Change Your Brain Every Day - Dr. Daniel Amen's: 11 Simple Food Rules for a Healthy Brain & Body

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

Food is medicine, or it's poison. Knowing what to eat and having the discipline to stick to the plan are usually the biggest game-changers for improving the health of both your body and your brain. In this video, Dr. Amen shares his 11 simple food rules you can begin implementing in your life today to optimize your health and be your best. In 2020, The BMJ published a study exploring the role diet and nutrition play in mental health, with the lead authors stating, "Poor nutrition may be a causal factor in the experience of low mood, and improving diet may help to protect not only the physical health but also the mental health of the population." In other words, food matters for mental health. Unfortunately, a number of foods and food ingredients, common in the standard American diet, are toxic to mental health. They can harm your brain and put you at increased risk for brain and mental health conditions such as depression, ADD/ADHD, anxiety disorders, and dementia. Awareness of the following toxic foods can help you to avoid what increases mental health problems and choose brain-healthy foods instead.

I'm Dr. Daniel Amen, and I'm a psychiatrist. So why am I going to talk about food? I think it was in the early 90s when I had an autistic patient. And when the mother told me, she cut out gluten and dairy. And the next week, he had 50 words. I'm like, whoa. And I actually think one of my best gifts is I'm not arrogant. And I love learning from my patients.

And that one encounter caused me to do research on the impact of food and food, food and focus, food and anxiety. And the research is breathtaking. And would I rather help you heal with food or give you a drug that has side effects? And I'm like, no, I'd rather you heal with food. Now, it's not a good business decision. If I can change your diet and you don't need medication and you don't have to come back over and over again, well, that's not a good business decision.

I'm joking. It's a wonderful business decision because when you get people well, they're your best referral source. And forever at Amen clinics, our patients have been our best referral source. So in the end of mental illness, out now you can get it. I'm excited about it. It's been on the USA Today. Bestseller list and publisher weekly. It's been on Amazon's bestseller list a lot. There's a whole chapter. People go, I don't know if I like the title of this chapter. Food made insanely simple. And ultimately, it comes down, does it serve your health,

or does it hurt your health? So I'm going to walk you through the 11 rules, and see if it won't dramatically change what you choose. And the reason for tonight's talk, tonight is Chloe's night to cook our 16 year old chicken

shwarma broccoli spectacular I was so proud of her and then I had a conversation today with one of my patients who has a really challenging child

and I'm like we need to do an elimination we need to do an elimination diet and you know if they had ADD, they're going to have it three months from now. And I know medicine is easy and I'm not opposed to medicine, but we need to rule out this isn't a negative reaction to food.

And so we're going to talk about that. And so that just triggered in my mind. I've been wanting to do this life. for a long time. Because during a pandemic, when you're at home and you have more time, now is the time to get healthy. I mean, let's just be clear.

You likely have more time. They stay at home, and I know in a lot of places it's been extended, and even in places where it's not been extended, people are extending it because they're concerned. And so let's get to it. Rule number one, only love foods that love you back. I'm so over people going, but I love cake and I love cookies and I love sugar.

Well, there are a lot of things I love that'll get me kids. And have you ever been in a bad relationship? I've been in a couple of bad relationships. They were just not good for me or for the other person. And now that I'm married to my best friend, who I'm happy to be in a pandemic with her because she's awesome. I'm not going back to being in bad relationships with people. I'm 65. Are you kidding?

No, that's not okay with me. And I'm for sure not going to be in a bad relationship with food or with things I drink. I am not going to be in love with things that hurt me. when we first did the Daniel plan, the big wonderful project I did with Pastor Rick Warren and Mark Hyman at Saddleback Church, we gave a lecture. And one of the pastor's wives came to see me in my office. And I'm drinking tea, which I often do. And she said, would you put the tea down? And, you know, in my mind, I went, why?

but, you know, I'm generally consider myself a reasonably nice person. So I just put the tea down. And she said, I didn't want you to spit it at me. And I'm like, excuse me? She said, after I heard you lecture, I told my husband, I'd rather get Alzheimer's disease than give up sugar. And I said to her, I said, did you date the bad boys in high school? because you're obviously in a bad relationship.

