I haven’t written a book review in awhile and that’s mostly because my brain seems to be on summer vacation – lots of Words with Friends and magazines at night rather than reading. But I recently picked up a copy of Mark Hyman’s 2010 book The UltraMind Solution: The Simple Way to Defeat Depression, Overcome Anxiety, and Sharpen Your Mind.
My primary health care person, Lisa Decatorsmith of Healing Traditions of Barrington, had recommended Dr. Hyman’s Ultra Metabolism book to me a few years ago. I read it and liked it and incorporated a lot of what he suggested at that time. So when I saw this book I was intrigued.
I’m about 200 pages into it (about half way through) and it’s really good! His evidence-based writing about the effects of various vitamins and minerals was so compelling that it got me into action about being more diligent about taking vitamins.
He has compelling evidence on the perniciousness of sugar, which is really pushing me towards eliminating it entirely – I’m not there yet, but getting closer….
I’ve long believed that much of what we consider “our genes” or “bad luck” is, in fact, bad lifestyle choices. I have believed that we have way more control over our physical health than most people seem to think.
But it’s intriguing to read about how much our lifestyle choices affect things like dementia, Alzheimer’s, forgetfulness that we associate with aging, or “mood disorders” such as depression, anxiety. He makes a strong case that even things that I believed were intractable – bipolar disorder, autism, ADHD – can be ameliorated with nutrition, exercise and the like.
He believes, as I do, that people aren’t born with a Prozac deficiency (just as we aren’t born with a Lipitor deficiency).
I’m very intrigued by this book and you’ll be hearing more about it – with quotes – from me.
How about you? Have you read The Ultra Mind solution? Have you seen changes in your cognition or moods based on what you eat, how much you sleep, the exercise you get? I know for me, on the infrequent times I have suffered from depression exercise is 100% guaranteed to alleviate it. I’m curious to hear your stories! As always, I really want to know!
It sounds like my kind of book—I’ll definitely check it out. I’ve been on a long and winding path of adjusting my diet for better health and, in the last couple of years, I’ve added a fair number of specific supplements. More recently, I’ve been investigating superfoods (like cacao, maca, chia seeds, hemp seeds) and incorporating them into my morning smoothies. It’s definitely making a difference, especially with mental clarity and alertness. I’ve learned that every bite and sip that goes into my mouth offers an opportunity for health. It would be hard to fit sugar and junk into that model! Thanks for another great book tip!
Eleanor
Eleanor – you’re one of my food heroes! I just got some chia seeds and am gearing up to do morning smoothies instead of oats/pecans/rice milk. Thanks for chiming in! And yes, you’ll LOVE this book!