Change Your Brain Every Day - The Brain Warrior’s Way

Episode Date: November 19, 2016

The Brain Warrior’s Way – The war for your health is won or lost between your ears in the moment by moment decisions you make every day. Tune in to discover how to become a brain warrior to get yourself and your family health for generations.

Hi, I'm Donnie Osmond, and welcome to The Brain Warrior's Way, hosted by my friends Daniel and Tana Amen. Now, in this podcast, you're going to learn that the war for your health is one between your ears. That's right. If you're ready to be sharper and have better memory, mood, energy, and focus, well then stay with us. Here are Daniel and Tana Amen.

Hi, this is Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. Welcome to week one of the Brain Warriors Way. We are so excited to have you with us. This is going to be an incredible journey to help boost your memory, energy, focus, and really get excited and serious about your health. And there's a reason we called it the Brain Warriors Way. Just like in martial arts, we want you to understand that this truly is a journey. This is not a diet or a two-week program. We are going to stay with you all along the way. So stick with us. This is going to be fun. Well, and it's called the Brain Warriors Way because everywhere we go around the world, it is very clear to us that you are in a war for the health of your brain.

Everywhere you go, someone is trying to shove bad food down your throat that will kill you early. The real weapons of mass destruction are highly processed, pesticide-sprayed, high-glycemic, low-fiber foods, actually food-like substances, and they are destroying the health of America. Those same companies use neuroscience tricks to hook your pleasure centers. When a clown or a king with a billion dollar bankroll can come into your living room and bribe your children with toys for low quality foods, somebody has to fight back. Yeah, we just don't think that's okay. And hopefully you don't either. And by the time we have shared this information with you, you certainly will not. So stick with us and we're going to explain. And it's not just food that is destroying the health of America. News channels repeatedly pour toxic images into our minds, making us see fear and disaster around every corner.

They know that the brain is wired to pay attention to negativity. But as a society, we're drowning in it. Yeah, it's really scary. And tech companies create these addictive gadgets that hook our attention and distract us from our loved ones. And you see it everywhere you go. You go into a restaurant and kids are on their phones, parents are on their phones, and no one's talking to each other any longer. And according to a study from Microsoft, the human attention span is now eight seconds. A goldfish is nine seconds. This is evolution clearly going the wrong way. Very scary.

And our lousy health habits, because people aren't as serious as they need to be, have long-term negative consequences. Alzheimer's disease is expected to quadruple in the next 30 years. There is no cure on the horizon. And what many people don't know is Alzheimer's disease actually affects 50% of people 85 and older. So if you're fortunate enough, my mother is going to turn 85 in a few weeks. If you're fortunate enough to live that long, you have a one in two chance

of having lost your mind. And what's really horrifying from the brain imaging work we do here at Amen Clinics, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia actually start in the brain decades before you have any symptoms. So if you're first diagnosed at 70, odds are you already had brain changes in your 40s. So if you're waiting until you're sick to get well, you might want to rethink that. Now, the good news to that, and we'll get there, is that if it does start that soon, that many decades before you have symptoms, it means that there's something you can do, but we'll get there. Depression is one of the greatest killers of our time.

It affects 50 million Americans, but it's gone up 400% just since 1987. And did you know that 23% of women are taking antidepressants? It also increases your risk of Alzheimer's disease. It's a scandal when you think about it. And one of our shows coming up is going to be on natural ways to deal with depression. In addition, diabetes and pre-diabetes, according to a new study from JAMA, affects 50% of the population. 14% had diabetes, 36% had pre-diabetes. And as you know, diabetes is a disaster for brain function. So this is personal to us. My grandmother died from the effects of diabetes, would have had to have her toes amputated if she hadn't died of heart disease first. But as a result of having

diabetes on both sides of my family, I will always have to fight that pre-diabetes gene. Now, does it mean I have to have diabetes? No, but I will always have to fight that pre-diabetes gene. Now, does it mean I have to have diabetes? No, but I will always have to fight it. And I do always have to fight it. So it's a war. Because diabetes left untreated is associated with stroke, blindness, depression, dementia, amputations, as you said. And in addition, everybody knows this, two thirds of America is overweight. New study,

40%, almost 40% of people are obese. And it's the biggest brain drain in the history of the United States. We have published two studies that say, as your weight goes up, the actual physical size and function of the brain goes down. Well, and what's sad and, you know, people start to think of it as, oh, you know, we shouldn't judge people for gaining weight. It's not about judgment. But what happens is people get comfortable with this weight increase and they begin to go, oh, you know, we change our idea of what overweight is so that we feel good about ourselves or less bad about ourselves. And it's like, oh, that's not really that big of a deal. 20 pounds isn't really that big of a deal.

And we begin to change that rather than accepting the truth that that 20 pounds is actually detrimental to your health. Well, it's actually a national security crisis. I was in Congress meeting with committees of Congress last week, and 70% of the people who try to sign up for the military are rejected because they are not healthy. And so if you look at things like depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, we're not able to get the best and brightest to serve our country. And it's why we call this the brain warrior's way, because you are in a war for the health of your brain. But if you're armed and prepared, you can win this war.

