The Neurogenesis Diet and Lifestyle: Upgrade Your Brain, Upgrade Your Life

by Brant Cortright

“ #1 International Bestseller, The Neurogenesis Diet and Lifestyle quickly became an international sensation. The book brings together the latest in neuroscience research to present a new and proven approach to brain health and aging." “The most important book you’ll read this year.” The Neurogenesis Diet and Lifestyle brings together the latest in neuroscience research to present a new and proven view of brain health and aging. Only recently has it been discovered that the brain produces new brain cells throughout our entire lives, a process called neurogenesis. The rate at which we form new brain cells has a profound influence upon every aspect of our life. When the rate of neurogenesis is low, we see cognitive deficits and memory problems, anxiety and stress, depression, and lowered immunity. Life is difficult. With high rates of neurogenesis we see the enhanced cognitive abilities, rapid learning, emotional resilience, protection from anxiety, stress and depression, heightened immunity and robust health. We flourish. Life is wonderful. Given the neurotoxic norms of society, it’s almost universally true that your brain is working far below its capacity. It is deteriorating much faster than it needs to. What good is living longer if your brain can’t go the distance? Recent discoveries in the emerging field of neurogenesis reveal the secrets to radically improve your brain’s health. You can operate at a higher level than you ever dreamed possible – at any age! ”A revolutionary paradigm shift in brain health and brain aging." This scientifically validated, 4-point program of diet and lifestyle • Improve your memory and brain power • Inoculate you against stress and depression • Prevent or delay cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s • Enrich your relationships and sex life • Help you connect with your loving center of peace This book presents the latest neuroscience discoveries to increase brain power, enhance memory, increase brain fitness by seeing what kinds of brain exercises actually work, and build a better brain. It contains dietary recommendations for brain food, brain vitamins, brain supplements, memory vitamins and memory supplements. “This is the best book to give anyone over 50!” This book also spells out the symptoms of dementia, the stages of dementia, signs of cognitive decline and stages of Alzheimer’s. The plan presented in The Neurogenesis Diet and Lifestyle will help to ward off cognitive decline and avoid dementia stages. This lifestyle is the only lifestyle for which there is scientific evidence supporting it, based on a late 2014 research study by the Buck Foundation. The Neurogenesis Diet and Lifestyle is aimed at improving how your brain functions. Your rate of neurogenesis may be the most important factor in your brain health. And increasing your rate of neurogenesis by three to five times can result in powerfully improved memory, learning, cognitive enhancement, as well as improved immunity and protection against stress and depression. You can live and perform well beyond where you are now.

Genres: Health, Science, Nonfiction, Neuroscience, Psychology, Nutrition, Biology

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2015

About the author

Brant Cortright, Ph.D., is professor emeritus with the California Institute of Integral Studies and a clinical psychologist with a private practice in San Francisco and online. Author of four books, he has a practice as a coach/consultant on anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, and brain health. He gives workshops around the world and is a speaker at conferences. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Lynda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read "The Story of the Human Body", "Bulletproof Diet", "Transcend", "Grain Brain", "Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life", and "The Hormone Cure", to name a few related titles, reading "Neurogenesis" felt like a synthesis of many of those books and did not shed too much new light for me. The overriding gist of the book is to debunk the myth that brain cells die as we age. We now know that new neurons do form in our brain throughout our lifetime and that brain cells do not die as we age. It is indeed very positive news for everyone.

We are in total control of the quality and capability of our cognitive function through adopting the right strategies for our diet, lifestyle, and physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. This is not a new and groundbreaking message though. Cut down sugar, eat your blueberries, exercise, have a positive outlook in life, engage in new experiences, watch less TV, and listen to music, etc. These are just some of the advice offered in the book as reinforcement of what most of us already know. I did find the book very repetitive; it could have been written in half the length.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a game-changer for the fields of psychology and psychiatry. Debunks the myth of SSRI's and NDRIs as an effective treatment for depression, with new science that reveals it is the rate of neurogenesis that is the central mechanism determining depression. What we believe to be "normal aging" is actually an artifact of a neurotoxic lifestyle and diet that slows the brain down much more and much faster than necessary. Hands down one of the most ground-breaking books on the latest neuroscience developments as they relate to aging and emotional disorders. Presented in an easily digestible style as well; science communication at its best! In terms of practical applications to increase the rate of neurogenesis in ourselves, the recommendations are a bit more limited, but that is simply because the science to validate this aspect is still evolving. I look forward to the followup or revised version with more comprehensive recommendations!