Now, over time, she was able to give a sugar, able to break up with sugar. But the real weapons of mass destruction in the United States are highly processed, pesticide sprayed, high glycemic, we'll talk about that, low fiber, food-like substances that are destroying the health of America. It's the food.

We're seeing it. The food puts you at risk for obesity, put you at risk for diabetes, for hypertension, for immune system problems. And did you know, the fat on your belly takes healthy testosterone and turns it into unhealthy cancer-promoting forms of estrogen it's the food that increases your risk of getting seriously sick from COVID-19. Talked about that. So principle number one, love foods that love you back.

Principle number two, go for the highest quality calories you can find and not too many of them. a lot of doctors are going to tell you calories don't count they're insane of course they count now the quality of your calories matters just as much if not more so 800 calories of twinkies you may lose weight for a short period of time but then you're going to get inflamed sick and get cancer um So the calories matter. Quality matters as much or more. And if you're having trouble losing weight, you need to weigh and measure what you eat, at least for a month so that you begin to understand how much, how many calories you're putting in your body. We have a high school course. Actually, your high schoolers can take it online and get three college units of credit. It's called Brain Thrive by 25. And one of our exercises is pick a typical fast food lunch that you get, go on their website and find out how many calories are in it.

And so the average American male needs about 2,200 calories to maintain their weight. Adult male, the average American females, about 1,800 calories a day to maintain their weight. A lot of the students found one meal they were having as many calories as they were required in a whole day. It was just insane what they discovered. So if you're having trouble losing weight, calories matter. I think of calories like money. and I have plenty of money, but I don't waste it. It irritates me, actually, to waste it.

And this week, you know, many of you know, my dad died last week, and my mom's in charge. My mom's an in-charge, soda person. And when I hear her talk about money, she has plenty of money. My dad was a really smart guy. and as is she. And when I just hear, it's like she makes value-based decisions. She makes value-based decision.

She hates wasting money. I hate wasting calories. I want you to know what's in it. It's like, I mean, you wouldn't buy something. if you didn't know the cost, know how many calories, and then ask yourself, does it serve my health? Or does it hurt it? Do I love it? I want you to eat amazing.

I mean, I talked to her about the chicken swarmer. Tonight was phenomenal. Um, delicious. But it loved me back. The curc, the turmeric that she had in it, a little bit of saffron. The spices is perfect. Good for your brain. We'll get to spices.

So I'm not kidding. We weigh, measure, write it down. Whenever I start gaining a few pounds, because I have fat people in my family. My dad used to say when I said that. I'm like, I do. My grandfather, who I was named after, who I adored.

I mean, he was really my best friend growing up. He was overweight. It was a candy maker. And he died from a heart attack that took him away from me way too early. So I know I have obesity in my genes, but I'm not. Why?

Because I pay attention to it. And if I stay around 1,800, 2,000 calories a day and walk 10,000 steps and work out a couple of times a week, I'm fine. But when I start gaining a few pounds, I start writing down everything I eat. And I know how many calories are in it because, you know, we tend to eat the same things over time, like a cup of frozen blueberries is 80 calories. And I like that. So I might have a couple of eggs. it's 210 calories, 80 calories,

for the blueberries late in the morning, and that's like 300 calories. And I'm like, good. I'm just paying attention to it. Because if you don't pay attention to what you spend, you're going to be bankrupt. If you don't pay attention to the calories you put in your body, your health is going.

to be bankrupt. There was no bread for the shwerma, for those of you are asking. And somebody posted, don't drink your calories. So smart. On average, in 1980, Americans drank 225 calories a day. But in 2018, on average, they drank 450 calories a day. That extra 225 calories a day, just from what you drank, puts an extra 23 pounds of fat a year on your body.

No wonder you're always on a diet. I never drink calories, ever. Take that back. I have a little of unsweetened almond milk in the morning, but it's 30 calories. So I know. I want you to know. Peter Drucker, at least they attributed to him, said you can't change what you don't measure. And this is very important to know how many calories.

