A Healthy Brain for Life: How to Prevent Alzheimer's, Dementia, and Memory Loss

by Richard Furman

Many people claim they would rather be diagnosed with cancer than dementia or Alzheimer's. What they may not realize is that decreased or impaired brain function is not a foregone conclusion as we get older. Our own lifestyle choices and habits can have a significant impact--for good or ill--on our brains. And that means there's hope.

Drawing from the latest medical research, Dr. Richard Furman helps readers understand brain health and shows them how to make three powerful lifestyle changes that can help decrease the probability of developing dementia or Alzheimer's. He explains how eating the right foods, exercising, and sustaining an ideal weight can dramatically reduce the likelihood of developing brain disorders in the first place, and even how those habits can slow the progression of dementia in someone who has already received a diagnosis.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Food

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2020

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genres: Nonfiction/Health/Food

I've heard this author on a few podcasts. He is very much an advocate for the whole foods plant based diet. He dials into brain health by way of eating low fat. He concentrates on keeping the arteries healthy. If someone is new down the Alzheimers/Dementia rabbit hole this book is a good starting point but it isn't the whole picture.

I'm not entirely sure what the whole picture is myself because there are so many different studies, books, diets, so called experts, etc., that all beckon the reader to go their way. And they often contradict each other. I struggle with the end all - be all approach. Just from my own rabbit hole diving, it isn't cut and dry because everyone is not the same.

I liked the message here, however overall, this book was published just a few years ago but it felt like the old advice of the 1980s and 1990s. And look....America is still sick. Still having strokes and heart attacks. Still being stricken with diabetes, Alzheimer's, and dementia. All in record numbers.

So 3 stars...for being a tiny piece of the puzzle.

[William Small · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor and read this very important book.

The information provided in this book may be uncomfortable at times to read, but like all good medicines even though they may taste bad we know that they will ultimately help us. You will do a great favor to yourself by reading and then following the advice given in this book physically and even more important spiritually.

[Christina Agnew · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciate the sentiment behind this book, it was simply too wordy and repetitive. It could have been summarized in a much shorter fashion. I think Furman was simply trying to get his point across, but it was a bit overkill, in my opinion. As a type 1 diabetic, I also wish he had spent some time differentiating between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, instead of lumping us all together with the generic "diabetes" as being a risk factor for Alzheimer's.

Instead of using BMI to determine if you are at a healthy weight, Furman recommends his own method, where you start with a baseline number and add X amount of pounds for every inch above 5' that you are. I found this to be on the very lean side, and not taking into account the muscle mass or people's natural body types. It does not seem like a realistic goal weight for many people, even though they may be far from overweight.

I did enjoy reading the snippets of his mother-in-law's life, as she progressed with Alzheimer's. This helped bring the book to life, and broke up the many statistics scattered throughout the book.

[Mariam Awadh · Rating 3 out of 5]

عرض جميل من مكتبة جرير الالكترونية ,,, قرأت الكتاب من خلال عرض ال٣٠ ساعة المجانية و أنهيت فيه الكتاب الملهم الرائع ,, جاء الكتاب في وقته حيث التوجه للحياة الصحية .. الرياضة و بعض لتمارين التي تحافظ على صحة العقل و الجسم ,,, عرض الكتاب تجربة حماته مع إلزهايمر ,, بكل تفاصيلها ,, و أحسست بأن الوقت لابد أن يبدأ لاختبار حياة صحية و وعي بالقيم الغذائية

[Mary Lou Wasson Roche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nutritionally and medically informative,a bit repetitious. This may be for a reason, to drive the point home

[Lizanne Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important information for preventing cognitive decline. Rather repetitive.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

now I've got to implement.