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. I heard about this book during an interview with the author I heard on a podcast.

I mainly bought this book due to a stroke my mother had suffered to see if there was something that could help. The book has a variety of suggestions to help minimize the probability of cognitive decline. Unfortunately there does not seem to be anything that can help after the fact.

All in all a good book that gives very good suggestions for diet, exercise and mental exercises as a preventative measure.

[Dawid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Świeże odkrycie naukowe z zakresu wielu dziedzin, nie tylko psychologii. Książka wydana w 2015 roku, dlaczego ja dopiero w 2021 ją czytam? I to natknąłem się na nią przypadkiem.

Mózg rozwija się nie tylko do 20 roku życia ale nawet u 100 latków - najnowsze odkrycie które zmienia reguły gry!
Co możemy zyskać dzięki neurogenezie, jak rozwijać mózg i jak o niego dbać? Książka pisana zrozumiałym językiem dla laika (choć są słowa specjalistyczne ale naprawdę można te fragmenty pominąć).
Pokrótce:
Chcesz mieć lepszą jakość życia? Cierpisz na depresję? Boisz się Alzhaimera? Książka dla Ciebie!
Książka stawia na wszystkie 4 filary zdrowego stylu życia/ człowieczeństwa/ zdrowia mózgu:
- Ciało
- Serce
- Umysł
- Dusza
Każdy jest ważny i wszystkie łączą się ze sobą. Dodam, że są tu wyjaśnione nie tylko tajniki diety "na mózg" i trochę ćwiczeń ale też te inne potrzebne rzeczy.

Nauka o regeneracji mózgu dopiero raczkuje i nawet nasze dzieci nie doczekają jej pełnego rozwoju ale mamy solidne podstawy! (a może doczekamy - regeneracja organizmu wymyślona przez naukowców w zespół z A.I., może dać nam wydłużenie życia? Kto wie ;) ).

Niemniej zacząłem re-read!

[Csabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s my first book on Neurogenesis and frankly, I find it to be an entry book for everyone curious about Neurogenesis or Neuroplasticity, and Neuroscience in general.
It is easy to digest and a book for everyone to read as it brings so much awareness on what is a healthy lifestyle. Packed with references and case studies, this is one of my favorite books, right now.
I strongly recommend reading this book and having it around.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really eye opening read, packed full of great information and food for thought. I found the first chapter very repetitive but enjoyed the book overall. Will be looking further into this subject.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for anyone of any age who wants to increase brain function as well as protect brain function for the future. Dr. Cortright breaks brain health down into a holistic approach that includes: diet, body, mind, heart, and spirit. Lots of great stuff!

[Mind Drip · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book! Easy to read in a short amount of time. Essentially a compilation of advice on how to improve your rate of neurogenesis. One drawback was that I felt like it had some unnecessary filler paragraphs, but luckily not too many.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

Its Kind of a combo of a lot other books. There are a lot of books like this out there.

[Timeo Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent

No solid strict regiment to follow. Brief outlines and emphasized text certainly help guide the reader through the book, but a lot was felt missing.

[Natalia Garcia-Moreno Caraza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being that I'm someone highly intrigued in working on ways to enhance my mind's functionality for greater efficiency, discovering the reality of neurogenesis was like hitting the jackpot for me. After hearing Dr. Cortright's google talk I knew I had to read the book to get the full picture of what a neurogenesis lifestyle really entails.
In my opinion, this book isn't going to be for everyone. Especially not for those who aren't (very) interested in topics as such. It basically covers what Dr. Cortright calls the "program", a 4 component, holistic approach to maximizing your brain and getting it to operate at its peak level. Not only does it tell you what to do, but also why. What's neurogenesis and BDNF? how are they related, why is it important to maintain BDNF levels for neural stimulation and survival, and how can we do this? These are only a couple of dozens of topics touched on throughout the book.
If you're into learning about the breakthrough discovery of the 1990s that defied hundreds of thousands of years of mistaken medical beliefs; neurogenesis, then this might be the book for you. Given the newness of the topic, there's obviously still much more left to be uncovered and polished out. Regardless, I consider the book to have been thoroughly researched and nicely put together.

