10 Brain Health Principles

Blog-10 Brain Health Principles

The brain is the most fascinating and important organ in the universe, estimated to have an astounding 100 billion neurons and more connections than there are stars in the universe. Did you know that it is your brain that decides to get you out of bed in the morning or to hit your snooze button? In fact, your brain manages the stress in your life and relaxes you so that you look vibrant, or, when left unchecked sends stress signals to the rest of your body and wrinkles your skin! It’s important to understand how brain health principles can impact your health.

Here are 10 brain-centered principles that will change everything in your life.

1. Imaging changes everything.

After looking at over 150,000 brain scans on patients from 120 countries, we know that when physicians don’t look at how the brain functions, they guess at what is wrong, and that can hurt their patients. Without imaging, physicians miss important causes of trouble, such as brain injuriestoxic exposure, and infections. People end up misdiagnosed and on the wrong treatments.

2. Your brain is soft, about the consistency of soft butter, and your skull is really hard with many sharp bony ridges.

Brain injuries can ruin your life, but few people know it because very few mental health professionals ever look at the brain.

3. The brain is the most complicated organ in the universe.

Even though your brain is only 2% of your body’s weight, it uses 20-30% of the calories you consume and 20% of your blood flow. It is the most expensive real estate in your body.

4. When your brain works right, you work right; and when your brain is troubled you are much more likely to have trouble in your life.

With a healthy brain, you are happier, physically healthier (because you make better decisions), wealthier (also because you make better decisions) and more successful. When your brain is unhealthy, for whatever reason (brain injuries, drug abuse, obesity, sleep apnea, etc.), you will be sadder, sicker, poorer and less successful.

5. Your brain is involved in EVERYTHING.

This includes how you think, how you feel, how you act and how well you get along with other people. Your brain is the organ of intelligence, character, personality and every single decision you make.

6. If you knew a train was going to hit you, you should get out of the way.

Alzheimer’s disease starts in the brain decades before you have any symptoms. Treatment is likely to work early and very unlikely to work late. According to research from GE, 75% of the population would want to know if they had a pending brain issue, even if they couldn’t do anything about it. We believe there is a great deal you can do to stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia if you know, early on, that your brain is vulnerable. We think everyone should be scanned by the age of 50 (like getting a colonoscopy) to get an early jump on potential problems.

7. All psychiatric illnesses are not single or simple disorders in the brain.

They all have multiple types that require their own treatments. Based on our imaging work it is very clear that giving someone the diagnosis of “depression” is exactly like giving them the diagnosis of “chest pain.” No one gives the diagnosis of “chest pain,” because it doesn’t tell you what is causing it or what to do for it. Giving everyone the same treatment for chest pain makes no logical sense, and we believe that the same is true for psychiatric illnesses.

Depression is a symptom—not a disease. It has many causes, and each case requires its own treatment. In our work, we have described 7 types of anxiety and depression, 7 types of ADD6 types of addicts and 5 types of overeaters.

8. Many things HURT the brain.

Drugs, alcohol, brain injuries, obesity, sleep apnea, hypertension and many other things hurt the brain, while new learning, great nutrition, coordination exercises, meditation, fish oil, a healthy community, all help the brain.

On average, we lose 85,000 neurons a day. Your behavior is either accelerating or decelerating this process. Understanding this principle means brain aging is optional. You actually have a choice in how fast your brain ages!

9. Work hard to boost your brain’s reserve.

Brain reserve is the extra function and tissue to deal with whatever stress comes your way. When we’re born, we typically have a lot of brain reserve, especially if our parents took good care of themselves before and during pregnancy. If we aren’t very careful, life steals our reserve (stress, brain injuries, lousy diets, etc.). At some point, either due to bad habits or aging, brain reserve becomes depleted and symptoms develop (memory problems, depression, fatigue, irritability, etc.)Brain Reserve Graph

10. Getting well is not just about being symptom-free, it’s about boosting brain reserve, which requires 3 simple strategies:

• Brain envy (you have to really care about your brain)
• Avoid anything that hurts your brain
• Engage in regular brain healthy habits

At Amen Clinics, we can help you and your loved ones overcome the stigma and suffering associated with ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression, brain injury, weight loss, addictions, memory issues, brain fog, and other emotional and cognitive issues. If you are ready to regain control over your life or help a loved one do the same, give us a call at 1-888-288-9834 or click here to ask a question.

30 Comments »

  1. Super article! My father had Alzheimer’s and my husband has vascular dementia, so I am very interested to learn about brain health.

    Comment by Doreen Pendgracs — October 11, 2017 @ 12:45 PM

  2. Can your imaging and program help with adult-on-set epilepsy that Drs have said MRI shows no brain specific cause? But have given drugs to treat.

    Comment by Kriss — October 5, 2018 @ 5:04 AM

  3. In God name grant Disabled Veterans have such as me has. PTSD and Bipolar accept the things that I cannot change and wisdom the know the difference.

    Comment by ARNOLD CABRAL — October 5, 2018 @ 5:36 AM

  4. Are your scans covered by Medicare??

    Comment by Pat Salvatore — October 5, 2018 @ 8:07 AM

  5. Can you help with Parkinson’s disease? My husband is already on a plant based diet (for 30 years), exercises with PT and boxing for Parkinson’s and has been a normal weight for 30 years. Thanks.

