Making a Good Brain Great: The Amen Clinic Program for Achieving and Sustaining Optimal Mental Performance

Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

Harmony Books,  October 2005

Daniel Amen, M.D., one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain, has news for you: your brain is involved in everything you do -- learn to care for it properly, and you will be smarter, healthier, and happier in as little as 15 days!

You probably run, lift weights, or do yoga to keep your body in great shape; you put on sunscreen and lotions to protect your skin; but chances are you simply ignore your brain and trust it to do its job. People unknowingly endanger or injure their brains, stress them by working at a frenzied pace and not getting enough sleep, pollute them with caffeine, alcohol, and drugs, and deprive them of proper nutrients. Brain dysfunction is the number one reason people fail at school, work, and relationships. The brain is the organ of learning, working, and loving -- the supercomputer that runs our lives. It's very simple: when our brains work right, we work right -- and when our brains have trouble, we have trouble in our lives.

Luckily, it's never too late: the brain is capable of change, and when you care for it, the results are amazing. Making a Good Brain Great gives you the tools you need to optimize your brain power and enrich your health and your life in the process. The principles and exercises in this book, based on years of cutting-edge neuroscience research and the experiences of thousands of people, provide a wealth of practical information to teach you how to achieve the best brain possible. You will learn:

  • how to eat right to think right
  • how to protect your brain from injuries and toxic substances
  • how to nourish your brain with vitamins and do mental workouts to keep it strong
  • the critical component of physical exercise, and which kinds work best
  • how to rid your brain of negative thoughts, counteract stress, and much more

Full of encouraging anecdotes from Dr. Amen's many years of experience, Making a Good Brain Great is a positive and practical road map for enriching and improving your own greatest asset -- your brain.

hardcover | ISBN: 9781400082087 | Publication Date: October 2005

Reviews:

"This book is wonderful. It gives the reader great understanding and hope that changes in oneself can be made. If you put these changes into action, a happy and healthy brain is yours."
--Bill Cosby

"Each of Daniel Amen’s books contains special nuggets that can be found nowhere else, as well as a wealth of useful, general information that he brings together under one roof. This book offers excellent advice as well as a great deal of new information. An extremely useful and easy-to-read book."
--Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of Delivered from Distraction and The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness

"Making a Good Brain Great is the long-awaited synthesis of a true visionary’s work. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in self-improvement, and especially parents and other caregivers of children -- this book is a gem for those of us who want to raise healthy kids."
--Michael Gurian, author of The Minds of Boys and The Wonder of Girls

"The most important gift we have to share is wisdom. In this timely book, Dr. Amen shows us how to create a great brain so we can make the world a better place."
--Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., president/medical director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Foundation, and author of The Better Memory Kit and The End of Karma

"A must-read for those who live by their wits."
--Dennis B. Alters, M.D., child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry, and author of Wizard’s Way

"As a colleague and advocate of Dr. Amen's work for the past ten years, I strongly urge the American community to grab this book, read it, and then pass it on. This is Dr. Amen at his peak: easy to read, follow, and apply."
--Robert G. Kohn, D.O., neurology-psychiatry

"Dr. Amen is leading the mental health disciplines, and perhaps the greater society, into a new era of understanding the relationship between brain functioning and our human experience."
--Bart Main, M.D., child and adolescent psychiatry

"Because of Dr. Amen's very timely emphasis upon proactive, protective care of brain development from birth to age 25, this book is a must-read for parents and grandparents!"
--J. Michael Uszler, M.D., assistant clinical professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, UCLA

"Making a Good Brain Great will help you find optimum functioning through proven steps to help your brain realize its fullest potential. Dr. Amen is not only a gifted and brilliant physician, he is a doctor with the passion to help each patient live life to the fullest of their capabilities. I recommend buying copies of this book for family members and friends to help them on their journey of change and transformation!"
--Earl R. Henslin, Psy.D., B.C.E.T.S.

"Once again Dr. Amen has taken information from multiple sources and put it together in a unique way. This allows clinicians and the general public a way of viewing themselves in a positive rather than judgmental light. Bringing together brain chemistry, diet, exercise, healthful living, and medications when needed is just the right combination. It allows the patient to participate in his or her own health care."
--Mark Kosins, M.D., psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor, UC-Irvine

"Daniel Amen, M.D., is a unique communicator, and each of his books builds from his ever-growing knowledge base. Making a Good Brain Great is a gift to the public and to clinicians alike. Wide-ranging aspects of brain science, cognitive studies, psychopharmacology, and nutrition, integrated with his visionary clinical observations -- Dr. Amen lays it all out clearly."
--Thomas M. Brod, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., associate clinical professor of psychiatry, UCLA

"Amen's best book so far for the general public, Making a Good Brain Great keeps readers in awe of the brain's complexity while making simple truths about its proper care and handling seem self evident. He remains at the cutting edge of bringing brain science into the psychiatrist's office as well as interpreting this science for the rest of us."
--Timmen L. Cermak, M.D., author of Marijuana: What's a Parent to Believe