Juice diets, no, not a fan. And I'm for certain not a fan of fruit juice. Whenever you unwrap fruit sugar from its fiber source, it actually turns toxic to your liver. So I am, you know, apple juice, orange juice. My dad was a grower for sun-kissed. No. Eat the orange. I have an orange like once a day.

Love oranges, reminds me of my dad. But I'm not drinking orange juice. It's not good for you. Okay, sort of beat the calorie thing to death. But when I game a few pounds, write it down. And that way, I hold it. hold myself accountable because people develop something I call calorie amnesia. Well, they just forgot about the jelly sandwich they made, or they forgot about the four

bites of ice cream or the 12 chocolate covered almonds they ate. When you write it down, you tend not to forget. rule number three hydrate but don't drink your calories you your body is 70% water your brain is 80% water and if you're just dehydrated by 2% you get confused and you get clumsy and you're not as Strong. So regularly drinking water. And I have to tell you, my favorite is sparkling water. I just like it. And I get Stivia from Sweet Leafs company, no financial interest. Put in a couple of drops of chocolate, stevia. Love it. Completely happy. No calorie. I'm a value spender. And I bring the chocolate stevia with me when I go, well, I'm not going to restaurants now, but if I would with my grandkids, and they all love it.

So, you know, a little squirt of the chocolate stevia in sparkling water, and they're super happy. And it's not a soda, really? With all the research out on sodas, even diet sodas, it's not good for you. So in the book, I have eat this, not that, and drink this, water, sparkling water, water flavored with slices of fruit. So, you know, go to Hawaii, which I'm hoping to. And when you get to the hotel, in the lobby, you know, they have oranges or pears or tangerines or blueberries. and it's like vacation water.

Well, you can do that at home, simply, easily, inexpensively. I talked to you about sweet leaf, coconut water, herbal tea, green tea, black tea. So not all stevia has an aftertaste. I have found that sweetleaf doesn't. my favorite sweetener we're going to get to it and a little bit is erythritol. Now you have to make sure you don't get stomach issues with it, but erythritol is awesome.

All right. Rule number four. Eat high quality protein at every meal because it helps to balance your blood sugar. Protein is critical. Protein is like your energy. reserve and don't go crazy with it about the size of your palm two or three times a day, four times a day if you have hypoglycemia, if you get these low blood sugar issues, high quality protein. So fish, either sustainably farmed fish or wild fish, either sustainably farmed fish or wild fish, lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, pork, some beans, nuts,

and a number of vegetables like broccoli and spinach are actually very high in protein. Back to hydration for a minute. If you go to brainmd.com, type in Brain Boost on the Go. I created that as a way for me. to drink more water. It's flavored with stevia and erythritol and berries and it has b6, b12, folate, and thionine. Whenever I drag in the afternoon, I drink one of the packets, you know, just stirred it in water. It's sort of like crystal light, but it's got nothing bad in it,

and it tastes awesome. All right, protein. We, over at Brain MD, we also make an extremely clean protein powder with plant protein and mostly pea protein, but it's like two grams of sugar. It doesn't have anything bad in it and it tastes awesome. And it's 120 calories a scope. so you know what it is, and then I might put in a cup of frozen blueberries at 80 calories. Pretty soon we're going to come up with a greens product.

It's actually green and red and purple product, and that'll add another 30 calories, but that's breakfast and start you off with a bang. So you want to limit low quality proteins, like those raised with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and you don't want to eat too much protein. Too much protein can actually make it hard for your kidneys to process it. So again, about the size of your palm, two to four times a day to help balance your blood sugar. Thank you for the comments about my dad. Working all day.

I have written a poem for him. I'm going to do a live chat on. I haven't decided when yet. The service is Sunday, mostly by Zoom. And the poem really captures him. And he fixed his food about five years ago when he went through a health problem. All right. Rule number five.