    Comment by SUZANNE S ALOISIO — October 5, 2018 @ 1:59 PM

  6. My son is 33 and has abused drugs/alcohol off and on for 15 years. He’s 2 months sober and struggling with depression/anxiety. How long does that usually persist?

    Comment by Lj — October 6, 2018 @ 4:28 AM

  7. I have Lymphadema & neurophothy inmy feet . Could this program help me? Also, do you accept Medicare & scan ? Thanks Wendy

    Comment by Rippee Wendy — October 6, 2018 @ 7:32 AM

  8. I inherited $2 million. Discovered to late I was BI-POLAR to save any of it. I was born with an Essential Tremor and tried surgery, but it did not work. Now I live on Social Security and the medications, couselor and groups help. Do you do your scans anywhere but, California? I live in Indiana.

    Comment by JOHN HENE — October 6, 2018 @ 8:27 AM

  9. What was your answer to the Parkinson’s question as I have friends who have it?

    Comment by Barb — October 6, 2018 @ 8:41 AM

  10. How much does a Brain Scan cost and approximate charges to see the Doctor. We are Canadians coming to Palm Desert in a few weeks.

    Comment by Vera Wiebe — October 6, 2018 @ 10:16 AM

  11. Hello Vera, thank you for reaching out. We will have a Care Coordinator reach out to you to discuss the options and see if we can arrange something while you’re visiting CA.

    Comment by Amen Clinics — October 8, 2018 @ 8:28 AM

  12. Hello John, thank you for reaching out. We have 8 locations in the U.S., you can view them here: https://amenclinics.com/locations/. We’d like to have a Care Coordinator reach out to you to discuss additional options. If you’re unable to travel to one of our clinics, a Care Coordinator can provide referrals in your area of practices that utilize brain SPECT imaging and The Amen Clinics Method.

    Comment by Amen Clinics — October 8, 2018 @ 8:28 AM

  13. Hello Wendy, thank you for reaching out. We’d like to have a Care Coordinator reach out to you to discuss the options as well as insurance and financing options. If you’d like to reach us directly, please call 888-288-9834. Thank you.

    Comment by Amen Clinics — October 8, 2018 @ 8:29 AM

  14. What is the earliest age to have a brain scan? I am only in my early 30 and would like to have one scan if possible at this age. Also I live in Australia and can’t travel to USA. Can you refer someone who can do the scan in Australia?

    Comment by karishma gautam — October 10, 2018 @ 2:26 AM

  15. Hello Karishma, thank you for reaching out. At our clinics, we have scanned people from the age of 9 months old to 105 years old. You’re definitely eligible at the age of 30. We will have a Care Coordinator connect with you via email to give options since you’re in Australia. If you’d like to reach us directly, please call 949-266-3715. Thank you!

    Comment by Amen Clinics — October 10, 2018 @ 9:11 AM

  16. I am 57 years old and live in the Denver area. How much is a scan and do you do them in Denver? Thank you.

    Comment by Shelli Dimig — October 15, 2018 @ 6:07 PM

  17. Hello Shelli, thank you for reaching out. We’ll have a Care Coordinator reach out to you via email to discuss pricing options and possible options for you for treatment closest to you. We have 8 locations currently: https://amenclinics.com/locations/. Our Care Coordinators also provide referrals to practices that utilize brain SPECT imaging and The Amen Clinics Method, perhaps some locations of these practices would be closer to you.

    Comment by Amen Clinics — October 16, 2018 @ 8:59 AM

  18. Hi there, can you please recommend or refer me to facilities in Malaysia that practice brain SPECT imaging? If none, perhaps the closest country?

    Thank you.

    Comment by Liza — October 31, 2018 @ 7:04 PM

  19. My husband is having some memory problems please tell me what he can take for that I see that you have vitamins can you please let me know what to do and where is your closest clinic and how much does it cost to have a scan done and Visit And do you take medicare and carpenters
    Claudia

    Comment by Claudia — July 22, 2019 @ 1:46 PM

  20. Love your shows on TV. And I have bought your products – usually at the end of the year or when you have a sale. Are any of these services covered by Medicare?

    Comment by Randy — July 29, 2019 @ 11:35 AM

  21. I live inMiddletown, Monmouth County NJ. How can I find a doctor who is able to help me. My memory is very poor at the moment and I need help. Please contact me.
    Much obliged….

    Comment by Cecilia — July 29, 2019 @ 2:28 PM

  22. I am also on Medicare and would like your answer.

    Comment by Zona P Dial — July 29, 2019 @ 2:50 PM

  23. My son is already recieving neurofeedback closer to home, two days a week. Could he still benefit from the scan? Wondering how much it would cost without the therapy since he is already recieving it. We have BCBS PPO. He is being treated for depression and high inflammation due to four concussions.

    Comment by Michelle — July 30, 2019 @ 8:35 AM

  24. Hello Pat, thank you for reaching out. Amen Clinics is an out of network provider. For more information about reimbursement and financing options, please contact our Care Coordinators at 888-288-9834 or by submitting the form on this page: https://amenclinics.com/schedule-visit/.

    Comment by Amen Clinics — July 30, 2019 @ 1:24 PM

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