If you have a burning desire to expand your knowledge of medicinal herbs, you know, the ones that are called weeds outside our back fence, or even growing in our yards, you may want to check out an 8 module webinar class by Kiva Rose.

Kiva Rose is a well known herbal blogger and co-founder of the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference. She has developed a personal system for getting really acquainted with herbs, without a lot of books. For the first time ever, she will be sharing her wisdom and techniques.

It sounds like a lot of fun, a wonderful new learning experience, and a great way to tune into natural remedies. Who knows? Something growing in the field behind your house could be “just what the doctor ordered!”

You can get more details on Kiva Rose, her unique approach to studying herbs, and an overview of her course here

Did you know that spices are really super-foods for the brain, and go far beyond the role of anti-oxidants?

Dr. Braverman identifies 35 spices and herbs that actually support the four major brain chemicals that help our brains function properly.

When specific spices are combined with specific foods, you have super fuel to increase the 4 main brain chemicals; dopamine, acetylcholine, gaba, and seratonin.

A sprinkle of spice here and there will not suffice. Dr. Braverman recommends 3 spices per meal, in much larger quantities to contribute to brain balance.

Stay tuned to learn much more about the role of spices and herbs in your daily meal planning, and diet in general.

We are learning more and more about eating to balance the brain to optimize our health, but new research is showing these same healthy brain foods have an entirely different and unique function that can prevent cancer cells from multiplying and going wild. 

Have you heard about Angiogenesis?  Watch this intriguing video by William Li describing Angiogenesis, and an entirely new concept in dealing with cancer. 

This is another great reason to start on a brain healthy eating plan now, today!  Need some help getting started?  Check out my Healthy Brain Lifestyles blog.

Or, simply order Dr. Braverman’s book “Younger Thinner you Diet” by clicking on the bright yellow book cover to the right. You will get everything you need to start you on an incredible journey to health through common, everyday foods.

I was full of ideas and motivation. That is, until I started to look for concise, proven ideas. There were a number of nutritional products to boost brain function already on the market, and more seem to appear everyday. But in my opinion, nutrition supplements are just supports to what we should be doing with our lifestyle, and exact brain healthy lifestyle information is most important.

Also, before I can recommend a product, I feel the need to try it out first. But then, just because something works or doesn’t work for me is no real criteria of an effective product.

So this blog sort of sat in limbo, until now. Now, thanks to research by two different doctors, there is a lot to say about feeding your brain. They approach brain food from two completely different angles, but basically agree on the foods.

The first is Dr. Daniel G. Amen, who has been taking SPECT scans to determine brain function since 1991. By looking at brain imaging, he sees what specific areas of the brain are not working.

Working with these brain images for almost 20 years, plus doing his own research into supplements and food, he has detailed suggestions for brain food.

Dr. Eric Braverman, MD is another outstanding doctor that has been focusing on brain research and treatment for over 25 years.

The good news is there is a whole new generation of physicians and researchers that are debunking old myths about the brain, and giving us tremendous new insights into brain function. This new generation of researchers believes that physical symptoms and illness start with brain imbalances.

Scientific research supports the fact that our brain has everything to do with aging, our health, our emotions, actions and reactions.

There have been numerous books already written on the body – mind connection. And Dr. Braverman adapted this concept to remarkable working blueprint for health and weight control, based on brain biochemical function. When electricity from the human body reaches the brain, it is processed through four neurotransmitters. For any given body function, all four neurotransmitters must be processed in a specific order, in a specific amount.

Deficiencies in the neurotransmitters directly lead to decreased physical and mental health.

Dr. Braverman states what I already believed when I named this blog. “Everything we put in our mouth first affects our brain.”

Do you want real science-based information on optimum brain health?

Here are my book suggestions:
• The Edge Effect
• Younger Thinner You Diet
• Change Your Brain – Change Your Body

Start with these 3 books. It could be the catalyst to making permanent lifestyle changes that affect how you think, feel, act, and age for the rest of your life!

When we look in the mirror at our bodies, we get a clue that maybe we need to lose some weight, put lotion on dry skin, or have a skin rash looked at.

We do not have a mirror that looks into our brains. So most of the time, we do not think about our brains as needing care or tending.

We also do not really think about using our brain to motivate change in our whole lives.

If you fall into the above description, may I suggest a wonderful book to shed some light on a very important subject.

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, by Dr. Danial G. Amen, gives wonderful new insights into the brain, and how it controls our behavior.

Get more information on Dr. Amen, and his work here.

My Favorite Books:

Magnificent Mind at Any Age, written by Dr. Daniel G. Amen, has some of the best brain information.

If you have specific behavior problems, such as ADD or Depression, my all-time favorite books are by Dr. Daniel G. Amen. He has practiced neuro-psychiatry for years, and stands out in the psychiatric field by using SPECT scans to show physical proof of areas of the brain that are not functioning properly.

He also is unique in that he recommends natural remedies, when they work.

Here are a few of my favorite brain behavior books of his:

Healing ADD. This is by far the best book I have ever read on ADD.

Healing Anxiety and Depression is another great book for specific behavior problems. Yes, depression is a behavior problem. And the wonderful thing about this book, and Dr. Amen in general, he recommends natural healing remedies. If they don’t work, he then have additional medication suggestions.

Did you know that if you are waiting for your mouth to “feel dry” as a signal to drink water, that is the very last signal of dehydration?

With so many other beverages available, it is easy to diminish the thirst sensation for water. Insufficient water leads to chronic dehydration, which in turn shrinks my cells, and affects how I function in many areas. And no other beverage hydrates my cells. In other words, if you consistently deprive me of sufficient hydration from water – I shrink!

Also, my cells manufacture products that travel mini-waterways to their destination in the nerve endings to transmit messages. Insufficient water? Important chemicals do not reach my nerve endings. What does that really mean? You do not think as quick on your feet.

Dehydration also affects sodium and potassium electrolyte balance. That imbalance affects the fluids surrounding my cells and membranes, and paves the way for confusion, even stupor.

Please keep me healthy with constant sips of water all day long, and remember to place a container of water near your bed for a few sips if you wake up at night.

When you drink water for my sake, your whole body will see the benefits!