Eat and cook with high quality fat. Fat does not make you fat. Sugar does. Fat helps you feel full. And it satiates you. And oh, by the way, 60% of the solid weight of your brain is fat. When they took fat out of the American diet, they caused a rash of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease because they replaced the fat with sugar. And it was a political fight. I'm not going to get into it, but scientists from Harvard were paid $50,000 to write papers praising sugar and demonizing fat.

and it was just one of the biggest health mistakes in the history of our country. You need fat. Low fat diets are bad for your brain. Now, I'm not an advocate of very high cholesterol. Mine's always at 2.30. 220. And you go, oh, my, that's over 200.

It's like, yeah, longevity is associated with people who have it at about 230. Cognitive function is about those who have, have it at 230. But my HDL, people think of good and bad cholesterol. It's way more complicated than that. My HDL is 90, which is generally unheard of for most people. And so the top number, really, you know, what's the HDL and LDL?

But then with LDL, you actually have to fractionate it. is it the innocuous kind or is it the toxic kind? And mine is mostly the innocuous kind. And at 65, even though I have heart disease in my family, I have no evidence of heart disease. So I'm pretty happy about that. So you don't want super high cholesterol. You also don't want low cholesterol.

And like nobody knows this, that the studies, and there are many of them, total cholesterol under 160 is associated with homicide, suicide, depression, autism, and death from all causes. So if you're at a party virtually and someone tells you their total cholesterol is 120 because they're on a statin, you want to be really nice to that person

because you just don't know when they might go off. So I am a fan of fat. And so the healthiest fats, avocados. My dad was an avocado grower. Coconut butter. Coconut, grass-fed beef, bison, and lamb, nuts. Walnuts are associated with less. depression, olives, had some for lunch, organic free-range poultry, and seafood, anchovies,

Arctic char, catfish, king crab, wild salmon, sea bass, and so on. Healthy oils, avocado oil, coconut oil, macadamian nut oil, olive oil, but don't cook with olive oil because at high temperatures can turn rancid. And unhealthy fats. So eat this, skip or limit that. Canola oil, corn oil, no, vegetable oil, industrial-raised animal fat and dairy, no. Process meats, no. Safflower oil, soy, and trans fats, which are being banned because they're bad.

So what do we have? Only love foods that love you back. High quality calories and not too many of them. Hydride. Think of eight to ten glasses of water a day. High quality protein. Healthy fat. Rule number six.

This is really important. Go for smart carbohydrates and get rid of the dumb carbohydrates. Smart. Colorful, not artificially dyed, real colors, because that means they're loaded with antioxidants, with medicine, and low glycemic, and high in fiber. So if you can just remember that for carbohydrates, smart or dumb, smart, they're colorful. They're colorful. vitaminutrients, naturally colorful, low glycemic. What that means is they don't quickly raise your blood sugar. So that's actually the problem with sugar and bread and pasta and potatoes and rice.

Now, I have like a little bit of it. So think of it like a condiment, not like a meal. because they quickly raise your blood sugar. And then fiber. Fiber is so healthy healing to your gut. It's really a prebiotic, which means fiber is feeding the healthy gut bugs to strengthen your immunity.

And so when we think of antioxidants, foods, there's something called an ORAC value, oxygen radical absorbency capacity. It's like, well, how loaded is this food as medicine? And at the top of the list are cloves. And so I just love when Tanna cooks with cloves. Oregano, sky high, rosemary, cinnamon. And my tribute to my dad, I talk about,

you know, my large family and how my dad and mom created with love. And when I told my mom, cinnamon was a natural aphrodisiac. She hits her forehead and said, that's why I have seven children. He would never leave me alone.

Being Lebanese, the Lebanese cook with a lot of cinnamon, loaded with antioxidants. Sage. Asi fruit, cocoa powder parsley basil ginger root

walnuts all of these actually have more antioxidants than blueberries now I love blueberries um even broccoli

has a lot of antioxidants so you can easily look at the glycemic index of any food you eat

there's also something called glycemic load um I talk about it in in the book, but basically, how quickly does this turn to sugar? And bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes are actually quicker to sugar in your bloodstream than sugar.

