Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

by David M Eagleman    (Find this book)

An up-to-date examination of what used to be called the mind-body problem.

Eagleman (Neuroscience/Baylor Coll. of Medicine; Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, 2009) makes the point that our sense of ourselves as coherent, free-standing personalities is at odds with the most basic findings about the workings of the human brain, an organ so complex that an objective description of it sounds hyperbolic. Instinct, unconscious impulses, automatic systems, emotion and a dozen other forces, most of which we aren't even aware of, affect every thought and action. The book is full of startling examples; split-brain research, for example, shows how the two halves of a mind can be completely at odds, with neither being aware of what the other experiences. Nor are those of us with "whole" brains and a complete set of senses necessarily experiencing the world "as it really is." For example, other animals experience a different part of the visual spectrum, or can detect sounds and odors we have no awareness of. A significant segment of the population—about 15 percent of women—sees colors the rest of us can't. Our brains work differently when learning a skill and after it's become second nature – it's one thing to drive to a new place, another to drive a familiar route, and our brains work much harder doing the former than the latter, when we can go on "automatic pilot." There are lessons to be learned from various mental disorders, as well. Victims of strokes affecting certain parts of the brain may claim that they are operating at full capacity when they are clearly not; one former Supreme Court justice was forced to retire after displaying these symptoms. Eagleman has a wealth of such observations, backed up with case studies, bits of pop culture, literary references and historic examples.

A book that will leave you looking at yourself—and the world—differently. -- Kirkus Reviews

Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives

by Dean Buonomano    (Find this book)

With its trillions of connections, the human brain is more beautiful and complex than anything we could ever build, but it's far from perfect. Our memory is unreliable; we can't multiply large sums in our heads; advertising manipulates our judgment; we tend to distrust people who are different from us; supernatural beliefs and superstitions are hard to shake; we prefer instant gratification to long-term gain; and what we presume to be rational decisions are often anything but. Drawing on striking examples and fascinating studies, neuroscientist Dean Buonomano illuminates the causes and consequences of these "bugs" in terms of the brain's innermost workings and their evolutionary purposes. He then goes one step further, examining how our brains function-and malfunction-in the digital, predator-free, information-saturated, special effects-addled world that we have built for ourselves. Along the way, Brain Bugs gives us the tools to hone our cognitive strengths while recognizing our inherent weaknesses. -- Publisher Marketing  

The Inside Tract: Your Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health

by Kathie Madonna Swift    (Find this book)

More than 60 million Americans suffer from digestive disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome. In "The""Inside Tract," a comprehensive plan for overcoming these common digestive ailments, you'll learn how a simple regimen of dietary changes, supplements, and a 7-step lifestyle modification program can help heal intestinal problems and get you on track to vibrant health! --Publisher Marketing

Joy Bauer's Food Cures: Eat Right to Get Healthier, Look Younger, and Add Years to Your Life (Revised)

by Joy Bauer    (Find this book)

Comprehensively updated with cutting-edge research and expertise from one of the country's foremost nutritionists, "Joy Bauer's Food Cures" shows you how common health concerns- from beauty issues to life-threatening diseases- can be managed, treated, and sometimes even cured by the foods you eat. Inside you will find easy-to-follow 4-step food prescriptions, customizable and convenient meal plans, and delicious recipes for your favorite meals and snacks. With Joy's wisdom and practical, medically sound advice, you will learn how to use food as nature's ultimate medicine.-- Publisher Marketing

Never Fear Cancer Again: How to Prevent and Reverse Cancer

by Raymond Francis    (Find this book)

Most cancer research dollars have been wasted by asking the wrong questions, looking in the wrong places, and recycling the same failed approaches while expecting different results. Conventional cancer treatments damage health, cause new cancers, lower the quality of life, and decrease the chances of survival. In fact, most people who die from cancer are not dying from cancer, but from their treatments!
That's the bad news. Here's the good news: We can end the cancer epidemic. In "Never Fear Cancer Again," readers will gain a revolutionary new understanding of health and disease and will come to understand that cancer is a "biological process" that can be turned on and off, not something that can be surgically removed or destroyed with radiation or toxic chemicals. So whether cancer has already been diagnosed or if prevention is the concern, it is possible to turn off the wayward production of these malfunctioning cells once and for all by reading this book and implementing its strategies.
The key to any disease has one simple cause: malfunctioning cells that are created by either deficiency or toxicity. By switching off the malfunctioning cells, you switch off the cancer. "Never Fear Cancer Again" guides readers along six pathways that cause deficiency or toxicity at the cellular level: nutritional path, genetic path, medical path, toxin path, physical path, and the psychological path. By making key lifestyle changes, people truly have the power to take control of cancer and transform their health. This radically different, yet holistic approach restored author Raymond Francis back to health just as it has helped thousands of others, many of whom were told they had no other options or that their cancer was incurable. Take back your health with this book and never fear cancer again. -- Publisher Marketing

Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America's Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It

by Jeff  O'Connell    (Find this book)

Men's Health writer O'Connell (LL Cool J's Platinum Workout) delivers a smart, personally inspired health wakeup call in no uncertain terms: our excessive consumption of carbohydrates is killing us and wrecking our health-care system. Diabetes has reached "global pandemic" proportions, he argues, especially among youth; and while this "invisible disease" has been studied intensively since the role of insulin in regulating the body's sugar was understood by the 1920s (type 1 diabetes means the pancreas can no longer produce insulin, while type 2, the most prevalent today, means the body makes too much and systems begin failing), the message that the latter is entirely preventable due to a closely watched low-carb, high-protein diet has been obscured and downright denied. After witnessing the slow, agonizing death of his father from diabetes, O'Connell, too, got the "tap on the shoulder" when he was diagnosed with prediabetes and subsequently informed himself on how to radically alter his diet and lifestyle. What he learned, mystifyingly, was that most official organizations, like the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and doctors still prescribe a low-fat, high-carb diet and a host of drugs with perilous side effects. In his well-researched, reasoned work, O'Connell flips this myth and offers sage, usable advice in choosing foods, exercising, and challenging this stealthy killer. (Aug.) Copyright 2011 Reed Business Information. -- Publishers Weekly

The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity

by Donna Gates, Linda Schatz  (Find this book)

If you're experiencing discomfort, fatigue, or other symptoms that won't go away no matter what you do or how many doctors you see, chances are you're one of the millions unknowingly suffering from a systemic fungal/yeast infection, "the hidden invader." The result of an imbalance starting in your internal ecosystem, this can be a key factor in headaches, joint and muscle pain, depression, cancer, food allergies, digestive problems, autism, and other immune-related disorders. " The Body Ecology Diet" reveals how to restore and maintain the "inner ecology" your body needs to function properly, and eliminate or control the symptoms that rob you of the joy of living. Tens of thousands of people have already benefited from the Body Ecology way of life--Donna Gates shows you, step-by-step, how to eat your way to better health and well-being . . . deliciously, easily, and inexpensively! In this book, you will learn how to: use seven basic universal principles as tools to gain mastery over every health challenge you may encounter; focus on your inner ecology to create ideal digestive balance; conquer cravings with strategies for satisfying snacking and for dining away from home; and plan meals with dozens of delectable recipes, an array of menus, and detailed shopping lists. -- Publisher Marketing