And that's what this podcast is all about. Identify the problem. Let's be honest. My favorite verse in the New Testament is John 8, 32. Know the truth and the truth will set you free. This is a war, but it's a war that you can win. And what we have discovered is that the answer to these epidemic problems, diabetes, obesity, depression, and Alzheimer's disease is not to see them as separate disorders, but rather as different expressions of the same unhealthy lifestyle that have the same cure, what we call the brain warrior's way. So we love this. And to make that really, really easy, what we like to say is what's good for your brain is good for your heart,

is good for your hormones, is good for all the organs in your body. What's bad for them, what's bad for your brain is bad for everything else. And there's a lot of ways to get sick. There's one real way to get well. And in the brain Warriors way, we talk about developing mastery over your brain and body. So what we want to do is just give you a high level overview. And then throughout upcoming podcasts, we will take a deep dive into each of the principles. So think of mastery and the M stands for mindset. If you don't know your why, you will never do your what. So we need to get your mind right.

And we need to get you thinking like a warrior and get some of you out of a victim mindset. So you have to be armed and prepared. And this is about abundance, never deprivation. And we're going to do actually a whole podcast on are you a sheep or a sheepdog? Because we don't want you to be sort of led to slaughter. We don't want you. We don't want you becoming a lamb chop. To follow. We don't want you to be easily led. We want you to be like a sheepdog, serious, purposeful, highly trained. It's just such an empowered place to be. And then assessment is A, because you can't change what you don't measure. And the brain is actually one of the few organs we don't screen on a routine basis. Well, and one thing that people often ask is, how can one program be the same for everybody?

Well, this is the place that the reason the program works for everybody is because this is how you individualize it. This is how you customize it. We base it on you, on your numbers, on your assessment. You do your assessment. And, you know, we always say, never focus on what you can't do. You focus on what you can do. If you've got certain allergies or, you know, certain health issues or kidney problems or whatever it is, this is the place you do your assessment and you go, okay, well, I don't do these things because I have this

health issue. But guess what? There's all these other things in the program that I focus on because it's about abundance, not deprivation. And then the S is sustenance, which stands for, so what are brain warrior foods and supplements? And actually, next time, we're going to talk about the brain warrior food rules and how to be a brain warrior during the holidays. And it's not hard and it tastes delicious.

You just have to have the food rules clearly in your head. And when it comes to supplements, we believe everyone should take a multiple vitamin, have an omega-3 fatty acid supplement, and then you should know and optimize your vitamin D level. And then based on your brain type, we have certain supplement recommendations. An upcoming podcast will talk about brain types. And then training and habits. So this is the daily habits of a warrior. So it's those daily habits that set you up for success or failure. So we will help spell out and help you build new habits for success. And one of my favorite ones is starting every day with the phrase, today is going to be a great day. Because when I say that, my mind, my brain,

will actually find why today is going to be a great day. If you start the day with a negative mindset, then your mind will find all the reasons why today is going to be a bad day. So we have lots of training tips for you. And then your favorite part of the Brain Warriors way is essence. So my favorite chapter is essence because what we really put into this part of the program is turning pain into purpose. If you've ever been sick or you're taking care of someone who's sick, children or parents or anyone else,

you know it's a war and there's pain involved in that. And turning pain into purpose and learning how to rewrite your story so it's empowering, not disempowering, is critical part of this journey. And this is a wonderful, wonderful part of your journey because there's no better way to heal than to turn your pain into purpose and help others. And we're going to help you get a black belt in health and especially

brain health. And the very essence of being a black belt is to be a teacher, is to pass it on. And it's the best, most fulfilling part of your journey, I promise. Wow. And brand new study out just last week that people who focus on their death, on what their life would be like when they died, actually their success went way up because they got in touch with their deepest sense of meaning and purpose. And we often ask each other, you know, if something's going wrong, it's like, so does this thing have eternal value? How important is it in the grand scheme of things so that we can stay focused on our mission? Right. It actually sounds kind of morbid, but the reality is, and I often do this because, you know, things can get pretty crazy

in our lives and hectic. And so when something goes wrong, if I find myself starting to go to a little crazy place, I'll often stop and go, OK, we're all going to die at some point. Is this really going to matter when I'm on my deathbed? And I know it sounds kind of morbid, but it instantly puts it back in perspective. As far as responsibility, once you know this information, it's your responsibility to share it. There's a whole new branch of medicine called epigenetics, which means your habits turn on or off certain genes that make illnesses more or less likely, yes, in you, but also in your babies and your grandbabies. So sharing the brain warrior's way with your friends and family and co-workers can be very powerful because it actually helps you build your own community of Brain Warriors,

which ultimately helps you stay on the program forever. And isn't it true that it's not just the things you do, like what you eat and your environment, but isn't it also your emotions? Don't you also pass on happiness and things like this and anger to the next generation? Well, people are totally contagious. I mean, just like a virus. So happiness is contagious. Sadness is contagious. Anger is contagious.

And so we'll teach you to really be mindful about the people you spend time with. And then Y is a years-long approach. We are going to give you a program that we hope you stay on for the rest of your life, even though you'll feel better very quickly if you follow the principles of the brain warrior's way. I mean, you know, sometimes the first two weeks people lose 10 or 15 pounds. That's really not the point. The point is to develop a lifestyle, develop a program you can stay on for the rest of

your life to help you and the people you care about. So mindset, assessment, sustenance, training, essence, knowing your purpose, responsibility, years long mastery. That's what we're going to be sharing with you in the Brain Warriors Way podcast. Thanks for listening to today's show, the Brain Warriors Way.. Thanks for listening to today's show, The Brain Warriors Way. Why don't you head over to brainwarriorswaypodcast.com. That's brainwarriorswaypodcast.com where Daniel and Tana have a gift for you

just for subscribing to the show. And when you post your review on iTunes, you'll be entered into a drawing where you can win a VIP visit to one of the Amen Clinics. I'm Donnie Osmond, and I invite you to step up your brain game by joining us in the next episode.