Patrick Holford, founder of The Food for the Brain Foundation, addresses the global mental health crisis and introduces his book, ‘Upgrade Your Brain.’ The book explores eight key principles for enhancing brain function, such as brain fats, vitamins, reducing sugar, ketogenic diets, the gut-brain connection, antioxidants, and maintaining an active lifestyle. It also offers insights into various mental health issues and tips for optimizing mental health.
BOOK: Upgrade Your Brain
Transcript
Hi, I’m Patrick Holford, and I’m the founder of The Food for the Brain Foundation. It’s a not-for-profit charity, and we exist because there is a mental health crisis all over the world.
Rates of ADHD, autism, neurodivergence, dementia, depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia are all on the increase. These problems are costing more than all of cancer and heart disease combined.
I’ve spent the last several years studying with the world’s leading professors and have put the information together in this book, “Upgrade Your Brain.” Professor Michael Crawford, the director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry who discovered that the brain is made of Omega-3, says this masterly book explains how to respond to the escalating mental health crisis.
Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist, describes it as a powerful solution to modern-day brain decline. Psychiatrist Dr. Hyer Cass, a Canadian, calls it a must-read and the future of psychiatry.
The purpose of the book is to show people how to regain their mental health, clarity, mood, ability to sleep well, and live without endless stress and anxiety. It starts by covering eight fundamental principles that will help you upgrade your brain. These include the importance of brain fats, Omega-3, vitamin D, phospholipids, B vitamins, and reducing sugar. The brain runs on glucose and ketones, and I discuss ketogenic diets as well. A healthy gut is vital, as the gut-brain connection is crucial. Antioxidants and polyphenols help to anti-age your brain, and an active lifestyle is important. This includes the effects of exercise and keeping your mind active by learning new things throughout life. The book also addresses reducing stress and getting a good night’s sleep.
When you put these eight pieces together, the eight essentials for a brain upgrade, you will experience a surge of mental energy, clarity, and calm. It’s as if your brain starts to sing.
In the second half of the book, I discuss significant mental health problems, from schizophrenia to dementia, and how to proof your diet and lifestyle so you never need to develop Alzheimer’s. It ends with how we can build healthy brains in the next generation and help our children be their best.
There is no reason to end your life without your mind. It’s crucial that we do not normalize dementia or neurodivergence. We want to optimize.
The book is a manual from leading experts on how to optimize your mental health and brain, and it’s supported by videos we’ve made for the Health Channel and the charity Food For the Brain. There is a free online cognitive function test and a questionnaire to complete, which shows you where to focus your attention. If you read the book, watch the videos, and take the test, you will experience an upgrade.