It's a little disturbing. Rule number seven, use herbs and spices like medicine. So the pharmacy, F-A-R-M, pharmacy, is on. on the spice aisle in the store. Multiple studies show saffron has been found to be effective as an antidepressant. And we have a new product I told you about called Happy Safron at Brain MD.

It's loaded with saffron, curcumins, and zinc. So good for you in so many ways. Turmeric used in curry contains a chemical has been shown to decrease plaques in the brain, thought to be responsible for Alzheimer's. disease. Scientific evidence shows rosemary time and sage, boost your memory. Cinnamon helps attention. Garlic and oregano boost blood flow to the brain. Hot, spicy, taste of ginger, cayenne, black pepper, boost metabolism. And so you can use spices like medicine. But you want to be able to pronounce them

so that they're not natural flavors or artificial flavors. Rule number eight, make your food as clean as possible. So eliminate artificial sweeteners, colors, preservatives, and foods in plastic containers, which basically means read the label. Principle number five, I'm sorry, number nine, if you struggle with any brain health, mental health, or physical issues, eliminate any potential allergens. And I'm just like with the patient I talked,

the dad I talked to earlier today, I want you for a couple of weeks to just try an elimination diet. So eliminate gluten, dairy, corn, soy, artificial dyes and sweeteners, and just do it for a couple of weeks. Also, you know, MSG, and the stories are just incredible of people when they do that

I had this one guy who was really depressed and in fact he'd had multiple suicide attempts and had ECT electroconvulsive therapy TMS and other therapy and nothing was working he'd tried like 17 medications and I'm like, well, let's try an elimination diet, see if there's an offending agent.

And he did, and after just a couple of weeks, he felt so much better. And so we started adding back one thing at a time, and we added back gluten, nothing happened. We added back dairy. Nothing happened. He felt fine. Added back corn.

And what he said, within 20 minutes, of the corn. He had a vision of a gun in his mouth pulling the trigger. You have to break up with corn. You might love corn, but it hates you.

And so he broke up with corn. Food matter. So, there's 15 different names for sugar. Did you know that? So when you're reading the label, sugar, molasses,

caramel color, barley malt, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, honey, sorbitol, fructose, cane juice, crystals, maltose, fruit juice concentrate, malto dextrin, and dextrose. Artificial dyes, I'm not a fan of the blue packet, the yellow packet, the pink packet, they're not good for you and can lead to trouble. gluten for just so many reasons. You know, not only is most of the wheat raised with Roundup, which is a pesticide.

I'm not a fan of pesticides because you have a microbiome of 100 trillion bugs. What do pesticides kill? Bugs. So if you're eating those pesticides, then it's not good for your microbeauts. bio. So that's why eating organic when you can afford it is really important. But gluten, I mean, some people have celiac. And when you have it, it's a disaster. I mean, it's a real

disaster. But about 7% of the population is gluten sensitive, where they get things like brain fog and irritability and irritable bowel syndrome. if you have any of these physical or mental or emotional conditions, get rid of it, at least for a few weeks and see if you don't feel better. The same with dairy. Actually, 70% of the adult population, actually after the age of 5, you can't process lactose. And lactose is basically milk sugar. And milk protein casing.

along with gluten, when they go to your stomach, mix with stomach acid, and produce something called casiomorphins or gluteomorphins that actually work in the heroin centers of your brain. So when you say you love pizza, you do. Like you love a drug. And my mom's masterful cook,

and she makes great pizza. And I remember I'd go, at a holiday before I knew better. And like, I wouldn't eat all day because I wanted to have eight slices of pizza. Now I'm like, it's completely addictive. And then when you add mothers love in there, it's like out of control.

There's actually a section in the book on Is Schizophrenia rare where grains are rare? If grains like wheat are one of the causes of schizophrenia, then it should be rare in societies where grains are rare. In an article by Dr. F.C. Dohan and colleagues, they tested this idea by examining the work of anthropologists on people who ate little or no grain. Only two overtly insane chronic schizophrenics were found among 65,000 people examined. in the remote regions of Papa New Guinea. I don't know.