[Kawaii · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a spectacular book!!
I am completedly impressed by the knowledge this book holds. Good gracious I am completely speechless. I am fascinated completely in and out.
Five star of course. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am personal suffering with couple of symptoms the book has offered to help with. I am literally a Dyslexic. Have a hard time retrieving information or recalling any sort of memory. I literally forget what I just had a conversation on with my friends. I just started my 20s and such cognitive decline is not a good sign whatsoever. The diet, the mindset, the spiritual practices and the physical activities that has encouraged me to do in this work has given me a hope that I could be better, that I don't have to suffer. Everybody says it is the symptom of deficiency in Vitamin d which is the fact but the severe symptom doesn't make it seem the case.

I have started changing my diet little by little and gonna get on supplements as well. Brant Cortrigh convinced me everything is possible.

Fantastic book with fantastic knowledge.
Bless the Man!

[Dr NSCA-CPT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely informative book. The chapters on diet, body & increasing neurogenesis by not slowing it down are well worth the price of the entire book. The author, Brant Cortright, presents numerous strategies to improve brain health in this well-researched and intelligent book. He provides references to back this information.
I highly recommend "The Neurogenesis Diet and Lifestyle" to anyone who is interested in health, especially brain health, to anyone who suffers from an autoimmune disorder, to all people who have a condition that affects their brain and to individuals who has a friend or family member with an ailment that affects the brain. I also recommend this book to anyone who is interested in prevention of cognitive decline.
Great book with a common sense and holistic approach to brain health.

[David Wilusz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and easy-to-incorporate insights on improving your brain health. It was long thought that your brain could not generate new neurons/brain cells - their number was fixed and they just declined as you got older. Turns out this is not the case, and we can actually do things that enhance neurogenesis. The author steps through the broad areas of diet, body, heart, mind, and spirit, citing specific things that can increase, or decrease, neurogenesis. Written in simple language for the layman. Well worth the read for anyone interested in a healthier lifestyle and increased cognitive clarity.

[Niklas · Rating 4 out of 5]

En ganska mysig, lättillgänglig överblick över livsstilsfaktorer som vrider upp neuro- och synaptogenes. Diet-kapitlet var det mest matnyttiga, även om jag inte känner mig tillräckligt hemma i näringslära för att ta till mig LCHF-resonemanget. Resten av kapitlen säger i princip ”ta hand om dig så kommer det ordna sig”, men motiverar det med studier på BDNF och neurogenes så man har en anledning att följa det.

Lär bläddra i denna flera gånger, och i och med att jag känner att jag vill pusha den till alla runtom mig måste den ju ha betytt något för mig.

[Johannes Fischerkeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content: 5 Stars
Clarity/Lucidity: 1 or 2 Stars

As Content is more important for me, I go with 4 stars instead of three.

But its really hard at times to read through all of the chaos, in part unnecessary complexity, repitition and (sometimes apparently randomly chosen) bold text passages.

Could easily be a 5 star book, by the useful content it provides.
But i could also understand people, who don't make it through and give it 1/2 stars.

[Andrea R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an oldie but goodie. Most of it still applies today and is very useful information. A little dull to read not as dense as expected for the topic which was good. I skipped most of the future dreams sections at the end of each chapter because it was saddening to realize it’s been decades and it seems we have moved backwards as a society. I wanted a bit more but overall a very important read!

[Travis Colella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Braun health is viral!

Brain illnesses such as Parkinson's is too high. Imagine yourself with a better memory and better cognition over the long term. Dr. Cortright teaches how in this book

[Drew Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice holistic synthesis of ways to improve mind and body health. Definitely worth the read. And nice physiological explanation of the use it or lose it principle taught in 2 Nephi 28:30. Definitely worth the read

[Karen Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful in understanding the art of neurogenesis but read it with a grain of salt since the study of human brain /cognitive science is only at the beginning of a long train ride.New theories are assumed and old one disproved every single day. However, it's still a great addition to your neuroscience book shelf.

[Dheeraj Sankar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative book on mental fitness, which in turns helps in overall fitness. Takes you through various aspects like mind body spirit diet and how to improve each area to improve your brain cells and stay young and young as you age

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible!

[Aida Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

[Aviva · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must have this book

This book is amazing; practical and inspiring. I couldn't put it down even though it's technical. It was very intriguing.

[Pablo V · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have tons of papers and they conflict with each other often. This book helped me to know the best ways to maintain the neurogenesis rate elevated. Something we all need. I certainly recommend it.

[Tsinoy Foodies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers lifestyle and diet backed by scientific studies.

Going off caffeine because of this book

[Lilian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and rewarding read

It makes sense in a "brainy" way. I would like to become more mindful of what impact each and every of my action has on my precious brain.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for personal development

This book covers it all. This was a joy to read and I look forward to implementing the author's advise.