obesity has a devastating effect on quality of life
plant-based diet promotes neurogenesis
physical exercise
primes the brain for learning
improves memory and concentration
exercise is medicine (ADHD, depression, Parkinson’s)
mental exercise
brain growth factors spawn nerve cells throughout life
lifelong learning improves quality of life
health and happiness are contagious
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life:
How Neuroscience Can Improve the Common Good
John Tew, Jr., MD
Oct. 6, 2009 presentation to United Way Tocqueville Society
References(listed in order of appearance in lecture)
Brown, Stuart and Vaughn, Christopher. Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.New York: Penquin Group, 2009 www.stuartbrownmd.com
Blue Brain Project, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
The Blue Brain Project is an attempt to reverse engineer the brain, to explore how it functions and to serve as a tool for neuroscientists and medical researchers. The project is focused on creating a physiological simulation for biomedical applications. More info > bluebrain.epfl.ch
Thompson PM, et al. Growth Patterns in the Developing Human Brain. Nature 404(6774):190-3, 2000
Every Child Succeeds mission is to offer Greater Cincinnati first-time mothers and their families support to ensure an optimal start for their children. A collaborative program that includes 16 provider agencies whose nurses, social workers and child development specialists provide home visits for first-time, at-risk mothers on a regular basis from the time of pregnancy until the child's third birthday. More info > www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/e/every-child
Success by 6® is a national United Way strategy in more than 350 cities across the country all focused on improving school readiness through local community change. The first years of a child's life, birth through age five, are the most important years for building a strong foundation for future success in school and in life. More info > www.sb6uwgc.org
Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: Penguin Press, 2008 www.michaelpollan.com
Campbell, T. Collin and Campbell, Thomas M. The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health. Texas: BenBella Books, 2004 www.thechinastudy.com/about.html
Ratey, John J. and Hagerman, Eric. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. New York: Little Brown Co., 2008 www.johnratey.com
PE4life is a non-profit organization determined to make quality, health-and-wellness-based physical education a reality in our schools on a daily basis. Research studies show that children in PE4life programs are reaping the benefits in several areas, including physical fitness, academic performance and discipline issues. www.pe4life.org
Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi
Alberts, J. Forced Exercise Provides Benefit Similar to Levodopa in Parkinson's Disease.Movement Disorder Society's 13th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders: Abstract LB-13. Presented June 10, 2009. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/704397