Seems interesting to me. And then in the book, I talk about soy and corn and milk and how to do an elimination diet. And if you just get TANAS cookbook, the Brain Warriors Way cookbook, which you can get on Amazon or BrainMD, every recipe, there's like 125 recipes, every recipe

gluten-free, corn-free, dairy-free, soy-free. And obviously there's no artificial dies and sweetness. All right.

Rule number 10, intermittent fasting, you can use to supercharge your brain. So if you do not have hypoglycemia, and I pretty much do intermittent fasting,

I try to do that every day, where the last thing I eat, it's around seven-ish, six or seven, and I won't eat again until 10, 11 or 12 the next day. Because intermittent fasting has been shown to help clean up some of the plaques in the brain thought to be associated with Alzheimer's disease. It turns on a process called autophagy, which helps the brain take out the track. And so not only do you end up eating fewer calories, it actually helps you maintain a healthy weight and is helpful for a number of other things as well.

I also don't want you eating within two or three hours of bedtime because it can negatively impact your sleep. All right. Rule number 11. Get a routine that serves your health. rather than hurts it. Find 24 foods you love that love you back. So I have a fun story. I have a youngster in my life. I dearly love who has Tourette's tick disorder. And I'm like talking to his parents about elimination diet.

We should at least try it. And he came to visit and when he got off the plane and he ran to me. He's like, I don't like any of the foods. And I'm like, none? And he was with me for four days. And I'm like, so our job is to find 20 foods you love that love you back.

And we're now at 75. And when you get that negative mindset, it's so hard to do the right thing. But when you see that I only want to, to put foods in my body that I love, that love me back, it's so much easier to do the right things. We're all creatures of habit.

And basically, you need like three breakfasts you love that love you back, maybe five lunches and 10 dinners. That's plenty of variety for most of us. And so I only eat things that I enjoy that serve my health rather than hurt my health. Now, I know we're not going to live forever. And people go, oh, the quality. But who has more fun? The healthy person or the unhealthy person.

It's not just about lifespan. It's about health span. And if you can eat in a way that serves your health, and now's the time this pandemic. I know it's awful for many people. And in many ways it's been awful for me to have my parents get sick and then survive COVID and then have my dad die. And, you know, the stress on our staff at our A-Daman clinics,

one of our clinics is in downtown Manhattan. Yeah, it's hard. But life in general is hard. And people go, oh, I want to go back to normal. And it's like, I don't know. I sort of like the much slower pace. There are a lot of it that I like. But one of the things I know you have, odds are is you have more time.

And now is the time to get serious. about your brain and about your body, because your best defense against COVID-19 is your immune system. It's not going to be a therapeutic, although, you know, we pray for them, you know, remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, whatever it is, vaccine.

But that's not what's going to save your life. what's going to save your life is your immune system. So if you have type 2 diabetes, that's an emergency. You need to start eating really well now. If you have obesity, that's been shown to be one of the killers for COVID-19. So let's get healthy. And I don't want you to lose 50 pounds in three weeks. I like it when my patients lose like a pound a week.

and you know you can calculate it pretty much it takes an extra 3,500 calories above what you need to gain a pound which means you have to eat 3,500 calories less than you burn in order to lose a pound I mean like really not just water weight and so when I want to lose weight

like I'll eat 1,500 calories and that means over about 10 days I'll have lost a pound you can do this. You just got to get it in your mind that you love your brain. For me, when I published two studies

that said as your weight goes up, the size of your brain goes down, I'm like, oh-oh, I don't want a smaller brain. I'm going to lose this weight. And that's when I got super serious about, you know, dropping, you know,

the extra 20 pounds I was carrying around. I hope this was helpful to you. If you liked it, if it was rational. Most people say this is the most rational approach to getting to a healthy way. The end of mental illness.

It's out now. It's on audio or Kindle or you can get the book. Thank goodness. Amazon's starting to deliver books again. And leave a comment, question below. If you really like this, Tan and I have a course over at Aman University called the Brain Warrior's Way, it's 26 hours.

But she and I go deep into all of these topics, the microbiome and immunity and how to keep your memory right. I think you really like it a lot. Amon University.com. Okay, take care. See you soon.