Reading For the Mind

As we move steadily into 2015, the majority of the average individual’s newly adopted resolutions have begun to wane and falter. In most cases, as well intentioned as those goals were when made, it’s often exceedingly hard if not impossible to make them last long into the actual New Year in practice. 

By COURTNEY WEBB

Fitness is no doubt one of the most chosen objectives selected due to our calorie overloaded and largely sedentary modern lifestyle. However, while we worry about the fitness of our bodies, how often do we do so about the fitness of our minds? 

As you head out on those spring getaways or pick up a book to browse while the kids are on break, why not choose a title that will not only enrich your mind with the act of reading, but also just perhaps aid in making it more organized, healthy and emotionally well for years to come.

Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar―Your Brain’s Silent Killers
by David Perlmutter, M.D

The gluten free trend that has been gaining momentum over the last few years may indeed be much more than just a fad or needed diet adjustment for those with celiac disease. Within Grain Brain, neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter exposes the main culprit in degenerative brain disorders as inflammation that can be fed by carbohydrates.  The biggest of the offenders are carbohydrates containing gluten and those high in sugar. Diseases such as dementia, ADHD, epilepsy, anxiety, depression and autism all could be positively affected by addressing our diet of processed carbohydrates. 

Perlmutter explains the process by which the inflammation occurs within different conditions, while also supplying a week-by-week journey toward getting your brain grain free and started on the road to the growth of healthy new brain cells.  Perlmutter’s The Grain Brain Cookbook is also available for those interested in making these healthy changes become an every day reality. 

The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload

by Daniel J. Levitin

The New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music has returned with a new mission to help us develop our brains and sift through the veritable mountain of information received almost every minute of every day.  From managing Internet overload to preventing the beginning stages in the next generation, author Daniel Levitin draws on neuroscience as he advises our exhausted minds on matters both big and small to try and create an oasis for our present day mentality. 

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do

by Amy Morin 

How does one become emotionally strong? Is there a viable way to train yourself to better meet the challenges life could, in theory, throw your way before they occur? The well-known, much read list of things mentally strong people don’t do, by psychotherapist Amy Morin, has made its way from engaging over ten million people on Forbes online, to a convenient cover to cover version.  Cast out fear, failure and the need for control, to begin a time of better thinking for both happiness and success in your future.