longer, and enhance your study sessions. I simply put the CD in my player, put on some large 'noise-cancelling' headphones, and start reading my textbooks. When it comes times for tests, you will find information recollection coming to you in droves. I swear, this is the best CD out there for studying. Please try it.



2. I must confess something (hey, is my manager around?) - I kind of became unable to focus at work in the last months, so much stress took its toll on me, and I'm now trying to get all the help I can. I saw this CD recommended in a Listmania, looked over the existing reviews and ordered one. You know what? IT WORKS! I am now able to do much better, since I work listening to it all the time. After a few days on this CD, I started getting some lecithin help, and the effects apparently combined. I hope that I will improve even more, I'll continue these and also try other relaxation techniques. Anyway, I carry this CD from in my bag, to have it available both at home and in the office. Get yours!



3. This Cd is good but for me it was kind of hard to relax to because it kind of has the same tone pattern throughout the cd which made my mind wander. I really want to try one that has speaking on it. I think it would provide a better guide for me. But all in all I use this occasionally when I need to just try to chill, but I like yoga better!hehe :) Hope this was helpful.



4. The Cd is lovely to listen to. I was surprised to be listening to the sound of waves breaking on the beach, pleasantly.



5. I only use this item to meditate. But without any voice this is great for my use.

5 comments about Carved in Sand: When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife.

1. Carved in Sand by Cathryn Jakobson Ramin is a must read for anyone interested in how the brain functions and what happens as it ages.
   
   Chock full of valuable information and presented in a highly readable style this book will take its place on your reference shelf for frequent revisits as it has mine.
   
   What is especially extraordinary about Ramin is that she is completely honest about the results of what she calls a series of "Interventions" into the world of improving brain power. For
   instance she finds that meditation doesn't work for her. Hallelujah! It doesn't work for me either. At last someone I could identify with instead of wondering what was wrong with me.
   
   Ramin's journey through the research into the brain and the methods and drugs used today to help with problems is fascinating, educational and a great read.



2. I bought this book because of all the 5 star reviews, after seeing it at a book show last year. If you want a scattershot sampling of most of the available techniques for dealing with normal/abnormal change in memory over time this is for you. However, the author herself never sticks with any method long enough to see if it would be effective before ditching it and trying the next thing. The A.D.D. drugs are effective for her, and I can see why.



3. The middle ground between memory loss -- with normal aging and Dementia is the diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). This is the only book I have found devoted entirely to MCI. Unless you have CMI, or you know someone has CMI or Dementia, you cannot speak intelligently about cognitive problems NOT associated with the normal aging process unless you read this book. The author pursued many options to improve her cognitive functioning and documented them all. She found out she did not have AZ, and she did improve her memory using several of the options. I too have CMI. In addition to Aricept, I have had to use oxygen, alpha-lipoic-acid and other supplements reviewed by the author to maximize my brain's performance. I did extensive research on the internet, but before I tried anything, I read "Carved in Sand" as a second source for the remedies I found most recommended on the internet posts. This is an Excellent Book by someone who deals with MCI.



4. Cathryn Jakobsen Ramin's honest account of her own experience guides us through numerous interventions to stem cognitive degeneration and memory loss in middle age. It is simultaneously educational and user friendly . Ramin's self-deprecating humor keeps the subject from being too heavy and helps us to digest the significant quantity of well researched information presented. Most will welcome information about basic lifestyle changes that can enhance their mental performance as they progress through normal aging. For those facing more serious issues, the path toward diagnosis and treatment is illuminated.



5. If you can only read one book on the subject of failing memory then it should be "Carved in Sand". Written by a contributor to the New York Times, Cathryn Jakobson Ramin writes a frightening story that will keep you reading as though it were a novel.
   
   With dire predictions of the continued increase of dementia in the coming years, this is a must read. The author tells of her own struggle with the onset of memory problems in her early forties an how she deals with it. She tells us it's not just the memory loss but the axiety that comes with it. Because of her profession and contacts she was able to do the research and get the help that she needed. She writes about this search with tremendous sensitivity and insight.
   
   I continue to reread parts of this wonderful book and highly recommend it to everyone over the age of thirty, dealing with the onset of their own dementia or a caregiver for someone with this terrible desease.