Making a Good Brain Great -- A Review

by Gregory Allen Butler

Today I decided to write a review of Making a Good Brain Great by Dr. Daniel G. Amen. And the reason is simple: It's an important book. If you just consider the high percentage of elderly people in the United States with Alzheimer's disease you will probably agree with me. I only became awarerof the book this past weekend, while visiting Washington, DC. My wife and I noticed it at my sister’s house. My sister was enthusiastic about the book and encouraged us to borrow it, which we did.

Now that I have read through the book, I understanad her enthusiasm. First of all, Dr. Amen isn’t just your average run of the mill doctor. He is a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and brain-imaging expert, and runs the famous Amen Clinics. He is the author of 20 books.

The book is full of practical advice and interesting anecdotal evidence. It's a fun read. I also found the book to be a motivator of developing good habits. For instance, this book could be the inspiration you need to make changes in your life like:

Cutting back on alcohol consumption

Stop drinking coffee

Stop watching hours of television each day

Stop smoking

Eating a healthy diet

Exercising

Learning a musical instrument

Listening to music

Meditating

Taking gingko biloba and other supplements like fish oil and vitamin C

Eliminating negative thoughts from your mind

Making a Good Brain Great is also full of brain scan images. It’s amazing how different a healthy brain looks from a drug abused brain and also from a brain afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. One of the book’s goals is to keep the brain young and free from disease.

The real benefit of this book is that it doesn’t just tell you what’s good and what’s bad for the brain. It provides a protocol for it called "15 Days to a Better Brain," which is great practical advice layed out in a structured way. He also provides a diet for a healthy brain.

If you are holistic minded you probably have already incorporated most of these tips into your life so the remaining few should not be a problem. If you have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, there is a lot in this book to soothe your fears about you own susceptibility to it, for there are preventive measures that you can integrate into your daily life.

The bottom line of Making a Good Brain Great seems to be that nobody has a perfect brain but with the right knowledge and behavior, each of our brains can become better tools for creating better lives.