Reading: Think Smart: By Richard Restak pagges 1-50

Summary:
    The book Think Smart is a non fiction account on how to improve our brain's function written by Doctor Richard Restak. The book is written in five parts, and has a total length of just over 200 pages. The first part is all about discovering the brain. The first page begins with the question, "What should I do to keep my brain working at its best?" Then the book adventures into all the background information on the doctor and how he frequently is asked that question and then explains how he conducted this book by a means of gathering all the useful information gathered by others and his own studies. Next, the book explains how far science over the brain has come at such a fast pace. It explains that fMRI images detect the changes in blood flow within active parts of the brain. Thanks to those images we know that the brain never wears out , and it gets better the more we use it. The author then goes into explaining how our brains differ from one another by using an analogy of a pianist will have a greater activation in the motor cortex while a taxi driver will have more activity in his hippocampus, the region sense and direction occur in.
    The author then begins to give background on the brain and explains that basically, we are all born with almost all the neurons we will ever have. This growth period occurs between the 3 to 6 months of life. However, contradictory to what we would believe, as we progress in life into adulthood the brain's performance increases its efficiency while having fewer neurons. This is the only organ that appears to work better with less parts, to a certain degree. The process in which the brain eliminates neurons to form a greater rate of synapses is called Pruning. The more intelligent we are, and the more we use our brain, the greater the rate of connections with other neuron cells the brain will have. However, if we go through periods where we do not use certain parts of the brain we will lose some of our abilities. Overall, the brain mainly grows and develops as we do, but adapts to its surroundings.
    In Part Two, Care and Feeding of the Brain is what is specified. In the beginning Richard Restak alludes to all the other diet books saying if you do this you will become skinnier and so on. So he felt that a brain diet was necessary. He says that 65 years of animal research has confirmed that caloric restrictions slows the onset of degenerative diseases associated with loss of brain function. The healthier you eat, the healthier your brain. Many people don't know, but obesity is linked with a loss of brain function. 2/3 of the United States is overweight, and diets high in saturated fats correspond directly to a loss in memory ability. Such a loss can be greatly due to all the toxins in the fast foods. The chief villain of the brain with foods is processed fats. Basically, what's good for the brain is good for the heart. A healthy diet for the brain is essentially a healthy diet for the body consisting of vegetables, fruits, and low fat substances. Alcohol is generally bad for the brain, but red wine has been proven to stimulate the brain's function due to the fact that the skins of the grape contains resveratrol.  Not only does a healthy brain diet help the brain, but it can help prevent disease, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Reaction: 
    This is a very interesting book for a new read. For the past couple months I have been reading non fictional accounts of stories and literary fiction, but now I have moved on to a non fiction medical studies book and I am enjoying it. I feel as though unlike just learning a story I am learning many facts and ways of living that will increase my knowledge and health. The author is very informative, and even lists studies done to hellp solidify the information he is presenting. Usually books like this is something I'd have to read for a class, but since I'm reading this on my own I'm actually enjoying it, and I hope I continue to learn a lot more about the puzzling human brain.