“Here’s the paradox that persecutes us today: modernity provides us with infinite opportunities. We can eat whatever we want whenever we want. We can completely immerse ourselves in the vast, enticing world of digital media. We can buy goods and services and even find potential mates with the touch of a button or swipe of a finger. We can live around the clock in a virtual world where everything about us is public, from our thoughts and perspectives to our purchases, photos, browsing habits, likes and dislikes, and location. We think this 24-7 ‘new reality’ should make us healthy and happy. But it doesn’t. The systems in place to meet—and exceed in many regards—all our basic needs do not create Utopia. Quite the opposite. We struggle with soaring rates of largely preventable illnesses, and many of us are more lonely, depressed, and anxious than ever before. Genuine joy remains elusive. …
Despite the scope of this book, our strategy focused on creating a practical framework that you can implement in your life right away. We live and work in the modern world and understand the limitations of what’s possible and realistic. The good news is that so much of what’s keeping us from achieving lasting health and happiness is within our power to change. We know you can get there—through an overhaul of your mind’s operating system. We don’t have to be victims of poor health, loneliness, and the constant urge to pursue the next short-term fix. This new framework—a reconnecting, life-changing ‘brain wash’—teaches you how to clean up your mind and activate the brain pathways that bring clear thinking, deep relationships, and mental well-being.”
~ David Perlmutter, MD and Austin Perlmutter, MD from Brain Wash
This is our fifth (!) Note on one of David Perlmutter’s great books.
We’ve covered Grain Brain, Brain Maker, The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan and Power Up Your Brain. As I said in the other intros, David Perlmutter is both a board-certified neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. He and his work have deeply influenced our lives.
One of the things that makes this book so great is the fact that David wrote it with his son, Austin—who also happens to be an MD—in his case, a board-certified internal medicine physician. (He also happens to be a VERY cool human. He and I had a chance to connect recently while he was vacationing in Bali. We both left the chat buzzing with inspiration.)
As David and Austin say, the book builds on a simple premise:
“Our brain’s performance is being gravely manipulated, resulting in behaviors that leave us more lonely, anxious, depressed, distrustful, illness-prone, and overweight than ever before. At the same time, we feel disconnected from ourselves, from others and from the world at large.”
Their solution? We need to overhaul our mind’s operating system. How? Via a “brain wash.”
The book is packed with Big Ideas on how to Optimize not only our nutrition but how we interact with our technology, ourselves and one another. I’m excited to share some of my favorite Ideas we can apply to our lives TODAY, so let’s jump straight in!
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