We've learned a lot about the brain: which nutrients are required to make neurotransmitters, which nutrient deficiencies cause depression, and even which nutrients improve memory and intelligence. Wouldn't it make sense, then, to eat "brain foods" that are high in these "brain fuel" nutrients? Fortunately, the USDA recently analyzed several thousand foods for their nutrient contents, so we now know what these brain foods are and can add them to our diet. That's the practical side of this research. The "cool" side is that, in looking back through human history, we discover that major advances in civilization often occurred after new brain foods came into the diet, during the Axial Age, Ancient Greece, the Renaissance, the Elizabethan Era and 19th century France, to name a few. We also see that, in the cases where the brain foods were removed from the diet, the civilizations began to deteriorate shortly thereafter. We can even go back to Paleolithic times and explain the transition from archaic to modern man using simply the concepts of brain fuels and brain foods. These historical "case studies" underscore the necessity of brain foods in human evolution. Nutrients are the fundamental fuel for the brain, but delivering them to the body is an art. If culture is king, then cuisine is queen. Nonetheless, it has been mainly serendipity that has been responsible for these improved cuisines. Multiple factors, including geography, technology and even politics, have time and again led randomly to an improved mix of brain fuels. We judge civilizations in many ways. One way is to look at the visual arts and assess the technical expertise and the artistic expression represented there. Looking within civilizations we see large changes in one or both of these features after a major increase in brain food availability, as well as major advances in philosophy, literature and other arts. The study of science (natural philosophy) can trace its roots to the serendipitous confluence of all the brain fuels in abundant supply in Ancient Greece. The times and places examined here include the first civilizations (Ancient Egypt, Indus Valley Civilization, Mesoamerica, and Inca Empire), the Pan-Asian Awakening in the 6th Century BC (a few decades of the Axial Age), the three eras with the most abundant brain fuels (Ancient Greece, Renaissance Tuscany and 19th Century France), and places where a partial abundance of brain fuels resulted in advancements in specific fields (Elizabethan England, Dutch Golden Age, Scottish Enlightenment). There are also specific examples of civilizations where brain fuels were intentionally restricted to create aggression in warfare (Roman legions and Mongol horsemen). Currently on the scene there are several popular modern diets (e.g. Atkins, Paleo, Mediterranean), and an analysis of these shows that, while they all express some fundamental tenets that improve the level of brain fuel nutrients, each one exhibits a deficit in one or more of them. We consider these diets from a brain fuels perspective and discuss how to adapt them in an easy and sustainable manner to maximize mental performance.

National Bestseller From the #1 bestselling author – a cornucopia of mind-expanding insights into the science of the real world. Dr. Joe – as he is affectionately known to millions of readers, listeners, viewers, and students – brings his magic formula to Doubleday Canada with Brain Fuel. As with Dr. Joe’s previous best-selling books, Brain Fuel informs and entertains on a wild assortment of science-based topics. But this is not "science trivia." If you are looking for serious scientific discussions, you’ll find them here. If you are looking for practical consumer information, that’s here too. If you are searching for ways to stimulate interest in science, look no further, Mom. And if you are simply wondering why the birth of Prince Leopold was so different from Queen Victoria's previous seven; or why an iron rod that went through a man's head is now on display in a museum in Boston; or why white chocolate has such a short shelf life; or why eggs terrified Alfred Hitchcock – and what all of this means for the rest of us, and why – then bingo.

How did humans evolve larger and more sophisticated brains? In general, evolution depends on a special combination of circumstances: part genetics, part time, and part environment. In the case of human brain evolution, the main environmental influence was adaptation to a OCyshore-basedOCO diet, which provided the worldOCOs richest source of nutrition, as well as a sedentary lifestyle that promoted fat deposition. Such a diet included shellfish, fish, marsh plants, frogs, birdOCOs eggs, etc. Humans and, and more importantly, hominid babies started to get fat, a crucial distinction that led to the development of larger brains and to the evolution of modern humans. A larger brain is expensive to maintain and this increasing demand for energy results in, succinctly, survival of the fattest."

Is your brain holding you back? Many people find themselves struggling to find the energy to get through the day, relying on stimulants like coffee and then suffering a crash later on. When you choose the right fuel for your brain, however, you can overcome fatigue and increase your mental focus. Certain foods even have the ability to fight off neurodegenerative disease, boost short and long-term memory, and help weight loss efforts. Many of the things that we have learned as a society have been wrong. For example, many people believe they must avoid fat to stay thin-even though the most recent research has proven that eating fat is the best way to lose weight. Choosing the right foods can increase cognitive abilities, improve heart health, and benefit the mitochondria. As you read, you are going to learn about many of the things that you can start doing today to improve your brain health, while improving weight loss and management and boosting your mental focus. You will also be able to fight off chronic and degenerative diseases, as many of the foods that benefit the brain contain antioxidants that fight oxidative stress and free radicals that cause damage. Some of the information you'll find in this book includes: Things that weaken the brain, including stress and nutrition Foods that harm the brain Common problems of the mitochondria and how to boost mitochondrial health How the ketogenic diet boosts brain health Fats to improve memory Antioxidants to improve memory How fats encourage weight loss Nootropics that boost brain health This should all serve as a guide to supercharge your brain, boost your memory, and increase weight loss. ***This is the Expanded 2nd Edition****

Evolutionary Neuroscience is a collection of articles in brain evolution selected from the recent comprehensive reference, Evolution of Nervous Systems (Elsevier, Academic Press, 2007). The selected chapters cover a broad range of topics from historical theory to the most recent deductions from comparative studies of brains. The articles are organized in sections focused on theories and brain scaling, the evolution of brains from early vertebrates to present-day fishes, amphibians, reptiles and birds, the evolution of mammalian brains, and the evolution of primate brains, including human brains. Each chapter is written by a leader or leaders in the field, and has been reviewed by other experts. Specific topics include brain character reconstruction, principles of brain scaling, basic features of vertebrate brains, the evolution of the major sensory systems, and other parts of brains, what we can learn from fossils, the origin of neocortex, and the evolution of specializations of human brains. The collection of articles will be interesting to anyone who is curious about how brains evolved from the simpler nervous systems of the first vertebrates into the many different complex forms now found in present-day vertebrates. This book would be of use to students at the graduate or undergraduate levels, as well as professional neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and psychologists. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive list of further reading and references for those who want to inquire further. The most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date single volume collection on brain evolution Full color throughout, with many illustrations Written by leading scholars and experts

The evolution of the human brain and cognitive ability is one of the central themes of physical/biological anthropology. This book discusses the emergence of human cognition at a conceptual level, describing it as a process of long adaptive stasis interrupted by short periods of cognitive advance. These advances were not linear and directed, but were acquired indirectly as part of changing human behaviors, in other words through the process of exaptation (acquisition of a function for which it was not originally selected). Based on studies of the modem human brain, certain prerequisites were needed for the development of the early brain and associated cognitive advances. This book documents the energy and nutrient constraints of the modern brain, highlighting the significant role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in brain development and maintenance. Crawford provides further emphasis for the role of essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, in brain development, by discussing the evolution of the eye and neural systems. This is an ideal book for Graduate students, post docs, research scientists in Physical/Biological Anthropology, Human Biology, Archaeology, Nutrition, Cognitive Science, Neurosciences. It is also an excellent selection for a grad student discussion seminar.

"Integrates a multiplicity of evolutionary developments involving genetics, response, to climate variations, social organization, the nervous system, environment, and behavior."--Jacket.