Rating: 
Summary: Your Miracle Brain by Jean Carper
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: Credibility Problems
Review: Although Jean Carper writes a hopeful, fact filled book, her credibility is immediately and urgently brought into question by her insistant reliance upon the unknowable, to wit: what cave men and women ate. Her constant references to the unproven theory of evolution (to which she alludes as fact without question) cause one to wonder whether the author is following his/her own diet plan. Otherwise, I appreciate the author's attempts to translate research in a digestible manner, and the author's examination of several different ideas (which she credibly presents as theories) now being studied and evaluated. If only the author did not try our intelligence with the caveman-stoneage-evolutionary flap-doodle.
Rating:
Summary: Credibility Problems
Review: Although Jean Carper writes a hopeful, fact filled book, her credibility is immediately and urgently brought into question by her insistant reliance upon the unknowable, to wit: what cave men and women ate. Her constant references to the unproven theory of evolution (to which she alludes as fact without question) cause one to wonder whether the author is following his/her own diet plan. Otherwise, I appreciate the author's attempts to translate research in a digestible manner, and the author's examination of several different ideas (which she credibly presents as theories) now being studied and evaluated. If only the author did not try our intelligence with the caveman-stoneage-evolutionary flap-doodle.
Rating:
Summary: How to take care of your brain with the right foods.
Review: As medical science is discovering the correlation between certain foods on the functioning of various body parts, the effect of food and supplements on the brain is one of the more recent research areas (at least to the general public). This book does an excellent job of explaining the research and the practical implications, especially what to eat to help your brain function the right way. The book is divided into 4 parts - a welcome section, what to eat, brain supplements, and how to stop the destruction of the brain. The first part introduces the reader to the basics of the brain - how free radicals are the prime enemy, how the brain cells can actually regenerate (till recently everyone thought this wasn't possible), how stress can damage your brain, use it or lose it theory, etc. The second part focuses on how fat, fish oil, sugar, antioxidants, and caffeine impact your brain. This is a very detailed section with practical tips on how you can benefit from the latest research in this field. For example - a cup of coffee in the morning and midday is all we need to get the most out of caffeine. Of course, you have to read the whole section to know more about caffeine like the three different sources, etc. The third part is all vitamins, minerals, and other supplements that can boost your brain power. There is excellent information on how Vitamin B6, B12, E, C, and other supplements like Ginkgo and Choline can all help your brain perform better! The last part is about the connection between the heart and the brain. What happens to the heart affects the brain also and there are 30 pages dedicated to this part talking about exactly that! Example - did you know that high triglycerides can disturb your mood? Do you know what triglycerides are? Did you know that high blood pressure harms memory and shrinks the brain? By reading this last part of the book, you can get the latest on these topics! Overall, this book is a worthwhile purchase considering how much you can gain by carefully testing and implementing some of the advice. As with all medical research, I try to test things first and see how these theories apply to my body and then implement on a larger scale. I hope you benefit from this book the way my family has and remember to take it slow before jumping in with a lot of changes at the same time and definitely consult your doctor! Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: New lease on life
Review: I have never recommended a book before, but I have recommended this masterpiece to everyone I know---and I have filled my cupboard with 10 different vitamins and minerals that I am now consuming daily, due to the fascinating information that Jean Carper has presented in her newest work. She has made the complex universe of the living, breathing, functioning, and potentially vital brain a world of wonder and possibility that I had no idea about! Once you read this book, you will have a new respect for the complexity of your "noggin", and a new understanding of how nutrition, specifically vitamin and mineral supplementation, can enhance and propel your brain's possibilities to the next level, well into your elder years! I'm only 30 years old, but as the book states, you're never too young to start taking care of your most precious asset!
Rating:
Summary: Take the info - leave the rest.
Review: I suppose, just like our bodies take specific nutrients from our food, we will need to take just the specific kernals of information, i.e. the types of supplements necessary for enhancing the brain's function and sift out the rest of her book. This isn't the best of Carper's books on nutrition, yet she still knows a great deal. Don't dismiss her work based on this book. A site where there is more documentation presented is iHerb. This site has a variety of products for brain, heart, body renewal, but what I appreciate most is that it isn't afraid to publish. iHerb contains links to many publications that can further develop what Carper begins here.
Rating:
Summary: Whew!
Review: If anybody needs this here book, it's me. I can't hardly get through the whole title without needed to take a break, and go watch TV or something. But, boy oh boy, when I got going, I felt like the world was at my feet. I felt like there was nothing the world could do to get me down. All my life people have told me as I was as dumb as a muskrat, and I swore all along that I was secretly a smart person trapped in a dumb person's body. This book is so good that it unleashes that hidden intellectual-type person in all of us. I haven't read all of it yet, because some of it is hard to understand. But the other day at work, I used the word "maximize" at work, and everybody looked at me like I was some kind of genius. I'm a loader, and I guess I was dropping and breaking more packages than usual, and the supervisor came in and told me to be more careful. I said, "Lay off or I'll maximize you," and that just shut him right up. This book works! You'll see the same results in no time.
Rating:
Summary: Whew!
Review: If anybody needs this here book, it's me. I can't hardly get through the whole title without needed to take a break, and go watch TV or something. But, boy oh boy, when I got going, I felt like the world was at my feet. I felt like there was nothing the world could do to get me down. All my life people have told me as I was as dumb as a muskrat, and I swore all along that I was secretly a smart person trapped in a dumb person's body. This book is so good that it unleashes that hidden intellectual-type person in all of us. I haven't read all of it yet, because some of it is hard to understand. But the other day at work, I used the word "maximize" at work, and everybody looked at me like I was some kind of genius. I'm a loader, and I guess I was dropping and breaking more packages than usual, and the supervisor came in and told me to be more careful. I said, "Lay off or I'll maximize you," and that just shut him right up. This book works! You'll see the same results in no time.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable to read and informative
Review: Jean Carper has a wonderful writing style. She is able to take complex topics that may otherwise be boring and turn them into a fascinating read. In this book she strongly emphasizes the importance of food in brain health, particularly oils found in fish. I agree with her that many people in this country may not be getting adequate amounts of omega-3 or fish oils. Clinically I have found that fish oils do help improve mood and vision. I highly recommend this book, you will learn a lot. I first heard about Jean a decade ago from my mom who had her book Food: Your Miracle Medicine. You may also consider reading my book Mind Boosters. It compliments Jean's book and provides additional points of view, suggestions, and information about dozens of different supplements. There's a lot of information about new mind boosters such as vinpocetine, huperzine, methyl donors, etc. and more of a practical/medical approach on side effects, dosages, and how to combine various nutrients to improve mood, memory, vision, sex drive, and mental performance.
Rating:
Summary: Knowledge that gives hope
Review: Jean Carper has done a great service again! She has the amazing gift, evident in Food: The Miracle Medicine, in being able to distil practical and well nuanced explanations and applications from the immense amount of the latest research data. You can glean quite a few gems just from the detailed table of contents and the top ten strategies in the Postscript. But every page is filled with words of wisdom. The format and style of writing is much more readable and succinct than Dr. Andrew Weil's Eating Well for Optimum Health, which is also excellent. One suggestion. Will it be appropriate to include an appendix on the importance of water consumption for the brain? A query. The report on "dopamine rise in the brains of men playing video games" (p. 5) has great implications for education. I personally have heard directly from a neuroscientist disagreeing with this viewpoint. I hope this could be explored further. Overall, it is an exhilarating experience reading such a fine and useful book. Thanks a lot, Jean.
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