A Revolutionary Science that Really Could Heal a World:

Why, yes!  Though oftentimes challenging.
When we were recently visiting my parents, Mom shared with us a revolutionary study that has in turn revolutionized our way of life for the better.  I highly recommend looking into it for yourself.
Have you heard of Dr. Daniel Amen (pronounced AW-men)?

• Amen is a distinguished neuropsychiatrist.  Beginning his HUGE research with the military (you'd have to for funding what he's accomplished), Dr. Amen specializes in "brain health, innovative neuroscience research, diagnosis and treatment for a wide variety of neuropsychiatric, behavioral and learning problems among children, teenagers and adults."  Having a national reputation for his work, he now writes about his findings and runs specialized centers (one out in Fairfield) "utilizing brain SPECT scan imaging for a wide variety of neuropsychiatric problems, including ADD, anxiety, depression, autism and memory problems."  Pretty darn cool.  I can't emphasize enough how awesome his work is.

Have you heard of a SPECT scan?

• Stands for "Single-photon emission computed tomography."  Super expensive to use.  Using a gamma camera, it is able to capture brain activity in true 3D after injecting a radioisotope into the blood.  The cortical surface of the brain is reconstructed perfectly.  Average activity is shown in a blue color, higher activity is shown in red, and very high activity is shown in white.  So how is this useful?  Dr. Amen did his study using this on tens of thousands of patients from 75 different countries and discovered some pretty revolutionary stuff.  Turns out that the brain can be riddled with holes/defects that would be otherwise undetectable; ie: you can watch and see how electrical signals for neurons are entirely absent in key parts of the brain.  The placement of the holes directly affects behaviors, attitudes, and abilities that you can observe.  Sometimes these holes are constant and need professional assistance, but many you can repair yourself with changes of food diet and practices that are specifically helpful for that area of the brain, happiness, and other important behaviors that can change the quality of life.

Here's an example of what the brain's activity looks like after long standing alcohol abuse:

Baseline Surface:

Long Standing Alcohol Abuse

Scary, huh?
     One of Dr. Amen's big theories has to do with criminal behavior being linked to a very holey-brain.  You can see very clearly with just this example with alcohol that there are massive holes not just where the motor cortex is, but memory and major-decision making spots are practically non-existent.  Sound like your average drinker?  The fact that the holes exist under alcoholic or any other condition DOES NOT ABSOLVE a person from making the choice to drink, do drugs, or commit a crime.  It does show however that undesirable behaviors can be specifically treated, and potentially even extinguished.  A fav study of mine (I don't remember when it was conducted) showed that a diet high in bananas and caffeine led to lessened reasoning capacity, which was rather obviously manifested in juvenile delinquents.  Detention centers modified young inmates' diets by taking them off bananas and caffeine entirely, allowing the body to eliminate the chemical combo from the system.  Result?  The imprisoned youths were thoughtful, less prone to violence,  became exemplary in behavior, and found the actions that led them to their crimes to be utterly stupid, "How did I think that could work?" and so on.  States in the Midwest immediately leaped upon the research and found great success in turning around youth delinquency.

     Your happiness and health really do make a difference.  Not just for yourself, but for your interactions with others, family, and the ability to keep a career.  The stressors we face really do physical damage to ourselves if we let them.  You don't have to be just in an accident to receive brain damage, it seems.  Dr. Amen's findings can soothe and/or eliminate the following exhibitions of brain damage -- and yes, it really is brain damage at work here:

• ADHD/ADD
• Anxiety and Depression
• Brain Trauma
• Substance Abuse
• Alzheimer's and Memory Loss
• Marital Problems
• Aggression
• Autism

     As a family, we found a lot of simple solutions to the everyday things that bothered us individually or as a whole.  Much of it was things that we already liked/did, but had been put off or lessened for sometime.  And by just practicing and focusing on the things we needed, BOOM!  Life feels better, even when things are stressful.  Example:  If the Limbic System in the brain is being challenged, you should have vitamins, low external stimulation (reduce tv/video games/aggressive interactions with others), exercise, and lots of hugs/snuggling.  Personally, I need to make my basal ganglia healthier, which can be done with lots of calcium, high protein (specifically salmon), complex carbs, and frequent eating to avoid hypoglycemic episodes (which make things not so good).  The food prescription allows the right chemicals to be in place for mending those holes I wrote about earlier.  The point is that with a little bit of effort, radical change can happen that will fix very specific things.

     Brant and I sat down together a little over a week ago to take a look at our ability for industriousness and what we wanted to do this summer.  With the research we read in mind, we decided to be proactive to see what would happen if we tried out the research for ourselves.  Like faith-building, you will really come to know if something is true if you have tested it.  We've created schedules, exercised daily, and augmented our eating habits.  We've been at this for little over a week and already our daily satisfaction and motivation is much improved.  It's really fun and energizing.  Just have to keep at it.  And oddly enough, I think we will.

Whether you are in an awful spot and desperate to normalize, or you're alright but want to have an enhanced life, you should really look into Dr. Amen and see what little things could make a difference for you.

So go to your local library or bookstore and pick up Dr. Amen's,Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.  I can testify that it really can change your life for the better immediately.