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Dr. Amen on 3 Do's & 3 Don'ts for a Healthy Brain


Transcript

So if you had three things to avoid and three things to do for everyone, what would be the top three things that you would pick for both? Three things to avoid, I have a new book called YOUR BRAIN IS ALWAYS LISTENING. And I would avoid the oblivious bad habit dragon, that's the first thing I'd do.

I mean I get conscious about loving my brain. Too many people are just, they're just oblivious that whether it's the air they breathe or the water they drink or the food they eat or the thoughts they think, there's just, they have no control. And so I'd get rid of being oblivious.

And then I'd be intentional about food because food is so important. I think 30% of the mental health problems in America are due to the standard American diet which spells sad, standard American diet. It's pro-inflammatory, happy meals are not happy, they're sad meals. When you think about it, it's like no.

And I turn off the gadgets and move. The gadgets are causing us to be more sedentary, more overweight. So for do, it's purposeful, love your brain and move and eat. Gotcha. Was that three do's or was that three don'ts? Well, love your brain, move, eat, right, and avoid the oblivious bad habit dragon and watch the digital addiction and the standard American diet.

Gotcha. Last question. But it comes down to this one question. I worked with B.J. Fogg at Stanford for six months. He created something called Tiny Habits. It's the smallest thing I can do today that will make the biggest difference. And we have 50 tiny habits. But the mother tiny habit is just ask yourself as you go through your day, "Is this good for my brain or bad for it?" And if you can answer that with information and love, love of yourself, love of your mission, why you're on the planet, love of your family and friends, begin making better decisions.