Fight back against a modern culture that is rewiring our brains and damaging our health with this practical, doctor-approved plan for healing that includes a ten-day boot camp and forty delicious recipes. Contemporary life provides us with infinite opportunities, along with endless temptations. We can eat whatever we want, whenever we want. We can immerse ourselves in the vast, enticing world of … ourselves in the vast, enticing world of digital media. We can buy goods and services for rapid delivery with our fingertips or voice commands. But living in this 24/7 hyper-reality poses serious risks to our physical and mental states, our connections to others, and even to the world at large.
Brain Wash builds from a simple premise: Our brains are being gravely manipulated, resulting in behaviors that leave us more lonely, anxious, depressed, distrustful, illness-prone, and overweight than ever before.
Based on the latest science, the book identifies the mental hijacking that undermines each and every one of us, and presents the tools necessary to think more clearly, make better decisions, strengthen bonds with others, and develop healthier habits. Featuring a 10-day bootcamp program, including a meal plan and 40 delicious original recipes, Brain Wash is the key to cultivating a more purposeful and fulfilling life.
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Inflammation, enhanced by so many influences of our modern world, dramatically reduces our ability to make good decisions and feel content. Brain Wash not only explores how this is happening, on a global scale, but also shows what we can do right now to take back control. From spending time in nature to choosing to consume one plant-based meal a day, Brain Wash provides the tools the reclaim and rebuild your brain’s ability to make better choices and allow health and happiness to flourish.
If interested in your health (rhetorical, because we all should be), read this book. Its tenets are basic – eat real food, move often, sleep (and you need more than you think you need), don’t let your screens rule your time and relationships are not “likes”, they require attention – yet we can all do better. The Perlmutter’s outline a 10-day “small-bite” approach to creating change in each of these areas. And some of the recipes in the back of the book are pretty good too.
Doctors David and Austin Perlmutter claim to have “found a powerful way to reframe and reclaim our potential for exceptional physical and mental health.” The introduction opens with some very inspirational descriptions of the optimal state of wellness that they believe is possible for each of us.
The first part of the book provides some simple explanation of how the brain works and describes the problems that are keeping us from this optimal state of health, what the authors refer to as “disconnection syndrome.” The authors discuss relevant scientific literature and provide some deeply disturbing statistics while maintaining an encouraging, optimistic tone. I also appreciated their acknowledgment that much of the literature indicates correlation but not necessarily causation, and that studies of lab animals may not be fully applicable in humans. I felt like they had a very balanced approach.
Part 2 describes the authors’ proposed solution. They discuss conducting a digital detox, practicing empathy and gratitude, spending time in nature, following the low-carb Brain Wash food protocol, getting good sleep, exercising, meditating, and strengthening social bonds. They present a 10-day boot camp to implement these changes, including 40 recipes that follow the Brain Wash protocol.
I found this book interesting, inspiring, and easy to understand. I like the authors’ suggested plan, but I think trying to implement these changes in 10 days will be very challenging for most people. It’s about an hour a day of activities, plus a time-consuming diet and a commitment to get at least 7 hours a night of quality sleep. I prefer slow, incremental change to these boot camp challenges.
I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet. They seem interesting and healthy and generally use commonly available ingredients, but many look difficult for a beginning cook or someone dealing with significant fatigue or concentration issues. Some also require equipment that not everyone will have access to (food processor, high-power blender, double boiler). I’m deeply suspicious of the estimates of time required. Considering that the food plan states to treat meat as a condiment (if you eat it at all) and to eat more plants, I was surprised that all but two of the main dishes focused on meat or fish. Also, they don’t provide nutrition information if that’s important to you.
The book includes extensive notes by chapter listing many scientific papers and other references. Additional information and resources are available at https://brainwashbook.com/, most of which are accessible without any signup.
While the implementation may be a challenge, overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to improve their physical and mental health. Some of it will likely be review if you read much about lifestyle medicine, but I enjoyed the presentation and learned some new information that I found helpful.
I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.
Brain Wash provides the tools for each of us to live a happier, more contented life. Drs. David and Austin Perlmutter engage our most current understanding of neuroscience to reveal how the brain can be functionally reconfigured to distance ourselves from pervasive negativity and welcome empathy and compassion back into our lives. The choices we make each day in terms of what we eat, how well we sleep, and even how we interact with our digital world all contribute to our worldview. And central to the Brain Wash mission is maximizing these and other choices towards seeing and creating a better world.
What if there was nothing wrong with you, and so much wrong with the ways in which our dominant culture hijacks your decision-making? You’d want to know how to reclaim your mind, your biology, and your sense of balance. Brain Wash feels, at once, like a sympathetic recognition of our modern day struggle with tech and a science-paved path back home to ourselves. This is one of the most important topics of our time, and Drs. David and Austin Perlmutter have compassionately, intelligently, and creatively opened a vital dialogue.
This book was a total surprise. A father and son representing entirely different generations arrive at the same conclusion: that wellness fosters connection and this creates a meaningful life. Beautifully scripted and a bit like an adventure story, I kept wanting to get to the ‘final message’ of how being well makes us more loving and lovable. This is the endpoint where well-being takes us, and this is especially critical in our disconnected digital age with its constant distractions. Do yourself a favor and get this book.
The message of Brain Wash couldn’t be more urgent or timely. If everyone followed its advice, the world would be a happier and healthier place.
Brain Wash presents a road map for the relationship between how we think, feel, and behave and our lifestyle and environment. It is an artful and compelling manifesto on how to improve our mood, mind, and memory.
Brain Wash is an important book that tackles a colossal modern challenge: the quest to reclaim our health and happiness from a world that encourages us to overspend, overindulge, and underthink. David and Austin Perlmutter are consummate guides who share a multitude of approachable, concrete, and down-to-earth solutions. Highly recommended.
Brain Wash shows us how our ability to make the best decisions is literally being hijacked every day. But more importantly, Drs. David and Austin Perlmutter empower the reader with the tools to regain control over our decision-making and implement strategies to allow health, empathy and happiness to manifest. Brain Wash brings a healthy dose of compassion to the world.
We all know what it’s like to feel distracted and overwhelmed. Brain Wash is an invaluable guide that’s crammed with solutions for helping us to restore our focus, energize our bodies, and refresh our minds.